Contributors

Dialy Otero , CPA | Partner

Dialy M. Otero is a Partner in the Tax Advisory practice of BDO in Puerto Rico, a Certified Public Accountant with over 20 years of experience in public accounting delivering tax compliance and tax advisory  services to local and international clients.

She specializes on advising individual investors and businesses that seek to relocate to Puerto Rico under Tax Incentives Laws 60, 20, 22 and others. During the last 8 years, Dialy has been dedicated to assist clients in designing optimum Puerto Rico tax structures and obtaining tax exemption decrees. She works with clients during all phases of their transition to Puerto Rico from planning to implementation and continues to collaborate thereafter as a trusted tax advisor with her vast experience in United States and Puerto Rico tax matters.

Dialy manages a wide range of engagements assisting clients with negotiation of tax exemption decrees, inbound tax planning, tax incentives modeling, exit strategies and many other tax services. 

Dialy works closely with the Department of the Economic Development and Commerce, the Puerto Rico Treasury Department and the Office of the Commissioner of Financial Institutions promoting the Puerto Rico tax incentives laws. In addition, Dialy has worked with many clients in tax due diligence, business acquisitions, income tax provisions, tax compliance and have successfully represented clients during audits and tax examinations.

Prior to joining BDO, Mrs. Otero worked in the Tax Department of the global firm Deloitte where she worked with international companies and expatriates.

Guardin Sosa, Esq. | Manager, Tax Advisory Services

Guardin is a Manager in the Tax Advisory practice of BDO in Puerto Rico with more than 16 years of experience in public accounting in both international and local firms. Mr. Sosa has multi-industry experience working within Communications, Distribution, Education, Financial Services, Government, Healthcare, Insurance, Hospitality, Manufacturing, Natural Resources, Non-Profit, Real Estate and Retail sectors.

Guardin’s experience includes preparation and review of Puerto Rico, Federal, and State Tax returns for both corporate and individual clients, as well as, for estates, trusts, partnerships and other types of entities. He has been engaged in numerous and diverse assignments on matters ranging from structuring mergers and acquisitions, negotiation of tax decrees, design of current and deferred compensation plans for key executives, asset protection plans, tax accounting and FIN 48 risk analysis, among others. Recently he has supported multiple client teams with advisory on planning, implementation and compliance in the context of the Puerto Rico and Federal tax reforms.

Mr. Sosa joined BDO as part of our Assurance Services Division where he conducted financial statements audits, agreed upon procedures, regulatory compliance audits and business advisory services for private and public organizations. Guardin is a member of the Puerto Rico Bar Association and served in the Board of Directors for the Puerto Rican Notarial Institute.

Patricia Wangen , CPA | Partner

Mrs. Wangen is currently a Shareholder of the Tax Division at BDO in Puerto Rico, P.S.C.  She has over 20 years of public accounting experience gained in both international and local accounting firms. 

During her years of experience, Mrs. Wangen has been responsible for the preparation of PR, Federal, and State Tax returns for both corporate and individual clients, as well as, for estates, trusts, partnerships and other types of entities. Mrs. Wangen has provided services for many industries, such as banking, distribution, manufacturing, construction, education, real estate, retail, waste disposal, insurance, non-profit, and services.

Prior to joining BDO, Mrs. Wangen was a Tax Manager at PricewaterhouseCoopers (“PwC”) where she worked in both the Audit and Tax Departments for 8 years, acquiring expertise in corporate taxes for industries such as, distribution, banking, retail, telecommunications, and insurance. 

Nelson R. Maldonado , CPA, MST | Director Tax Advisory Services

Nelson joined BDO with more than 14 years of experience as tax practitioner gained in both public accounting firm and government settings. He is a Certified Public Accountant with substantial background on tax laws and economic incentives acts. His experience includes serving clients in Puerto Rico and the United States.

Nelson has managed and performed tax and advisory services in the areas of corporate and individual tax compliance, tax consulting, tax planning, corporate income tax provisions, tax due diligence for mergers and acquisitions, economic incentives grants, among others.

Nelson has profound technical knowledge in the Puerto Rico Tax Reform. He has been a frequent speaker on this topic for the Puerto Rico Society of Certified Public Accountants. He has also taught seminars on business and individual taxation, informative returns and withholding requirements, the Puerto Rico Incentives Code, among other topics.

