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IN MEMORIAMCharles E. KeysLong BeachDied June 14, 2020M I S S I S S I P P I S O C I E T Y O F C E R T I F I E D P U B L I C A C C O U N TA N T SVOLUME XLIVSEPTEMBER 2020Education Foundation Announces 2020 Scholarship WinnersGraduate ScholarshipsDerrel Joel Bilsky Jesslyn Claire Brewer Kathryn Elisabeth ByarsDelta State UniversityRalph F. Neely ScholarshipMS State UniversityMillsaps CollegeTineisha HayesJackson State UniversityScarlett HodgesMississippi CollegeEdward A. DeMiller, Jr.ScholarshipKayla Jo MartinUniv. of Southern MSGary Thornton MemorialScholarshipElla Jayne StoneUniversity of MississippiRhyne E. NeubertScholarshipMSCPA LaunchesNew Member ForumUndergraduate Scholarshipsconnect.ms-cpa.orgHunter ReedUniv. of Southern MSHamp King AwardNi’Jah PaceJackson State UniversityAshley VickersDelta State UniversityMaura ChilesJuliana CookeMS State UniversityJoseph PolkWilliam Carey UniversityMississippi CollegePooja ShaunakMS University for WomenDavid Grant FalkenheinerUniversity of MississippiBill Rush Mosby, Jr. ScholarshipHannah HolmanUniversity of MississippiAbigail Jean TewMillsaps CollegeDuesDeadlineOctober 1to AvoidLate FeeWe recently launched our new Member Forum,Connect, which is a discussion board for all MSCPAmembers. From the very onset of the pandemic,members were rapidly reaching out to the MSCPAwith questions. The MSCPA’s network of committeemembers, firms, and the AICPA helped with answersas expeditiously as possible. The pandemic openedour eyes to the need of a member forum to post yourquestions and share information to help each other.We hope you will use Connect to communicate andshare knowledge with fellow members.Members will receive a daily email notificationwhen any new discussions or replies are posted. Youcan post a new discussion or question and commenton discussions either in the Connect platform ordirectly from the notification emails. You must login to Connect using the same email and passwordthat you use to access www.ms-cpa.org. If you don’tknow yours, you can use the password-less loginoption to receive a verification code by email instead.Once logged in, you can also make updates toyour profile and email notification settings. Pleasealso view the Terms for site etiquette guidance. Bemindful that whatever you post may be seen by over2,600 MSCPA members. If you prefer to send amessage to just one member, you may also do thatvia Connect.Check out the quick start guide posted atconnect.ms-cpa.org for more details on how to getstarted.
2Welcome New MembersPublishedby theMississippi Society ofCertified Public Accountants306 Southampton RowThe CommonsHighland Colony ParkwayRidgeland, MS 39157PHONE: (601) 856-4244FAX: (601) 856-8255E-MAIL nnette PridgenpearlVice Chairman/Chairman-ElectRicky BullocktupeloTreasurerRaleigh CutrerridgelandSecretaryMelanie HamelbrandonPresident/CEOKaren MoodyjacksonThe CPA Newsletter is the officialpublication of the Mississippi Societyof Certified Public Accountants. TheNewsletter invites articles of interestto the profession and gives credit to theauthor; however, it reserves the right toedit articles for correct spelling, wordingand punctuation.Opinions expressed are not necessarilythe official policy of the MSCPA.Advertising is accepted in good faith thatthe product/services are of value stated.Mississippi Society of Certified Public AccountantsJames H. Brown IIIBKD, LLPJacksonCasey A. CamorsMississippi State UniversityStarkvilleAndrew A. CavesWatkins, ward and Stafford, PLLCStarkvilleJerry C. ChildsFranks Franks Wilemon & HagoodRipleyDarcy A. DanielBKD, LLPMadisonLarry J. KelsoLJ Kelson CPA PLLCSaltilloOlivia G. McKinleyHORNE LLPJacksonMSCPA Extends GreatestAppreciation to Book AuthorsThe MSCPA-published book on theSociety’s hundred-year history entitledMSCPA Centennial History: A Century ofCPAs in Mississippi was coauthored by JamesW. Davis, Dale L. Flesher, and AnnetteB. Pridgen, each an MSCPA member andprofessor. The three coauthors were wellqualified to undertake