John Beale, Post-Gazette F. Jeffrey Kovacs is director of quality control at accounting firm Alpern Rosenthal. He's photographed at the firm's offices in Heinz 57 Center. Click photo for larger image.

F. Jeffrey Kovacs -- the F. stands for Frank, his father's name, so he goes by Jeffrey -- pays attention to the ongoing trial of Enron's former top executives on fraud and conspiracy charges probably more than your average accountant.

Mr. Kovacs, 43, is director of quality control at Downtown accounting firm Alpern Rosenthal, where his primary role is to monitor the firm's work for accuracy and proper disclosures and to keep staff up to date on changes in accounting industry rules and standards.

After Enron and other financial scandals such as WorldCom, Tyco and Adelphia put the industry under much deeper scrutiny, "We have to comply and go beyond compliance," said Mr. Kovacs. "The public has lost confidence in the expectation of what they thought auditors should do. The acts of a few have tainted" the entire industry.

Alpern Rosenthal, located on Sixth Avenue in the Heinz 57 Center -- formerly known as the Gimbels Building -- specializes in tax services for mid- to large-sized privately held companies but keeps its staff and clients briefed on the rules of public accounting reform and corporate governance established by the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002.

The federal guidelines "have been a huge opportunity for us to get our clients refocused on controls, reporting and corporate governance even though they are privately owned. Our more sophisticated and enlightened clients get the importance of that," said Mr. Kovacs.

"Enron has so many lessons to be learned. I look forward to the book." -- F. Jeffrey Kovacs

He has been most intrigued by the Enron trial, now under way in Houston, during former executives' testimony about details of the accounting schemes they set up to hide the company's problems.

"I'm most interested in how they went about it ... if a fraud was perpetrated. For example, when [former Chief Financial Officer] Andrew Fastow testified about a partnership used to funnel profits away from Enron. His actions have translated to new accounting rules.

"Enron has so many lessons to be learned. I look forward to the book."

Mr. Kovacs joined Alpern Rosenthal in December to take over the job previously held by Edward Rockman, a 25-year veteran of the firm who continues to work there several days a week.

"Filling the shoes of Ed Rockman is a daunting task, but it's exciting to take that challenge," said Mr. Kovacs.

While Mr. Rockman focused 100 percent of his time on quality control, Mr. Kovacs wants to work with clients, too.

"If I don't have client interaction, I don't always see what's actually happening. I don't want to be isolated."

Mr. Kovacs grew up in West Mifflin and spent his summers during high school and college working the games at Kennywood Park. The job was close to home and also helped him pay tuition at Penn State University, where he graduated with an accounting degree in 1985.

F. Jeffrey Kovacs

Job: Director of quality control, Alpern Rosenthal Age: 43 Hometown: West Mifflin; now resides in Peters Education: Bachelor's, accounting, Penn State University, 1985 Career: 1985-86: staff accountant, Marathon Oil, Findlay, Ohio; 1986-88: senior accountant, Iwanyshyn-Kesich, Pittsburgh; 1988-90: senior accountant, Schneider Downs, Pittsburgh; 1990-96: manager, Schneider Downs, Columbus, Ohio; 1996-2001: partner, Schneider Downs, Columbus, Ohio; 2001-02: partner, GBQ Partners, Columbus, Ohio; 2002-05: partner, Goldenberg Rosenthal, Philadelphia; Dec. 2005-present: shareholder and director of quality control, Alpern Rosenthal, Pittsburgh.

Fresh out of school, he joined USX Corp., which sent him to Findlay, Ohio, as a staff accountant at its Marathon Oil business. He returned to Pittsburgh in 1986 and joined a small accounting firm on the North Side, Iwanyshyn Kesich.

Two years later, he joined Schneider Downs in Pittsburgh and eventually became manager and partner of that firm's Columbus, Ohio, office. He left Schneider Downs in 2001 for a brief stint at another Columbus firm, then relocated to Philadelphia in 2002 to become a partner at Goldenberg Rosenthal.

"Pittsburgh was not on the radar screen" when he got the call last year to consider a position at Alpern Rosenthal, Mr. Kovacs said.

"I loved Philadelphia and working at my firm. I wanted to be on the East Coast with access to bigger cities. I loved having clients in midtown Manhattan."

But he also liked the idea of raising his three children closer to family.

"The time was right to come here."

Alpern Rosenthal employs 183, including a professional staff of 149 accountants, attorneys and consultants.

During the current crunch leading up to April 15, Mr. Kovacs "spends a lot of time fact-finding ... and interpreting rules" to assist the staff.

Even though the firm is "obsessed with quality and excellence," it has found ways to help employees relax and relieve stress during the buildup to the April 15 tax deadline, he said.

Though many staffers work most Saturdays from January to mid-April, the firm was closed on Saturday, March 11, which coincided with St. Patrick's Day Parade festivities throughout the Golden Triangle. "If our workers were Downtown, they weren't here."

Yesterday, the firm offered employees lessons with representatives of the Arthur Murray Dance Studios to give them a break from tax returns.

Mr. Kovacs tries to maintain his own balance between work and personal life by spending time with his family. "I run from soccer to basketball to baseball practice and coach when I can."