Meet Our Partners and Principals

Graff, Ballauer & Blanski offers a highly-trained professional staff that works closely with clients from not only across the country, but also across a wide range of industries. Our professional experience reflects a strong understanding of the Internal Revenue Service, Illinois Department of Revenue, U.S. Department of Labor, Illinois Department of Financial Institutions, as well as various other Federal District Courts, Illinois Circuit Courts, the Illinois Commerce Commission as well as Arbitration Hearings.

Our partners bring, on average, more than 30 years of professional accounting expertise to the firm. They possess a keen understanding of the field through a strong and varied professional background with small, medium and large CPA firms. Our partners play an integral role with each and every one of our clients, from individuals and small family-owned businesses, to large multi-million dollar entities.

Michael Blanski, CPA, MST & Associate CFE
President

Michael has been a member of the firm for over 20 years, and its President for the past 11 years. He is in charge of certified audits, while also overseeing tax planning, research and review.

Michael is experienced in litigation support services having served numerous times as an expert witness. He works with closely held Corporations as well as the not-for-profit sector. In addition, his expertise also spans pension and welfare funds, as well as unions, where he has expedited and certified election results.

During his work as a CPA, Michael has concentrated on commercial and not-for-profit audits. His tax work has also included partnerships, personal, and consolidated corporate tax returns.

Michael received his Masters of Science in taxation from DePaul University, while also earning his B.S. from DePaul, where he was an Illinois State Scholarship recipient. He is a member of the Delta Sigma Pi, National Business Fraternity, the Illinois CPA Society, the American Institute of CPA’s, International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans and an Associate Member of the Chicago Chapter of Certified Fraud Examiners.

Jerold Graff, CPA & CFE

Jerry brings more than five decades of public accounting experience to the firm. He was a founding partner of the firm (1968), now a partner emeritus, as well as of counsel. Jerry earned both his A.B. and M.B.A. from the University of Chicago. During his education at the University of Chicago, he was elected to Beta Gamma Sigma, the national business school honors society.

Jerry has conducted numerous fraud audits for both the private and public (government) sectors. He is experienced with the Federal District Courts, Illinois Circuit Courts, Illinois Commerce Commission and Arbitration Hearings. Jerry has been a member of the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners for nearly 10 years. He is also a member of the American Institute of CPA’s, International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans and Institute of Management Accountants.

Manish Garg, CPA & CFE
Principal

After graduating from the University of New Delhi, Manish became a Chartered Accountant in India. Since joining the firm in 1999, Manish has focused on running and reviewing audits of small businesses, employee benefit plans and not-for-profit audits of the firm. He is a member of the Illinois CPA Society, the American Institute of CPA’s, and the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners.

Edward Skoczylas, CPA & CFE
Principal

Ed has been with the firm for over eight years. He manages the audit practice for the firm, while also using his expertise on the tax side. He has extensive experience related to auditing and reporting of labor organizations. Ed is a graduate of Illinois State University with a B.A. in Accounting. He is a member of the Illinois CPA Society and the American Institute of CPA’s. Ed was licensed as a Certified Fraud Examiner in 2003.