a project of thisnature and the MSCPA would like to extendour greatest appreciation, on behalf of allmembers, for all of their time and dedicationto the book.James W. Davis, a long-time professorat Ole Miss (55 years), holder of theprestigious Peery Chair in Accountancy,and former dean of the Patterson School ofAccountancy (1993-2002), was the authorAnnette Pridgen and James Davisof the first MSCPA history in 1977 (whichwas based on his doctoral dissertationfrom 1972). Davis joined the Ole Missfaculty in 1965 following two years withArthur Andersen & Co. in Houston. Heis a native of Panola County and attendedpublic schools at Pleasant Grove andSardis. Dr. Davis is a past president of theMississippi Society of CPAs (1983-84), andhas served numerous years on the Board ofDirectors and as a Trustee of the MSCPAEducation Foundation. Dr. Davis receivedthe campus-wide Elsie Hood OutstandingTeacher Award as the best teacher on theOle Miss campus. He has also served aspresident and long-time board memberof the University’s Phi Kappa Phi HonorSociety, the highest honorary organizationon campus. He was the recipient of the 1993MSCPA Outstanding Educator Award. Hehas attended the MSCPA annual meetingregularly throughout his more than halfcentury membership in the MSCPA. Heholds bachelors (1962), masters (1963), andPh.D. (1972) degrees from Ole Miss. Davisis a member of St. Peters Episcopal Churchin Oxford. His hobbies include traveling,reading, and collecting books, including acomplete collection of Ole Miss Annualssince 1897.Dale L. Flesher is also a long-timeprofessor at Ole Miss (43 years) and holdsthe Roland & Sheryl Burns Chair inAccountancy. He has authored organizationalhistories for other accountancy-relatedcontinued on page 3September 2020
3BOOK AUTHORScontinued from page 2Annette Pridgen and Dale Flesherorganizations, including NASBA (2007),the Institute of Internal Auditors (1991), theAmerican Accounting Association (1991),and AACSB International (2007). Flesherreceived the AICPA’s highest award foreducators, the Distinguished Achievementin Accounting Education Award (2011)and recently was awarded the SoutheasternConference’s (SEC) Faculty AchievementAward. Flesher has attended the MSCPAannual meetings in Destin continuouslyfor the past 32 years. Dale, a native ofAlbany, Indiana, holds bachelors (1967)and masters (1968) degrees from Ball StateUniversity and a Ph.D. (1975) from theUniversity of Cincinnati. He passed the CPAExam in 1969 (and his wife Tonya passedin 1975). Before coming to Mississippi,Flesher taught at Ball State University, theUniversity of Cincinnati, and AppalachianState University (where he received thecampus-wide Outstanding Teacher of theYear Award in 1976). In 1990, he wasselected as the recipient of the Institute ofInternal Auditors’ Leon Radde Award as theoutstanding auditing educator worldwide.In 1988, he was honored with the Universityof Mississippi’s Burlington Northern FacultyAchievement Award as the outstandingfaculty member campus wide (his wife hadreceived it the preceding year). He receivedthe MSCPA Outstanding Educator Awardin 1998 (and his wife Tonya won it in 1995).He received the University’s DistinguishedResearch and Creative Achievement Award in2011 as the outstanding researcher campuswide at Ole Miss. He received the 2017Southeastern Conference (SEC) FacultyAchievement Award as the outstandingfaculty member campus wide and is the onlyaccounting professor to ever win the awardat any of the 14 Southeastern Conferenceuniversities. Dale is a past president of theAcademy of Accounting Historians (as is hiswife), has served on many committees ofthe AICPA and the American AccountingAssociation, and has served on the AICPACouncil and as a member of the Board ofTrustees of the AICPA Foundation. Dale andhis wife Tonya live in Oxford; they have twoadult children and two small grandchildren.Even though neither of their children areCPAs, both children and grandchildren haveattended many annual conventions of theMSCPA, and they actually look forward