AGE:35
POSITION: Principal, director of technology and assurance services, Sparrow, Johnson & Ursillo Inc.
RESIDENCE: Wakefield
LIFELONG AMBITION: To be a good father
FAVORITE BOOK: “Green Eggs and Ham,” by Dr. Seuss
GUILTY PLEASURE: Sport motorcycle track days
Steven J. Ursillo Jr. started out as just a regular accountant. Fresh out of Bryant University in 1994, he took a job as a staff accountant at the firm where he had interned while in school, performing financial audits, reviews, compilations and fraud investigations and preparing tax returns, among other routine tasks.
But he was also technologically savvy, and from the start, he was enlisted as the firm’s systems administrator. Soon he was also focusing on IT in his work, specializing in information security.
In 1996, he attended the first InfraGard conference in Cleveland, which aimed to create an alliance and share information between private information security professionals and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Ursillo capitalized on the opportunity to build a new skill set around internal controls and technology, and he started a new unit, the technology and assurance service department, which became the firm’s fastest-growing division.
In 1999 and 2000, Ursillo also provided subcontracting services to ACL Services Ltd., one of the leading software providers for data analysis, control compliance, regulatory compliance and fraud detection, becoming a certified ACL instructor.
Beyond developing his expertise in the office, Ursillo has gotten involved in the Rhode Island Society of CPAs, serving as a board member and chairing the technology committee at one point. He is also a past president and board member of the Rhode Island Certified Fraud Examiners Chapter 33, which in 2004 named him Speaker of the Year for his presentations and live hacking demonstrations.
Now a principal at the firm where he’s spent his whole career, Ursillo also keeps busy outside of work. He calls fatherhood his “most notable accomplishment” – he and his wife, Julie, have a 2-year-old son and a 1-year-old daughter. And he enjoys many sports.
He’s particularly dedicated to the martial arts, which he has studied for 23 years. He has a second-degree black belt, teaches children, and is an officer of the East Coast Tae Kwon Do Association.
