Scott Mattson, CPA, has been promoted to Senior Manager in the firm’s Audit Services Department. Scott has over nine years of experience and, prior to his promotion, had been a Manager with LBA’s audit team for five years. He specializes in financial statement audits, reviews and compilations for privately owned commercial businesses and employee benefit plans. Scott earned his Bachelor’s degree in Business Management from Florida State University. He is a member of the American and Florida Institutes of CPAs.

Becky Mincer, CPA, has been promoted to Senior Manager in the firm’s Tax & Business Services Department. Becky has over ten years of experience and, prior to her promotion, was a Manager with LBA’s tax team. She specializes in business and individual tax planning and preparation, multi-state tax strategies and proactive tax planning for the firm’s construction, real estate and professional services clients. Becky received her Bachelor’s degrees in Accounting and Finance from James Madison University. She is a member of the American and Florida Institutes of CPAs.

Jason Lafser, CPA has been promoted to Manager in the firm’s Tax & Business Services Department. Jason has over six years of experience and, prior to his promotion, was a Senior Accountant at LBA. He specializes in business and individual tax planning and preparation to the firm’s healthcare, commercial and individual clients. Jason received his Master’s degree in Business Administration from the University of North Florida and his Bachelor’s degree in Business from Murray State University. He is a member of the Florida Institute of CPAs, the Institute of Internal Auditors and the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners.

Jessica Handley has been promoted to Senior Accountant in the firm’s Tax & Business Services Department. Jessica joined LBA in 2007 as an Intern and was subsequently promoted to a Staff Accountant upon her graduation from college. She provides business and individual tax planning and preparation to the firm’s corporate and individual clients. Jessica received her Bachelor’s degree in Accounting from the University of North Florida. She is a member of the American Society of Women Accountants and the Florida Institute of CPAs.

Sherri Elliott has been promoted to Senior Accounting Associate in the firm’s General Accounting Services Department. Sherri joined LBA in 2008 as an Accounting Associate and provides monthly bookkeeping and payroll assistance to the firm’s corporate and individual clients. She received her Bachelor’s degree in Accounting from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte and is a QuickBooks® Certified ProAdvisor.

Nate Wallace has been promoted to Staff Accountant in the firm’s Tax and Business Services Department. Nate joined LBA in January of this year as an Intern and provides business and individual tax planning and preparation to the firm’s clients. He received his Bachelor’s degree in Food Science from the University of Florida and his MBA with a concentration in Accounting from the University of North Florida.

The LBA Group Hires New Director of Retirement Plan Services

Posted July 6, 2010

New Hire’s Extensive Experience in Plan Administration, Compliance Testing and Advanced Consulting Serves as an Additional Asset to Northeast Florida Businesses

Jacksonville, FL – The LBA Group is pleased to announce that Bob McKendry has joined the company as Director of LBA Retirement Plan Services, LLC, a division of The LBA Group that provides plan design and administration services to privately owned businesses throughout Northeast Florida.

"The highly regulated and constantly changing retirement and pension plan arena presents numerous challenges and opportunities for businesses, and Bob's expertise advances LBA’s position as a resource for the owners and human resources professionals of these businesses," said Neal Von Stein, Managing Partner for The LBA Group. "In his role as Director of LBA Retirement Plan Services, Bob manages the LBA team that works with our clients to determine the best type of plan, provide guidance and leadership on the design and implementation of the plan and offer employee educational and orientation services."

Bob will manage each aspect of retirement plan consulting that LBA provides, which includes plan design, administration, compliance and consulting services.

Prior to joining the LBA team, Bob has more than 20 years of experience in pension plan consulting, working for third party administrative and daily valuation companies. He has extensive experience with plan design, plan administration, nondiscrimination testing, IRS annual reporting and submissions, benefit distributions and trust accounting. Bob earned his Bachelor of Science in Commerce from Rider University in Lawrenceville, New Jersey and is a Certified Pension Consultant (CPC), a Qualified Pension Administrator (QPA), a Qualified 401(k) Administrator (QKA) and a Certified Financial Planner (CFP).