tothem.Annette B. Pridgen is an emeritaprofessor at Jackson State University. She isa long-time attendee of the MSCPA annualmeeting, has chaired the Awards, Education& Scholarships Committee of which shehas been a member of since 2003, andhas become the official photographer forthe annual meetings. Dr. Pridgen is a pastsecretary of the MSCPA (2017-2018). She,too, has published in the area of accountinghistory. She is a graduate of Jackson StateUniversity and holds a Ph.D. from theUniversity of Mississippi. She taught forfive years at Ole Miss before returningto Jackson State University in 2013.Before going into academe, Annette wasemployed by the Office of the MississippiState Auditor. In 2015, Annette washonored by receiving the Association ofGovernment Accountants’ Cornelius E.Tierney Research Award for her research ingovernmental accounting. She has receivednumerous other awards including theFaculty Excellence Award for the Collegeof Business at Jackson State University, theoutstanding dissertation award from theGovernment & Nonprofit Section of theAmerican Accounting Association, and theDoctoral Teaching Award from the E. H.Patterson School of Accountancy at OleMiss. Her service at the national level hasincluded her 2013 selection as a memberof the Government Accountability Office’s(GAO) Green Book Advisory Council toupdate the standards for internal controlof the United States government. In 2016,she was asked to serve on the GAO YellowBook Advisory Council to update thegovernment auditing standards. Annetteretired from Jackson State University inthe summer of 2019. She was the 20192020 Vice Chairman/Chairman-Elect of theMSCPA and took office as Chairman in July.Make every penny countfor you and your clients.How do you contain costs and grow at the same time? That’s where your UPS Savingsprogram comes in.MSCPA members can now take advantage of new flat discounts of up to 50% on UPS shipping services.To start saving:Call: 1-800-MEMBERS (636-2377) Visit: www.savewithups.com/mscpaSeptember 2020Mississippi Society of Certified Public Accountants
4Call Today.Sell By Year End!Delivering Results - One Practice At a timeLori Newcomer, CPA& Tim Price, CPAPNgroup@aps.netMississippi Society of Certified Public Accountants888-553-1040www.APS.netMSCPA MemberSeptember 2020
Member NewsPalmertree Receives Outstanding CPA inGovernment AwardThe AICPA has awarded Stephanie Palmertree the 2020Outstanding CPA in Government Impact Award at the StateLevel. Palmertree is the Director of the Financial & ComplianceAudit Division at the Mississippi Office of the State Auditor.The Outstanding CPA in Government Impact Award ispresented annually to three CPAs in the country – one eachat the federal, state, and local levels – whose recent work hassignificantly impacted the mission of their office. Recipients mustdemonstrate “exceptional leadership, high ethical standards, and atrack record of professional excellence.”Palmertree oversees the financial statements and governmentalcompliance work for the State of Mississippi. In 2019, her work uncovered significantwaste, fraud, and abuse at the state level, including at the Mississippi Department ofHuman Services, and as a result several people were arrested and indicted in one of thelargest embezzlement schemes in Mississippi’s history.Palmertree is the first Mississippi auditor at any level of government to receive thisrecognition from the AICPA.5Koerber Presents CLEOn August 25th, Jim Koerber, CPA/ABV/CFF (TheKoerber Company,PA) presented aseminar entitledAttacking &DefendingPersonal Injury &Wrongful DeathEconomic DamageCalculations toover 200 Travelers’Northland Insurance Company attorneysand claims adjusters, who attendedTravelers’ “Hot Topics in Damages” CLEWebinar.Brett Matthews, CPA, announces his October 16 retirementFor Brett Matthews, CPA, numbersrun in the family.His father, JesseMatthews, workedas an accountant.As Matthews chosehis own career path,it was a natural fit.