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Firm Profile
Call it philosophy, vision, or just the way we are: we serve each of our clients to the utmost of our ability, we treat our colleagues with respect, and we proudly support the communities in which we live.
Click around and get to know us a little better. If you think we look good on paper, wait until you meet us in real life.
The Executive Team
Earl Blackmon, CPA, CGMA
Shareholder & Strategic Consultant
Kolbe: 6-7-5-3
A successful LSS Greenbelt consultant, a Wealth Management Advisor, and 35+ as an accounting consultant to boot! Earl specializes in healthcare, retail & real estate industries. He enjoys camping with his wife, Lisa, visiting with his grandchildren, & watching sports - Go Jags! & Chop On!
Dennis E. Sherrin, CPA, CVA, CFF, CGMA
CEO & Strategic Consultant
Kolbe: 7-3-8-2
Dennis has spent 30+ years guiding businesses to achieve their goals (including ours!). He's a Kolbe Team Building Consultant & was recently tapped to sit on the Governing Council for AICPA because he's always looking to the future. Loves exploring the outdoors with his wife & dog.
Rachel G. Young, CPA, CGMA MAcc
Shareholder & Strategic Consultant
Kolbe: 8-7-2-3
Rachel is the Queen of governmental & nonprofit auditing, financial reporting regulation, and governance. She is a proven strategic planning advisor. Her free time is family time. She enjoys being with her husband, Josh, & their 2 children, Edy & Silas.
G. Allen Cave, Jr., CPA, CGMA
Shareholder & Strategic Consultant
Kolbe: 7-7-3-3
He's the voice of our podcast, Playing Above the Line. Oh and Allen also has 20+ years experience in developing complex tax compliance & planning strategies. Is an aspiring bar tender, a huge fan of visiting NYC & enjoys finding the best restaurants in whatever city he and his wife visit.
Of Counsel
Xavier Hartmann, III, CPA
A founder of the firm, Xavier paved the way for us to be here to serve you today. Now he occasionally offers consulting & litigation, but mostly prefers to spend his time in New Orleans eating good food and watching great sports.
Sally Wagner, CPA
A relationship expert and accounting whiz, Sally knows her way around a tax return & still occasionally shows off her skills while training younger staff. She loves meeting up with friends for dinner, working out at the Y, and traveling to see her niece in Texas.
Rucker Taylor, III,
CPA, CGMA, MAcc
Although his favorite place to be is in NC watching his son coach baseball, Rucker can occasionally be found helping our younger staff learn & grow into successful CPAs.
Our Team
Diane Anderson
Strategic Relationship Consultant
Kolbe: 9-6-3-2
Diane is here to get you rocking & rolling with the right team members to start reaching your goals. (Not-so) hidden talent? She's banking & capital expert. Speaking of rock & roll... she and her husband love going to concerts & traveling to Napa and/or Lake Tahoe.
Crissy Bonifay
Payroll Specialist
Kolbe: 7-7-3-3
Crissy has been with our firm for 22+ years. She's developed an expertise in payroll and now offers those services and advice to clients. A Mardi Gras enthusiast, Crissy is one of the original founders of the Mystics of the Bay Krewe. She also loves reading, watching The Walking Dead and Supernatural, and hanging out with her family.
Tammy Busby, CPA, CGMA
TACS Director
Kolbe: 8-7-3-2
She says accounting has little to do with math, a lot to do with problem-solving, communication, & a bit of mind-reading. Clairvoyant skills aside, Tammy is a true tax genius with specializations in estate planning & retail. Outside of work, she spends time with her family & their pups.
Lisa Carter
Billing Specialist
Kolbe: 7-8-1-5
11+ years in customer service & now a billing & collections specialist, Lisa is beloved by our clients (especially in the Foley location). Depending on the season, you'll find her at the beach, watching Crimson Tide football, or just hanging out with her husband & their 3 dogs.
Corey Childress, CPA
Analyst
Kolbe: 6-5-2-8
A jack-of-all-trades, Corey is contributing in audit, tax, & CAS departments as he learns more about businesses & the best ways to offer guidance. He's talented in auditing & specializes in our nonprofit sector. Corey enjoys spending time outside hunting & fishing.
Taylor Clinkenbeard (almost CPA)
Senior Analyst
Kolbe: 6-7-2-6
Taylor has a unique aptitude for identifying trends in numbers. Maybe that's why she's so great at training clients who want to understand cloud software. Some of her favorite activities include going to the beach, being outside, & Netflix binging.
Carly Corte, MAcc
Senior Analyst
Kolbe: 7-8-2-3
Carly excels at performing internal control analysis, audits, compilations and reviews for small companies, government agencies, 401k’s and not for profit organizations. She loves cats, pickles, going to the beach, & watching Crimson Tide football.
Amanda Green
Customer Service Specialist
Kolbe: 6-6-4-4
16 years ago, Amanda started right in the middle of a tax season and decided to stick around. That was lucky for us! She makes sure your problems are resolved while providing support to our team. She enjoys spending time with her son, Wesley, & volunteering with the Fairhope Fire Explorer Post 5058 program.
Melissa Harber
Customer Service Specialist
Kolbe: *-*-*-*
One of the newest members of our team, Missy is a dynamic addition who splits her week as a customer service specialist between Foley and Fairhope as well as lending a helping hand to our payroll department. Missy loves spending time with her family and friends.
Josh Jensen, CPA
Strategic Analyst
Kolbe: 8-5-3-3
A remote employee working in Mississippi since 2007, Josh perfected the WFH model long ago. His expertise serves business clients in tax preparation, and compiled and review financial statement preparation with a primary focus in construction. Josh enjoys traveling, Saints football, golfing & being with his family.