July 2009

LBA Announces Promotions

Posted July 28, 2009

Local CPA Firm Recognizes Outstanding Performances

LBA Certified Public Accountants, PA, Jacksonville’s largest, locally owned public accounting and consulting firm, is pleased to announce it has promoted four of their staff members.

Barbara Finke, CPA, has been promoted to Audit Manager in the firm’s Audit Services Department. Prior to her promotion, Barbara was a Senior Accountant. She specializes in financial statement audits, reviews and compilations for commercial businesses and not-forprofit organizations. Barbara earned her Master’s degree in Accounting and her Bachelor’s degrees in Finance and Accounting from Florida State University. She is a member of the American and Florida Institutes of CPAs and the American Society of Women Accountants.

Zach Garretson has been promoted to Senior Auditor in the firm’s Audit Services Department. Zach joined LBA in 2008 after his completion of the University of North Florida’s Masters in Accountancy Program. He earned his Bachelor’s degree in Accounting from the University of Florida. Zach performs financial statement audits, reviews and compilations for the firm’s corporate clients.

Jennifer Moore, CPA, has been promoted to Senior Accountant in the firm’s Tax & Business Services Department. Jennifer joined LBA in 2007 as a Staff Accountant and provides tax and accounting services to the firm’s corporate and individual clients. She received her Master’s degree in Taxation and her Bachelor’s degree in Accounting from the University of Central Florida. She is a member of the American and Florida Institutes of CPAs.

Lauren Groff, has been promoted to Senior Accountant in the firm’s Tax & Business Services Department. Lauren joined LBA in 2008 as a Staff Accountant and provides tax and accounting services to the firm’s corporate and individual clients. She received her Bachelor’s degree in Accounting from the University of Louisville. She is a member of the American Society of Women Accountants and the Rotaract Club.

Click here to download this important LBA Alert to learn more.

LBA Names New Principal

Posted July 6, 2009

Curt Castetter
CPA

Curt Castetter, CPA Promoted to Tax and Business Services Principal

LBA Certified Public Accountants, PA, Jacksonville’s largest, locally owned public accounting and consulting firm, has announced that Curt L. Castetter, CPA has been named Principal of the firm.

“The title of Principal indicates we have identified Curt as a leader of the firm,” says Neal Von Stein, LBA’s Managing Partner. “Curt has shown a tremendous commitment to client service as well as strong leadership and management skills. These attributes, in addition to his commitment to the future success of the firm earned the trust and respect of LBA’s partner group.”

Prior to his promotion, Curt was a Senior Manager in the firm’s Tax and Business Services Department. He has almost 20 years of experience in public accounting. “I am proud to be a part of the LBA team,” he states. “I work with an extremely talented group of professionals and we’ve experienced tremendous growth in the last few years. I’m excited about the challenges and opportunities we have in front of us. LBA’s future is bright and I feel fortunate to be a part of it.”

Curt focuses his practice on researching, evaluating and executing some of the most complex tax strategies the firm’s clients face. He works with large, multi-state organizations, as well as small to middle-market entrepreneurial and start-up organizations, in industries such as construction, real estate and professional services. Curt received his bachelor’s degree from the University of North Florida and is a member of the American and Florida Institutes of CPAs.

Click here to download this important LBA Alert to learn more.

December 2008

Joseph F. Cummings and Scott W. Lanigan Named Partners at LBA

Posted December 18, 2008


Joseph F. Cummings, CPA		Scott W. Lanigan, CPA, Cr.FA, CFC, DABFA

LBA Certified Public Accountants, PA, Jacksonville’s largest, locally owned public accounting and consulting firm, has announced that Joseph F. Cummings, CPA and Scott W. Lanigan, CPA, Cr.FA, CFC, DABFA, have been named partners of the firm, effective January 1, 2009.