“Math alwayscame easy to me,”he recalls.In 1975,after graduating from Mississippi StateUniversity with a bachelor’s degree inaccounting, Matthews joined his father’sfirm, Matthews and Company. He madepartner seven years later in 1982. By 1988,considerations of his father’s retirementled to a merger which added shareholdersRaleigh Cutrer and later Charles Lindsayto form the present-day Matthews, Cutrerand Lindsay, P.A. In its 32 years, the firmexpanded and currently operates offices inRidgeland, Clinton and Yazoo City.This fall, Brett Matthews will embarkon another chapter in his life – retirement.“My departure from public accountingbrings degrees of exhilaration and ofmelancholy. However, the firm is strongSeptember 2020and growing,” he says. “I entrust it tothe remaining shareholders and staff tocontinue serving clients with sound counseltailored to their individual situations.”Matthews says he’s looking forwardto traveling with his wife. He anticipatesmore visits to Kentucky and Arizona to visithis two grown daughters and spend timespoiling his five grandchildren. As an avidgolfer, he also intends to enjoy additionaltime on the golf course.Looking back over the last 45 years,Matthews recognizes that the world haschanged dramatically since he started out.The field of accounting is no exception.The introduction of personal computersand a plethora of other modern technologyhave replaced manual methods andimproved accounting efficiency. Hisfather emphasized the value of positiverelationships with clients and that valueis modeled in his years of service. Heacknowledges the usefulness and value ofmodern technology but also notes it shouldnot replace the personal efforts to buildlong-lasting, trust-filled connections withclients.In the four decades since Matthews firstjoined his dad’s accounting firm, he hasworked with and advised a variety of clientsspanning multiple industries includingconstruction, manufacturing, healthcare,insurance, housing projects, oil and gas,and nonprofit organizations. Of all theaspects of his successful career, Matthewssays he will miss the direct interactionopportunities that permitted him to workface-to-face with his clients.He offers the following wisdom foryoung people and budding professionals inthe field.“One of the misconceptions aboutaccounting is that you need only to be goodat math. Sure, math helps. But accountingis also intuitive. Reasoning and logic are farmore important than simply being a goodmathematician,” concluded Matthews.“Accounting is an excellent major as itallows many opportunities in just aboutevery avenue of business – whether apre-requisite for law school, a privateaccountant, or a certified public accountant,which has been a rewarding focus for me.”Brett Matthews, CPA, officially retiresfrom Matthews, Cutrer and Lindsay, P.A.October 16, 2020 – the day after the lastmajor tax deadline of the year.Mississippi Society of Certified Public Accountants
6MSCPA Centennial History BookDistribution ContinuesChairman Annette Pridgen and President/CEO Karen Moody were on the road delivering history books and visiting with members inSouth Mississippi in four MSCPA chapter areas: East Central, Southeast, Gulf Coast and Southwest. In three days, they made stops at 24offices in 9 cities delivering 185 books weighing a total of 555 pounds. Some cities or firms/businesses in these areas that were missed thistime will be visited in coming weeks. While Chapter meetings and socials are unable to be held now, this is an avenue to keep in touch withour members.Trips to North Mississippi and the Delta are being scheduled, while deliveries in the Central area continue to be made. Unfortunatelyit is not possible to visit every member. You can stop by the MSCPA office to pick up a copy or request a book to be mailed by contactingNoma Gillis at ngillis@ms-cpa.org. Feel free to take photos with the book and send them to Jennie Truhett at jtruhett@ms-cpa.org to beincluded in the Newsletter.TMH CPAs in Hattiesburg to Brad Wood, Paige Johnson,Susan Riley, and Jay BabingtonUniversity of Southern Mississippi in Hattiesburg toMarv Bouillon and Amber HattenMississippi Society of Certified Public AccountantsWright, Ward Hatten & Guel in GulfportPiltz, Williams, LaRosa & Company in Biloxi to MichaelO’Neil, Jordan Church, and Stephen TheobaldSeptember 2020
