In her role, Ball will direct Bookkeep’s marketing and communication strategy. Her focus will be creating new campaigns that improve understanding and adoption of Bookkeep’s full suite of services. With more than 20 years of brand-building and marketing experience, Ball brings a deep understanding of the small business accounting landscape and will ensure Bookkeep’s solutions align with the urgent needs of bookkeepers and finance teams. 

A recognized leader in global influencer marketing and brand messaging, Ball will be instrumental in advancing awareness of Bookkeep’s leading revenue and sales tax automation platform. She most recently served as director of communications and partnerships at Liscio, after leading marketing and influencer relations, where she educated over 25,000 industry professionals annually about the new category of app.  Ball has vast experience strategizing, defining and leading influencer and ambassador programs to help accounting professionals grow their practices and more effectively serve clients.

Throughout her 16 years of leadership at Intuit, she led the most extensive and impactful influencer program of its kind in the fintech industry, expanding the Trainer/Writer Network, an elite group of Advanced Certified QuickBooks ProAdvisors, to six countries including the US, Canada, UK, Australia, India, and South Africa. Ball also led the rollout of QuickBooks Online to the UK accountant market, doubling the ProAdvisor Programme in 12 months.

Whitley Penn Announces New Partners

Whitley Penn, a full-service accounting firm with nine locations recently announced that eight individuals will be promoted to Partner effective January 1, 2024.

The new Partners include:

• Robert J. Allen – Forensic, Litigation & Valuation Services Partner
• Justin Dailey – Audit Partner
• Evan Green – Audit Partner
• Jeff Howard – Client Accounting & Advisory Services Energy Partner
• Jackson Jones – Audit Partner
• Emily Landry – Tax/Client Accounting & Advisory Services Partner
• Hudson Marx – Tax Partner
• Adam Menzer – Tax Partner

“We are proud of these talented professionals for reaching this career milestone,” stated Larry G. Autrey, Whitley Penn CEO & Managing Partner. “Their dedication to client service and focus on firm growth has been instrumental in our success. We congratulate and welcome them to the Whitley Penn Partnership.”

Hood & Strong Announces Audit Management Promotions

Hood & Strong LLP, a leading Northern California public accounting and business consulting firm, recently promoted three audit team members to new and expanded roles. The promotions are as follows:

• Matthew Corder, CPA, to Senior Audit Manager: Corder joined Hood & Strong in 2014 and currently oversees the audit process for closely-held businesses, nonprofit organizations and employee benefit plans. Corder received his accounting degree from Texas Christian University and holds an M.S. in Accounting from the University of Texas at Dallas.

• Emily Murphy, CPA, to Senior Audit Manager: Beginning her public accounting firm with Hood & Strong in 2013, Murphy oversees the audit process for closely held businesses and nonprofit organizations. She is a member of the American Institute of CPAs and the California Society of CPAs. Murphy earned a Business Management Economics degree from the University of California, Santa Cruz.

• Steven Martinez-Rice, CPA, to Audit Manager: Martinez-Rice joined Hood & Strong’s nationally recognized Not-for-Profit Service Group in 2018. He specializes in the nonprofit sector while also lending his expertise to commercial and employee benefit plan audit engagements. He earned his California CPA license in 2020, is a member of the American Institute of CPAs and holds a B.A. in Economics and Accounting from the University of California, Santa Barbara. He is currently a participant in the RSM US Alliance Breakthrough Leadership Institute.

FTI Consulting Announces New Real Estate Business Tax Advisory Leadership

FTI Consulting, Inc. (NYSE: FCN) recently announced the appointment of McRae Thompson as a Senior Managing Director and Leader of the Real Estate Tax Advisory Services offering within the firm’s Corporate Finance & Restructuring segment. In addition, Senior Managing Director Stephen Bertonaschi has been named Leader of Real Estate Tax Compliance Services.

Mr. Thompson, who is based in Atlanta, joins the firm with more than 20 years of real estate and tax consulting experience, including an extensive background in transactions and management consulting. He has advised some of the largest asset managers, private equity funds, public and private REITs, pension funds, insurance companies and other global investors in structuring billions of dollars of real estate transactions, including asset, portfolio and business acquisitions, dispositions and restructurings.

In his role at FTI Consulting, Mr. Thompson will provide tax planning guidance in a wide variety of complex areas, including real estate fund structuring, UBTI, FIRPTA, cross-border structuring, real estate transfer pricing, mergers and acquisitions, debt restructuring, due diligence, REIT qualifications and conversions, partnership tax and general tax consulting. Prior to joining the firm, Mr. Thompson was a Partner and the U.S. Central Real Estate Tax Market Segment Leader at EY. Before this, he held positions at Alvarez & Marsal and Deloitte.

In addition to Mr. Thompson’s appointment, Senior Managing Director Stephen Bertonaschi, based in Roseland, has been named Leader of the Real Estate Tax Compliance Services offering.

With 20 years of experience and a focus on institutionally owned real estate and private equity, Mr. Bertonaschi currently leads the practice’s REIT due diligence and compliance services.