Francine Cornaglia, CPA/PFS
Founder and Senior Tax Consultant
In a time when few women were business owners or CPAs, here is how I started.
My CPA career began at the accounting firm now known as KPMG, working in both the New York City and Boston offices. I moved to Connecticut for personal and professional reasons where I was an internal auditor for The Stanley Works. This was a job where they sent me to exciting places like France, Italy, and New Zealand, and less exciting places like York, PA.
During this time, I found an ad: house for sale $5000 - must be moved and fully restored. This unlikely project (where I acted as general contractor) introduced me to wonderful tradesmen and future friends and neighbors in the charming village of Chester.
Wanting to work closer to home, I jumped at the opportunity to become controller of a publicly held company’s Old Saybrook division. When that company was sold, it went private and the executive team, including yours truly, was replaced.
Losing that job was one of the best things that ever happened to me. I founded my own CPA tax practice. I was in the vanguard of using a home office to save time and to provide a personal connection with my clients. Business was growing and I needed more room.
On our first date, my future husband, Mark Borton, designed a gorgeous home office addition where I still work and meet with clients. We still live in the 1845 house where we raised our daughter, Rebecca.
Many years later, my son-in-law Timothy Richardson made the leap from investment management to tax and joined me, forming Greenspace Financial. After five years working together, he purchased the tax practice. I am now happily letting him take on the heavy lifting during tax season! We were so successful my daughter, Rebecca Borton, joined the firm to take on the financial services division. I’m thrilled to see my clients – friends and neighbors of many decades - being taken care of by the next generation of my family.
Now I have more time for sailing, horseback riding, skiing, hiking and baking. I’m studying Italian and French, and met our wonderful Operations Manager Kristine at a class dinner!