SWAMPSCOTT — The Select Board appointed Eric Kinsherf as the temporary Town Accountant by a unanimous vote during the board meeting Tuesday evening.
Kinsherf and his firm will be working closely with Town Hall while the Town seeks a full-time accountant to fill the position, a role in municipal government that Kinsherf’s firm — Eric A. Kinsherf, CPA LLC — has similarly played throughout the Commonwealth since 2008, Kinsherf explained.
“I’m looking forward to working with the Town as they make their transition into finding a new Town Accountant,” Kinsherf said when he spoke with The Daily Item.
Kinsherf is a Certified Public Accountant licensed in Massachusetts, with qualifications including an MBA from Suffolk University and a Bachelor of Science degree with a concentration in accounting from Bridgewater State College.
He’s also a Certified Massachusetts Municipal Treasurer and Collector as designated by the Massachusetts Collectors and Treasurers Association, as well as a Chartered Global Management Accountant as designated by the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, according to the firm’s website.
“We’re short in the accountant department, so we’re bringing on board Eric Kinsherf, CPA LLC. … He is responsive and provides total financial services to individuals, businesses and municipalities,” Interim Town Administrator Gino Cresta said. “This will be (the) third time that Swampscott has enlisted Eric’s accountant support services while transitioning into a new town accountant.”
Cresta said he has the utmost confidence in Kinsherf.
“Eric (Kinsherf)’s scope includes closing the books, preparing the combined balance sheet for the submission of free cash, assisting and completing the FY26 tax rate recap, and completing the schedule A report,” Cresta said.
Select Board Vice Chair Doug Thompson asked for clarification on if Kinsherf’s scope only entails part of a Town Accountant’s responsibilities.
Cresta said the Town will require additional services because it didn’t anticipate losing the Assistant Town Accountant.
“Since we signed the contract with them, we’re going to need to have additional services, because when we signed it, we didn’t anticipate losing the assistant accountant,” Cresta said. “We’re looking to bring on board somebody that will be in the day-to-day basis,” Cresta said.
He confirmed that the firm will have an employee, Senior Project Manager Bill Rowe, in Town Hall assisting in the day-to-day operations.
“I know we had talked about a transition audit, and when we had talked about the scope of the audit and funded it through Town Meeting, that perhaps we were using that individual to do that, but I don’t know if that’s still appropriate now,” Chair Katie Phelan said. “Do we have an answer as to that, or should we be putting that back out to bid?”
Cresta said he’ll circle back with Kinsherf to determine if there is a conflict of interest.