7Sinclair Lundy, CPA in Hattiesburg to Sinclair LundyPayn & Leggett CPAs in Brookhaven to Molly Bass,Stacy Leggett, Sharon Payn, and Scott SpeightsCulumber, Harvey & Associates, P.A. in Gulfport to Kristen MaddoxSeptember 2020Kemp, Williams, Steverson & Bernard, P.A. inMeridian to Mary Williams and Pam SteversonMSCPA Gulf Coast Chapter officers, Mary Bui, Maria Saylor, and Kim BanischUniversity of Southern Mississippi in Long Beach to John BrownMississippi Society of Certified Public Accountants
8Alexander, Van Loon, Sloan, Levens & Favre, PLLC in Gulfport to Debbie Vignes, KimMarmalich, Jerry Levens (2000-2001 MSCPA Chairman) and Cindy SloanJamie R. Dent, CPA LLC in Ocean Springs to Jamie DentTMH CPAs in Hattiesburg to Renee Moore and Bill KellyWhite & Associates LLC in BrookhavenVerbalee B. Watts and Associates in Brookhaven to Verbalee WattsMississippi Society of Certified Public AccountantsCulpepper, Culpepper & Hurtt CPAs in Meridian to JondaHenry and John CulpepperJordan Carriers in Natchez to Ryan Wingfield (2015-2016 YCPA President)September 2020
9The Gillon Group in Natchez to Scott Christian and BillyGillon (2002-2003 MSCPA Chairman)Miller & Company CPAs Inc. in Brookhaven to Mary MillerSilas Simmons LLP in Natchez to Sim Mosby (2010-2011 MSCPA Chairman), Carr Hammond(Southwest Chapter President) and Chuck Caldwell (1993-1994 MSCPA Chairman)The Koerber Company, PA in Hattiesburg to Jim Koerber and Rob KingSeptember 2020University of Southern Mississippi in Hattiesburg to J. T. TisdaleChance, Gay & Cieglo, PLLC in Forest to Joseph CiegloMississippi Society of Certified Public Accountants
10Meet Our MembersLegacy SpotlightsAs a tribute to the 100th Anniversary of the MSCPA, we want to spotlight members during our year-long Centennial Celebration who arelegacies of the profession – MSCPA members whose family is or was also a MSCPA member CPA, accountant, or accounting student. If youor someone you know is a legacy of the profession, please email names and contact information to jtruhett@ms-cpa.org.AMANDA S. ANGLE, CPAAmanda is a 1997 graduate of theUniversity of Southern Mississippiwhere she earned a degree in BusinessAdministrationwith an emphasisin Accounting. Shealso earned herMaster of BusinessAdministrationfrom the Universityof South Alabamain 1998. Shestarted her careerworking for a small firm in Hattiesburgand later worked for HORNE LLP asa tax supervisor in their Laurel office.After hurricane Katrina devastated southMississippi in 2005, Amanda moved tonorth Mississippi and went to work forNail McKinney Professional Associationin Tupelo before starting her own firmin 2009. In 2014, while in the process ofacquiring another small firm from a retiringowner, Watkins Uiberall, PLLC based outof Memphis, Tenn., approached Amandato represent their tax department in theirTupelo office alongside Randy Gammillwho is the audit member for their office.Amanda has been a Member at WatkinsUiberall since 2016. This is Amanda’s 22ndyear of practice.Amanda is a member of the MSCPANortheast Chapter and previously servedas the chapter’s President, Vice-President,and Secretary/Treasurer. She is very involvedin her community and currently serves asa board member for the Rotary Club ofTupelo, Health Care Foundation of NorthMississippi, Regional Rehab Center, andChristian Women’s Job Corps. She is amember of the Exchange Club of Tupelo(past president), Junior Auxiliary of Tupelo,and the Tupelo Mah Jongg League. SheMississippi Society of Certified Public Accountantscompleted the
Millsaps College Juliana Cooke Mississippi College David Grant Falkenheiner University of Mississippi Bill Rush Mosby, Jr. Scholarship Tineisha Hayes Jackson State University Hannah Holman University of Mississippi Scarlett Hodges Mississippi College Edward A. DeMiller, Jr. Scholarship Ni’J
