Ed is a partner in Withum’s East Brunswick, NJ, office and has over 40 years of public accounting experience. He is a licensed, certified public accountant in New Jersey and New York. He is accredited by the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) in business valuation and as a personal financial specialist (PFS). Ed is also admitted to practice before the United States Tax Court and has testified as an expert witness in federal and state court regarding business valuations.

A graduate of City College of New York, Ed earned his bachelor of business administration degree. He is a member of the AICPA, the New Jersey Society of Certified Public Accountants (NJSCPA), and the New York State Society of Certified Public Accountants (NYSSCPA). Ed was a founding partner of Mendlowitz Weitsen, LLP, CPAs, which joined Withum in 2005. Currently, he serves on the NYSSCPA Estate Planning Committee and was chairman of the committee that planned the NYSSCPA’s 100th Anniversary. The author of 16 books, Ed has also written hundreds of articles for business and professional journals and newsletters. He is the contributing editor to the Practitioners Publishing Company’s 1998/1999 706/709 Deskbook and the AICPA 2004 edition of The Management of an Accounting Practice Handbook. He is on the editorial board of Bottom Line/Personal and Tax Hotline financial newsletters. Appearing regularly on television news programs, Ed has also been quoted in numerous major newspapers and periodicals in the United States. He is the Lawler Award recipient for the best article published in 2001 in the Journal of Accountancy.

Ed is a frequent speaker to many professional and business groups, including the AICPA, NJSCPA, NYSSCPA, American Management Association, the National Committee for Monetary Reform, University of Medicine and Dentistry in NJ, and many more. For 11 years, he taught financial analysis courses, corporate financial policy and theory, monetary and fiscal policy, and managerial accounting in the MBA program at Fairleigh Dickinson University.

Jody Padar, CPA, also known as The Radical CPA, is one of the accounting profession's foremost visionaries and pioneers. A well-known advocate for tech adoption and general forward-thinking behavior inside the profession, she has been consistently named one of the Top 100 Most Influential to the Profession by Accounting Today. She is the author of Radical Pricing which was just published in May of  2024 as well as two other books, From Success to Significance: The Radical CPA Guide; and The Radical CPA: New Rules for the Future-Ready Firm. She is a regular contributor to a number of industry publications, including Accounting Today and CPA Trendlines, where she offers practical tips and advice on running a next-generation firm. 

Since her days as a small firm owner, she has advocated for bringing the accounting profession into the digital age and leading the next generation of accounting professionals to a better life where they can go home on time, give more to their clients and foster their passion for the industry. Currently a senior tax advisor at april, Jody loves the idea of using AI and automation to transform taxes, and she’s excited to help develop, evolve and share a simplified and pleasurable tax experience. 

Padar is married with two adult children and currently resides in Door County Wisconsin. She earned her BBA from Saint Mary’s College and MST from Northern Illinois University. Follow her on LinkedIn, X, Instagram and Facebook.