About James

James Powers is an audit director in Marcum’s Wakefield, MA office. He has over 40 years of municipal audit experience which began as an accountant with the City of Boston’s Auditor’s Office in 1978.

Mr. Powers has dedicated his career to helping Massachusetts cities and towns improve their auditing, accounting, and financial reporting. Over the years, he has volunteered his time to conduct over 300 seminars for the Massachusetts financial community on a variety of accounting and auditing subjects. He oversees over 35 Annual Comprehensive Financial Reports (ACFR) annually.

Prior to joining Marcum, Mr. Powers was an audit manager with Touche Ross, now Deloitte. In April of 1987 he founded the certified public accounting firm of Powers & Company. In 1989, Richard Sullivan joined Jim to form Powers & Sullivan. Mr. Powers was a partner at Powers & Sullivan, LLC in Wakefield, MA and joined Marcum with a 2024 merger.

Professional & Civic Affiliations

  • American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA)
  • Massachusetts Society of Certified Public Accountants (MassCPAs), Former Board of Directors & Governmental Auditing and Accounting Committee Chairperson
  • Massachusetts Government Finance Officers Association (MGFOA)
  • Government Finance Officers Association
Industry Focus

Government

Education

Bachelor of Science, Accounting
UMass Lowell