DAVID R. PRITCHARD CPA, CMAA PARTNER David is a 40 yr. veteran and a professional with significant business experience gained from investing in, consulting with and managing organizations under $100M in addition to his body of work in public practice. He is a licensed CPA and a certified merger and acquisition adviser. A founding partner of Pritchard Osborne CPA's, his firm merged with Kerber, Eck & Braeckel (KEB) in January 2013. He continues his career with KEB and maintains certain client engagement responsibilities with the firm. David is narrowing his practice toward consulting with owners and managers on strategy and team building, succession plan execution, owner disagreement mediation, entity and capital structure, acquisitions/sale transactions. Having served as controller of a family farm in the early 80 s, David brings solid experience to today s ag production operations. David is a part of KEB's resources serving the maturing business segment of production agriculture throughout the Midwestern United States. The Ag Group at KEB is a team of professionals whose work is focused on production agriculture related clients. In addition to core tax and accounting services, they provide help in the building of solid organizational, tax and business structures and in management and transfer of family wealth. David continues to consult with his prior firm's sister company now known as BowPoint M&A Advisors assisting BowPoint in their business sale and merger transactions engagements. Formerly Pritchard Osborne Equity Ventures, BowPoint is a lower middle market mergers and acquisition advisory firm. Specialties David is very experienced in companies involved in production agriculture and related family businesses, business to business marketing companies, technology and software developers and online system providers, plastics molders, assembly and light manufacturing, business to business service providers, professional services, real estate brokerage, private equity fund partnerships, and warehousing and distribution.
Business Experience In addition to his career in public accounting, David has been a founding or early stage investor and served as an advisor and/or board member in a dozen private operating companies over the years with a good record of successful exits. He has served as a tax and due diligence advisor for two private venture capital groups, an adviser and later controller from start-up through the sale of a St Louis telecom company, finished one foreign (Japan) acquisition, negotiated two UAW labor agreements and completed over 40 M&A transactions. David is currently active as stake owner, director, or advisory committee member in 2-3 private companies. He is also serving Cultivation Capital's investment committee assisting in the selecting of investments for Missouri Founders Technology Fund, a St Louis early stage investment fund.
David (Levi) Suhrenbrock CPA RETIRED PARTNER TAX AND FINANCE CONSULTANT David Levi Suhrenbrock has more than 37 years of experience, including thirty two years in public accounting as well as seven years in private industry. David graduated with honors from Western Illinois University in 1978. He received his CPA certificate in November 1978. David continues to serve the AgGroup at KEB as a retired partner in the training and mentoring of younger staff in the areas of business and tax planning. He shares his expertise and continues to advise the firm on farm real estate transactions and ag producer succession planning. He is skilled at the issues that arise from the business, tax, and organization structure as well as issues associated with generation transfers of farm family wealth and management transition. Farm real estate transactions Retirement planning Succession planning Municipal services Acquisition Strategic business planning Memberships and Affiliations Member, American Institute of Certified Public Accountants Member, Illinois Society of CPAs Member, Missouri Society of CPAs
Jereme Zook CPA TAX PARTNER Jereme has more than 16 years of experience serving clients as a tax and business planner for small and middle market businesses and high net worth individuals. His business planning skills include experience in new business formation as well as business growth and consolidation. Jereme also has solid experience with the issues of family business succession planning and works closely with family farms where planned generational transfers of business ownership and control are taking place. He has devoted attention to the agribusiness industry, especially focusing on current issues and opportunities associated with production agriculture. Jereme graduated with honors in 2001 from Greenville College where he earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Accounting with a minor in Management Information Systems. He then obtained his CPA certification and Illinois license as a CPA in 2002. Jereme is skilled in managing client engagements with tax needs associated with business formation including owner equity and debt needs, cash flow planning, initial asset acquisition and depreciation implications, and the choices of entity which new owners deal with. He has experience working with farm operations combining to pursue a business through a partnership or similar entity. Jereme also oversees compilation and review engagements to provide financial reporting to farm operations and other small businesses to assist business owners and their creditors in understanding their financial position. He is experienced in management and review of tax planning, consulting, and compliance engagements associated with both new and existing corporations, trusts, partnerships and individuals. Taxation (planning & compliance) Entity Formation and Restructuring Succession Planning Compilation and Review Reporting Management Consulting Memberships and Affiliations Member, American Institute of Certified Public Accountants Member, Missouri Society of Certified Public Accountants Leadership roles in local, state, and international charitable organizations
Ben Schwab SENIOR MANAGER Ben has over 15 years of public accounting experience. He serves the firm as a tax and business advisor for small and middle market businesses and high net worth individuals, specializing in the agriculture industry. Ben has significant tax and consulting experience with mid to large sized row crop farming operations throughout the Midwest. Ben graduated from Greenville College in 2002 where he was a Presidential Scholar, receiving his Bachelor of Science degree in Accounting. Ben is a knowledgeable resource in the areas of tax planning and compliance for high net worth individuals and closely held entities and their owners. Ben has experience in the planning and return filing issues associated with small businesses and their owners, including corporation, trust, partnership and individual tax returns. He has been involved in engagements that include generational transfers and has experience with like-kind exchanges and cost segregation studies. Ben has been involved in numerous new entity formation projects and has experience in consolidated tax returns and multi-state tax issues. He has also been involved with a vast array of tax planning engagements for high net worth individuals and has experience in building long range financial plans. Ben is also skilled and knowledgeable in the area of compiled and reviewed financial statement attestation engagements. Ben is a life-long resident of Litchfield, Illinois, having grown up on his family s 1,500 acre grain farm. Ben and his wife, Jenny, are proud parents of two sons and one daughter. Ben is an active community volunteer involved in coaching youth and high school baseball, and acting as Litchfield Baseball s treasurer. His hobbies include spending time with family and friends, golf, and cheering on the St. Louis Cardinals and University of Illinois Fighting Illini.
