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Dell Crosslin Named Accounting's Finest by BusinessTN

Mar 2, 2009

Accounting's Finest

Members of a profession seldom in the limelight get their due.

By Drew Ruble Mar.- Apr. 2009, Business TN Magazine

Experienced CPAs are vital to a business' growth and success. From business plan to succession strategy, they have a hand in every aspect of a business' life cycle. And for public companies in a post-Sarbanes-Oxley world, they are more crucial than ever.

Despite this, accountants, especially the good ones, remain relatively invisible. Unfortunately, unless there's a scandal of Enron-ic proportions, members of this profession maintain a relatively low profile. As a result, this list is always a bit more difficult to compile than the others BusinessTN pulls together each year.

Admittedly Nashville-heavy (Ernst & Young alone audits nearly two dozen Nashville companies who are SEC registrants) and male-dominated (an indictment of the profession's slow-turning gears), this peer-review list encompasses practicing accountants from traditional to niche players--from members of the Big 4 firms serving the needs of big public companies to more entrepreneurial firms providing key tax and other services that help build companies big and small.

It also includes a few individuals who are not practicing accountants but whose influence on the profession, whether through technology services or association leadership, is profound. Thanks to the following list, these star professionals will have to tolerate a higher profile than usual.

Accounting's Finest, 2009
Tom Aaron
Vic Alexander
Wynne E. Baker
Edward H. Braman
Sam Bumpus
Rusty Butcher
Mike Cain
Joseph V. Carcello
Lucy R. Carter
Kevin Chadwell
P. Anthony Clark
David Costello
J. Dell Crosslin
Nick Decosimo
J. Thomas Decosimo
Sam B. DeVane
Bill Drummon
Stephen T. Dunavant
Jerry W. Faulkner
W. Roger Fitch
Charles E. Frasier
John T. Gawaluck
Ken Gerdesmeier
Bob Hester
Jenny Hines
Barry L. Hoffman
Donnie Hutcherson
Karl J. Jordan
Ron Justus
Randy R. Laszewski
David K. Morgan
Larry Morton
Ed Pershing
John O. Pearce
Sid Pilson
Danny Pressley
Mark Puckett
Jimmy Rodefer
Art Sparks Jr.
N. Gordon Thompson
Mike Vaden
William H. (Bill) Watkins Jr.
Troy Waugh
Bob Whisenant
Larry Williams
J. Bradley Withrow
David C. Wood
Laroy W. Wolff Jr.