Benito of Armao named a "40 Under 40" recipient by Long Island Business News

Aleeta Benito, an audit manager at Garden City-based Armao LLP, has been named a recipient of a "40 Under 40" award for 2014 by Long Island Business News. The awards gala was held on January 30th, at the Crest Hollow Country Club. Since 1998, Long Island Business News has taken nominations for outstanding members of the business community on Long Island who are under the age of 40. These future leaders of Long Island have already begun to distinguish themselves in business, government, education and the not for profit sector. They have a proven track record of career success, are involved in mentoring and promoting their profession and find time to give back to their communities. Benito is a native of Guyana who immigrated at age 11 with her family to the U.S. They settled in Middle Village, Queens, where she became valedictorian of her middle school and graduated in the top 2% of her high school class. At Baruch College, she majored in Marketing, minored in English and received her bachelor's degree in Business Administration, which included taking courses in accounting. Following the inspiration and prodding of Professor Godfrey Bloch, Benito went on to earn a master's of science degree in Accountancy, also at Baruch. She is now half-way through her CPA exams. Aleeta began her accounting career in 2007 at the predecessor firm Armao, Costa & Ricciardi, CPAs, P.C., beginning as a junior accountant and rising to the position of senior accountant. With the formation of Armao LLP as of July 1, 2013, Aleeta was promoted to audit manager with the ensuing level of responsibility. She specializes in auditing, financial reporting and government reporting as it pertains to labor unions, Taft-Hartley Multi-Employer Benefit Plans and non-profit organizations. Aleeta serves as a mentor to high school seniors in her community, where she counsels them to do what they want, but to always have something secondary that would be a more stable profession to fall back on. "I stress the value of education to those I mentor and the need for them to be responsible for their decisions," she said.