Cody DeWerff, CPA TAX MANAGER Cody has over 10 years of public accounting experience; his services include Agreed upon procedures, Farmer grain inventory analysis and tracking, the review and compilation of financial statements; tax planning and consulting with closely-held corporations, partnerships and S corporations; with a specialty in the agribusiness industry. Cody received his Bachelor of Science in Accountancy from Southern Illinois University at Edwardsville. He is licensed in Illinois as a Certified Public Accountant. Accounting Services Tax Consulting and Planning Memberships and Affiliations Member, American Institute of Certified Public Accountants
Breanne Mayberry Senior Tax Staff Breanne is in her 5 th year of public accounting experience, serving the firm as a tax-oriented senior tax staff member. Breanne received her Bachelor of Science degrees in Accountancy and Business Management from Blackburn College, Carlinville IL in 2013. She is a member of the AICPA. Breanne has experience in providing a breadth of services to our small- and mid-size agricultural producer clients, including beef cattle operations, row crop producer tax and finance planning, and family estate planning, and local as well as US inheritance tax filings. Her skills include handling of high net worth and high income taxpayer tax issues, planning for the recognition of beneficial planning opportunities and strategies, and financial compilations and reviews. She also has apprentice level experience and supports the firm s work in business valuation engagements and charitable trust planning. Breanne is also experienced with farm and family business structures designed to limit financial liability exposure and their tax and finance implications. Breanne is knowledgeable in employee benefit plans and their filing requirements. She has significant experience in serving farming operation clients and has also been involved in various farm-related transactions, including farm sales and the related tax reporting requirements, financial forecasting and re-organization opportunities. Breanne enjoys spending her off time with friends and family and advocating for animal welfare. High net worth income tax planning strategies Return filings for business and personal stakeholder clientele Profit sharing and related benefit plans Business organizational structures
Blake Pollard JUNIOR TAX STAFF Blake is in his 2 nd year of public accounting experience. His practice work focuses on agricultural producers. His experience includes work on producer inventory and working capital reporting, cash and accrual reporting conversions. Season-developing crop costing and profit projections relative to developing production and price changes, tax planning for business reorganization transactions, ag producer tax planning, LLC, partnerships and S Corporations tax return filing and compliance, and farm accrual financial statements with a focus on medium and large farm operations. Blake received his Bachelor of Science degree in Accounting from Blackburn College in 2015 and is continuing toward his CPA certification with plans to specialize in agricultural income, estate and finance planning Accounting Services Agricultural Tax Consulting and Planning Farm financial reporting and analysis Ag producer cash flow analysis and working capital reporting Reorganization transaction taxation
Becky Lipe ACCOUNTING SERVICES MANAGER Becky Lipe is KEBs Ag Accounting Specialist. Becky is a professional accountant with 40 years of experience working with the firm s agribusiness and small business clients. She is experienced in the use of a number of small business accounting software programs and has trained a variety of users in the use of QuickBooks and similar software applications. Becky has directed the implementation of over 100 initial accounting systems and trained as many business owners in their first accounting and compliance responsibilities. Becky enjoys traveling, cooking and outdoor activities in her free time.
Jenny Zipprich, CPA SENIOR TAX MANAGER Jenny is in her 11 th year of public accounting experience providing services for individuals, businesses, trusts, estates, and tax-exempt organizations. She is experienced and knowledgeable in the areas of trust and estate taxation, family estate planning, flow-through entity taxation, financial statement compilations, general accounting services, and individual and business tax planning and consulting. Jenny enjoys focusing on family-owned businesses and high net worth individuals, and assisting those families with estate planning and wealth preservation. She has worked on numerous engagements for agricultural producers involving family business succession planning, generational transfers of ownership and family wealth, and related trust, estate, and charitable planning for clients in and out of the agribusiness industry. Jenny received both her Bachelor of Science in Accountancy and Bachelor of Business Administration from Southern Illinois University at Edwardsville. She is licensed in both Illinois and Missouri as a Certified Public Accountant. Family estate planning Business succession planning Business, trust and estate taxation Tax planning and consulting for small businesses and high net worth individuals
Kate Sobieralski, CPA SENIOR TAX STAFF Kate is in her 5 th year of public accounting experience, serving the firm as a tax-oriented senior tax staff member. Her practice work focuses on business taxation and planning for partnerships, corporations and S Corporations. She is experienced and knowledgeable in the areas of multi-state taxation, nexus issues, flow-through entity taxations, consolidations and apportionment, financial statement compilations, general accounting services, and individual and business tax planning and consulting. Kate enjoys focusing on medium and large business operations and related tax issues. She has been involved in several business reorganizations, mergers, farm-related transactions, and business succession plans for agricultural producers and other clients. Kate is a licensed CPA and received her Bachelor of Science in Accountancy and Master of Business Administration from Southern Illinois University at Edwardsville. Partnership and corporate taxation Multi-state taxation and nexus issues Family farm taxation and planning Tax planning and consulting for businesses