Dave Nielsen, CPA, Principal

Dave brings 13 years of experience to Maner’s audit department. Named to the principal group in 2019, he manages audit engagements for various clients in the manufacturing, agriculture, nonprofit and education industries. Additionally, he serves as the firm’s Director of Quality Control and conducts peer reviews of other CPA firms. Actively involved in Maner’s Small and Midsize Business team, Dave also writes thought leadership articles and serves as a resource to staff on a variety of audit and peer review issues.

Passionate about helping staff grow in their roles and abilities, Dave is a member of the firm’s Career Development committee and has played a critical role in crafting a framework to help guide professional development of Maner’s staff. Prior joining Maner, Dave interned at BDO, where he gathered valuable experience in the firm’s internal accounting department.

Dave attributes “back-date planning” as key to his success at Maner, always starting from the deadline of a project to build realistic and actionable plans to meet goals and deadlines. He credits Maner’s former managing partner, Bruce Dunn, as a big professional influence who helped him hone his planning skills.

A natural problem-solver, Dave is driven to help clients and colleagues alike solve problems. Seeing their reaction when the problem is resolved or the issue is identified is what continues to drive him to learn and grow.

A fan of golf and spending time at his cottage on Houghton Lake, Dave is a self-taught guitarist. He and his wife, Leslie, both CPAs, met as young staffers at Maner Costerisan. The pair reside in Dewitt, Michigan with their son (Sam), daughter (Mackenzie Joy), and two cats, Jack and Josie.

I grew up with a fascination for numbers and was always able to see "the picture.” Numbers just made sense to me. When I discovered I could combine helping people solve their problems, with my affinity for numbers, my career choice was a no brainer.