Contingent upon completing a few more standard hiring procedures, such as a medical exam, Wareham will have a permanent town accountant on the payroll in the very near future.

The Board of Selectmen ratified the appointment of Brian Howard Kudish, a lawyer and certified public accountant, at a salary of $81,571 during its May 15 meeting. The vote was 4-0-1, with Selectman Alan Slavin abstaining from the vote.

Interim Town Administrator John Foster made the appointment last Monday, May 7, but needed ratification by the Selectmen in order to authorize the decision.

Kudish has a Bachelor of Science in Accounting from Bentley University and a Juris Doctor from Suffolk University Law School.

Kudish has worked as a tax consultant for PricewaterhouseCoopers, as a financial analyst and project manager for 3Com Corporation, and as a senior auditor for the firm Lefkowitz, Garfinkel, Champi and DeRienzo, based in Providence, R.I.

"I would say he is extremely talented in the accounting field," Foster told the Selectmen during a May 8 meeting.

The town has been without a permanent town accountant since April 2011 when former Town Accountant Elizabeth Zaleski was fired after a draft financial audit revealed a $919,000 discrepancy in the town's books. The discrepancy was later determined to be caused by incorrect entries into the town's accounting system and lack of proper accounting procedures.

After appealing the dismissal and reaching a $42,500 settlement agreement, Zaleski was reinstated but agreed to immediately resign her post. She now serves as Raynham's town accountant.