Prior to joining BDO, Nelson served as Deputy Assistant Secretary for Internal Revenue and Tax Policy Areas at the Puerto Rico Treasury Department. From that position, he was responsible for the administration of the Internal Revenue Code of Puerto Rico as well as serving as advisor to the Secretary of the Treasury. Nelson was directly involved in the conceptualization and implementation of Puerto Rico tax laws and economic incentive acts, including the Puerto Rico Tax Reform (Act No. 257-2018) and the Puerto Rico Incentives Code (Act No. 60-2019). Also, he was responsible for review and approval of technical matters, such as rulings, regulations, closing agreements and tax exemption grants. Before joining the Puerto Rico Treasury Department, Nelson was a Tax Manager at Ernst & Young where he worked for over 8 years on tax compliance and consulting services for multinational and local clients.

PROFESSIONAL AFFILIATIONS

American Institute of Certified Public Accountants

Puerto Rico Society of Certified Public Accountants

Tax Committee of the Puerto Rico Manufacturing Association

Tax Committee of the Puerto Rico Society of Certified Public Accountants

EDUCATION

B.B.A. in Accounting, University of Puerto Rico, Magna Cum Laude

Master of Science in Taxation, Northeaster University

Alina Rivera , CA, CFE, CGMA, CIRA, CPA, CVA, MAFF, MBA | Partner

Alina Rivera is a Partner in the Business Advisory practice at BDO in Puerto Rico, P.S.C. with more than fifteen (15) years working in public accounting in advisory and assurance departments. Mrs. Rivera specializes in forensic accounting, business valuations, and transfer pricing benchmarking analysis for planning and compliance purposes. She also provides other consulting services such as internal audit, due diligences, capital raise, and feasibility analysis, among other services.

Alina has managed a wide range of forensic accounting engagements assisting clients with different types of litigation support and fraud prevention and investigation projects.  Her litigation support experience includes managing assignments regarding accounting and financial matters such as loss of income analysis, commercial damages, losses under Act 75 and 21, breach of contracts, marital dissolution (child support determination and liquidation of marital estate), contract disputes, and business interruption claims. She has led investigations of alleged fraud schemes in private and governmental entities.  Alina has directed and coordinated internal audits for universities and governmental entities as well. Also, she has performed risk assessments to identify key entity-level and process-level business risks and controls. 

Mrs. Rivera was recognized as one of the 2014 40 Under 40 Honorees of the National Association of Certified Valuators and Analysts (“NACVA”) and the Consultants’ Training Institute (CTI). As member of NACVA/CTI, Alina was co-chair of their 2015 Annual Conference and member of the 2016 Annual Conference Planning Committee, as well as member of their International Business Valuation Body of Knowledge Task Force, Course Review Committee. Alina was a member of the Valuation Credentialing Board until May 2018 when she was elected to the Executive Advisory Board in a three-years term.

Mrs. Rivera is an adjunct professor at the Metropolitan University of Puerto Rico.  She has taught undergraduate accounting courses such as financial accounting, intermediate and advance accounting, managerial accounting, audit, among others.

Gaby Hernandez , CPA | Partner

Gabriel Hernández is a leader, entrepreneur and expert in providing tax consulting services to clients in the US mainland and Puerto Rico, including structuring mergers, acquisitions, and outbound and inbound investments. In the past five years, he has developed the largest consulting practice that has provided support to more than 500 Individuals and corporations to establish themselves and their companies in the island under Puerto Rico Tax Incentive Laws.

He is the Head of the Tax Division at BDO Puerto Rico, the largest local CPA firm in Puerto Rico, serving a portfolio of more than 2,000 clients through a talented group of 14 partners and close to 200 professionals. Hernández is also the Head of Tax for the Caribbean for BDO International, the 5th largest global accounting firm with more than 1,400 offices and 67,000 employees throughout the world.

Hernández has substantial experience in assisting clients in negotiating tax exemption packages under the various tax incentive laws available in Puerto Rico. He also has taken an important role in the island’s economic development efforts as evidenced in his direct efforts in forming the Action Tank “Puerto Rico is the Answer”, and the MIT Regional Entrepreneurship Acceleration Program, Puerto Rico cohort. 

Prior to founding BDO Puerto Rico, he worked in the Tax Department of global firms PwC, Arthur Andersen and Ernst & Young.

He has been a member of the Puerto Rico State Society of Certified Public Accountants since 1990 and the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants since 1998. He is also a member of the Board of Trustees of St. John’s School and the Executive Advisory Committee of the Puerto Rico Chapter of the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. His recognitions include the Sales and Marketing Executive (SME) Association 2018 Top Management award.

Gabriel Hernández is a Certified Public Accountant and graduate of the University of Puerto Rico with a Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration (Magna Cum Laude).

Aida Escribano , CFE, CIRA, CPA | Partner