Becky Jones, CB
Senior Accounting Specialist
Kolbe: 7-7-4-3
The CB behind her name stands for Certified Bookkeeper. Her expertise runs deep and as a Certified QBO Advisor she also provides training for clients who would like to understand and use Quickbooks Online. Becky enjoys being with her husband, going to the beach, and shopping (specifically for shoes!).
Cheri Kriner
Director of Internal Strategy
Kolbe: 7-7-2-5
Cheri performs the vital tasks that keep every single person here operating from day-to-day. This ranges from developing & implementing firm policies to feeding our company Kitty. When not at work, you won't find Cheri "hanging out" - she'll be outside kayaking, biking with the Slow Bicycle Society (yes, that actually exists), hiking, or volunteering for the Mobile Symphony Orchestra.
Hayley Lowe
Analyst
Kolbe: 4-2-9-4
Heather Mattingly
Customer Service Specialist
Kolbe: 6-8-2-3
Working from Birmingham, Heather assists with a huge range of tasks from client communication, to being a project manager for some of our many internal initiatives, and even managing TaxCaddy. She loves being with her fiancé, her kitties, and growing orchids.
Karen McKinney
Strategic Advisor
Kolbe: 8-6-3-3
With 30+ years of accounting experience, Karen's expertise lies in navigating complex business tax compliance and planning for healthcare, retail, and construction entities. She and her husband, Jim, are members of the Lake Forest Yacht Club and they love Mardi Gras and spending time with family and friends.
Jacky McLain
Senior Accounting Specialist
Kolbe: 7-8-3-3
Jacky is an expert at preparing financial statements and enjoys researching tough issues for business owners. She loves to express her creativity through making stained glass pieces and crocheting. She & her husband, Mike, enjoy being with their 6 grandchildren and 1 dog, Chloe.
Shelby Pate
Customer Service Specialist
Kolbe: 5-7-7-2
A true relationship-builder, Shelby adores the clients she works with. She takes time to get to know you and make sure you’re taken care of every time you come to visit. She is also a lover of exotic birds and is a volunteer board member for both CACC vet tech advisory board and for the South Alabama’s Cage Bird Society.
Marian Pekelder, CPA
Strategic Advisor
Kolbe: 8-3-6-2
Business owners can rely on Marian for answering your questions with practical, well-researched advice. Around the firm, everyone knows she can whip up a response to an IRS notice in her sleep. You’ll often find her working in her yard, camping with friends, or tending to her horses, cats, and dogs.
Kim Pendley
Senior Analyst
Kolbe: 8-8-2-3
If you’re a business owner and your books are a mess – Kim can fix it. She has 25+ years of experience in nonprofit & governmental accounting and financial reporting as well as individual taxation (specifically LLCs or rental property). She enjoys spending time with her family and her dog, Cocoa. She is a big fan of Nebraska Huskers football and loves to watch most sports – including football, basketball, baseball, and WWE.
Jill Rector
Billing Specialist Lead
Kolbe: 7-4-4-3
Dedicated to continuous improvement, Jill is always listening to client and employee feedback to make our billing process as efficient as possible. As a remote employee she resides in Destin, Florida with her husband and grandson. Jill has a lot of fun remodeling furniture, watching Alabama football, and going to church.
Kirsten Robertson
Senior Analyst
Kolbe: 9-5-3-2
As an auditor, throughout the year Kirsten meets with clients to assist with their annual audit and address any concerns they have. As a mentor, Kirsten is very involved with our interns to assist with their training and coaching during their time with our company. She likes to boat, fish and hunt. When not outside, you’ll find her hanging out at home with her 2 dogs and 1 cat.
Katelyn Thigpen, CPA
Strategic Analyst
KOLBE: 7-7-4-3
Talk about a range of talent - Katelyn has a passion for small business tax planning, she's a not-for-profit guru, and she's the mastermind of our on boarding/training programs. As if that isn't enough, she prioritizes family over all else and still finds time to bake, craft, & solves puzzles.
Erann Thompson
Director of Advisory Services
Kolbe: 8-7-2-3
Erann works side-by-side with business owners to find the right combination of accounting cloud applications to develop efficiencies & profitability for your business. Erann and her husband, Justin, live in Foley with their son, Alex, and nephew, Jackson. Together, they all enjoy boating, fishing, and anything on the water.
Treya Tindal, CPA
Senior Analyst
Kolbe: 7-6-4-4
Treya is passionate about continuing her education to better serve our clients. She recently passed an exam to earn an Intermediate Employee Benefit Plan Certificate from the AICPA. She's an auditor, but don’t be fooled by all her audit talk – Treya knows her way around a tax return too & is a pro at entity preparation and planning. She and her husband, Stephen, enjoy time with their children, Ellie and Levi.
Chris VanArsdale
Strategic Analyst
Kolbe: 8-5-4-2
Chris maintains expertise in litigation support, international taxation, and complex entity and fiduciary taxation services. He is an avid fan of the Atlanta Braves, New Orleans Saints, and South Alabama Jaguars. He also enjoys traveling, especially if the destination has a brewery... or three.
Kari Wolfe
Creative Content Director
Kolbe: 5-7-6-3
Designer of websites & visuals, taker of photos, editor of blogs, podcasts & videos - Kari works to expand your awareness of Avizo's capabilities. She loves to travel, taste wine, and do yoga - but her very favorite thing to do is to spoil her dog, Dansby.
Kitty
Employee Entrance Greeter
We don't know where she came from or why she stayed, but Kitty contributes by making us happy as we enter and exit the Fairhope office. If given free reign, she wants to hang out with her favorites. You'll find her sleeping in Dennis's office, meowing at Marian, or getting treats from Cheri, Carly, or Kirsten.
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