Raymond DeVasto is the founder and president of DeVasto Advisory, Ltd., an independent consulting firm that provides financial planning, income tax compliance and related advisory services to closely-held businesses, development stage enterprises and individuals/families.
Ray is a Certified Public Accountant, Certified Financial Planner and Certified QuickBooks Pro Advisor.
In 1981, Ray received a Bachelor of Science degree in Finance from the Boston College Wallace E. Carroll School of Management. In 1988, he completed the Certified Financial Planner Professional Education Program through the College for Financial Planning.
Ray has over thirty years of experience as a financial, business and tax advisor, including six years in the fields of public accounting and personal financial planning prior to establishing DeVasto Advisory, Ltd. During this time he has developed an in-depth understanding of the opportunities, risks and challenges confronting business ventures and entrepreneurs.
He also has extensive experience in the design and implementation of management accounting and financial reporting systems. As mentioned above, he is a Certified QuickBooks Pro Advisor, and has worked with a variety of accounting and financial software application programs during his career.
Through business plan development, Ray has demonstrated the ability to synthesize and articulate a company's vision and quantify that vision through financial modeling. This creates an integrated and cohesive story which can be an effective tool for internal management purposes, as well as in the context of working with external entities (i.e., fund raising, M&A, strategic alliances, etc.).
Ray has an affinity for working with new ventures and is adept at advising startups with regard to the myriad of financial issues that must be addressed in order to properly establish, capitalize and manage a successful enterprise (i.e., business planning, modeling and forecasting, choice of operating entity, tax elections, acquisitioon of financing, setup of internal accounting systems, etc.).
He has assisted in guiding businesses in various industries, including high tech, through this crucial start-up phase. In addition, he has helped mature companies address their own unique financial management issues. Often this requires the ability to effectuate substantive change in a way that respects the culture and the individuals of the organization.
Ray is a former member of the adjunct financial planning faculty of Merrimack College and was a personal finance instructor for O/E Learning, Inc., a corporate financial educator.
He co-produced and co-hosted "Not About the Money", a weekly Boston-based financial/business radio program.
Ray was also a member of the board of incorporators of The Italian Home for Children, a Boston-based resource for children and families in crisis.