Joey joined LBA in 1999 and has provided accounting, tax and consulting services to Jacksonville area clients for more than 14 years. As one of the leaders of the firm’s tax and business services group, Joey provides individuals and business owners with proactive, strategic tax and management consulting services. His industry focus includes construction, real estate development, services, manufacturing and retail. Joey earned his Bachelor's and Master's degrees in Accounting at the University of Florida. He is a member of the Rotary Club of Orange Park Sunrise as well as numerous professional organizations.

Scott joined LBA in 2004 after working for 15 years with two of the Big 4 accounting firms and five years as a consultant. He has more than 20 years of experience in public accounting. Scott is a leader in the firm’s audit practice, where his focus includes providing LBA’s clients with audit assurance services, forensic accounting investigations, fraud examinations and litigation support services. Scott earned his Bachelor's degree in Accounting from Long Island University and his Master's degree in Accounting from the University of North Florida. He is a member of the American Institute of CPAs, the Florida Institute of CPAs, the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners, the American College of Forensic Examiners International and the Forensic Accounting Committee of BKR International. Scott was recently appointed to the Executive Committee of the American Cancer Society's Duval Unit and to the Society's State of Florida Stewardship Committee.

LBA is the largest, privately owned CPA firm headquartered in Jacksonville.

July 2007

LBA Named To Business Journal 50

Posted July 30th, 2007

For the second time in three years, LBA has made the list of the top 50 fastest growing privately owned businesses in Northeast Florida.

We know this growth is a direct result of your sustained trust as you continue to do business with us and, in turn, refer your friends and colleagues. We would like to take this opportunity to sincerely thank you for your business. We value the relationships we have built with each and every one of you and look forward to working with you for many years to come.

May 2007

LBA named one of Jacksonville’s Best Places to Work

Posted May 2nd, 2007

Best Places to Work in Jacksonville LBA is proud to announce that it has been named as one of the Best Places to Work in Northeast Florida.

The Jacksonville Business Journal recently conducted a survey of hundreds of local businesses and out of 180 businesses who were considered, LBA was ranked 9th in its category of medium sized busineses. “This is a terrific honor,” states LBA’s Chairman of the Board, Richard Brock. “Our people are the key to our success and to be recognized for this award, as a result of their direct feedback, is indescribable. We are extremely proud of the team we have at LBA. They are, by far, our most valuable asset.”

April 2007

We’ve Moved!

Posted April 30th, 2007

Moving Announcement LBA is excited to announce that we have relocated to our brand new office space at EverBank Plaza on Riverside Avenue. Get directions or download the pdf of our move announcement.

February 2007

Accounting Positions Available

Posted February 13th, 2007

The LBA Group is now accepting qualified applicants for the following positions: Staff Accountant, Senior Staff Accountant, Manager, and Senior Manager. If interested, please see our career section for more detail.

December 2006

Bill Shelton Named Partner

Posted December 28th, 2006

LBA is excited to announce our newest partner, Bill Shelton.

LBA Certified Public Accountants, PA, Jacksonville’s largest, locally owned public accounting and consulting firm, has announced that William G. Shelton, Jr., CPA has been named a Partner of the firm, effective January 1, 2007.

“Bill has demonstrated that he has what it takes to help lead our firm,” says Neal Von Stein, LBA’s Managing Partner. “His strong commitment to client service and to the future success of the firm made this a very easy decision.”

Bill joined LBA in 1999 after working with one of the national firms and a smaller, local firm. He has over 15 years of experience in public accounting. “I am excited about my future with LBA,” states Bill. “The integrity of this firm and the clients we serve make me proud to be a part of such a terrific team.”

While Bill focuses his practice primarily on the firm’s healthcare and legal clients, he also works with privately held businesses and individuals. His areas of expertise include proactive tax, business and retirement planning; federal, state and local tax compliance and business structure planning. Bill earned his Bachelors Degree in Accounting from Florida State University and he is a member of the American Institute of CPAs, the Florida Institute of CPAs and the Jacksonville Chapter of the Medical Group Management Association.

LBA is the largest, privately owned CPA firm headquartered in Jacksonville and has satellite offices in Ponte Vedra Beach and Gainesville. Founded in 1966, the firm is currently celebrating its 40th anniversary.