Ashwini Edmonds of Margolin, Winer & Evens illustrates social networking's impact on her career

Name: Ashwini Edmonds, CPA Title: Senior Accountant Company/firm: Margolin, Winer & Evens, LLP Years with company/firm: 2 Years in field: 8 Years in real estate industry: 6 Address: 400 Garden City Plaza, 5th Floor, Garden City, NY 11530 Telephone: 516-747-2000 Email: [email protected] URL: www.mwellp.com Real estate organizations/affiliations: Manhattan Chamber of Commerce, B'nai B'rith Real Estate Unit, Association of Real Estate Women Professionally, where were you ten years ago and where are you now? Ten years ago I was a junior in college and eagerly taking courses toward my accounting degree. At the same time, I was gaining real life experience as an intern at a mid-sized CPA firm. After graduation, I joined the CPA firm as a junior auditor and worked for variety of different clients. Two years later, I accepted a job as a property accountant for a publicly held REIT. That experience exposed me to many different elements of the real estate industry; due diligence, leasing, budgeting, projecting, escalations, joint ventures and consolidations. I discovered a passion for working in the real estate industry. So much so that a few years later, I accepted a job with a privately held company working primarily with all aspects of real estate investment funds. What impact has social networking had on your success? I try to stay current with the industry by reading trade magazines, books, newspapers, articles and newsletters. I like attending industry events and enjoy talking to people. Social networking has exposed me to many valuable business relationships. The information and contacts made from these sources are invaluable. There are never too many sources of information so I do not limit myself and keep an open mind. How has the need to create a more sustainable environment influenced the way you do business? I am very eager to see green sustainable practices become more prevalent in our society. It is very encouraging to see New York City as one of the first cities in the country trying to improve building codes and requiring mandatory retrofits by the year 2013. There are real cost savings in choosing environmentally sustainable projects and, for the most part, the public is not aware of this information. Accountants can provide payback analyses, among other services, and this information can be shared with engineers, architects, contractors and investors. I'm glad my firm is becoming more proactive and seeking to become experts in the federal and state energy tax credits and deductions available to the investors. Sustainability is our future, and as a result, we need to get on board sooner rather than later.