Pub. 2 2020 Issue 1

23 nebraska society of cpas W W W . N E S C P A . O R G Courtney Farnstrom has opened a firm at 141 North 4th Street in Hebron. Farnstrom is a Byron native and earned a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration with an emphasis in accounting and finance from Creighton University. She earned her CPA certificate in 2012. Farnstrom is also an accounting consultant with Chester-based LRS Consulting Inc., which provides consulting and tax preparation services for small businesses. She most recently worked at KAAPA Ethanol in Minden as the accountant and human resources director. Brian Klintworth, a tax manager at HBE LLP in Lincoln, was one of only 38 CPAs honored nationally by the American Institute of CPAs (AICPA) as a member of the AICPA Leadership Academy’s 11th graduating class. Klintworth was selected based on his exceptional leadership skills and professional experience for the four-day Leadership Academy program, which was held in October 2019 in Durham, N.C. Karla Koehler of Norfolk has been elected to a four-year term as national treasurer of the Lutheran Women’s Missionary League (LWML), the official women’s auxiliary of The Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod formed in 1942. Koehler, a CPA, MBA, and CFE, received an undergraduate degree in business administration with an accounting emphasis from Wayne State College and a master’s in business administration (MBA) from the University of Indianapolis. She has been with the Nebraska Department of Revenue for more than 17 years and presently serves as revenue tax specialist senior in the policy division. JoAnn Martin, CEO of Ameritas Mutual Holding Co., is retiring after 35 years with the company. Martin is a Plainview native with business degrees from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and Colorado State University. She holds CPA and Fellow Life Management Institute (FLMI) designations. She joined Ameritas in 1984 as an audit division manager and has held key positions throughout the organization. Martin was named 2019 Nebraskan of the Year last fall by Lincoln Rotary Club #14, accepted the Lincoln Chamber of Commerce’s 2019 Burnham Yates Citizenship Award, and was named the 2018 Woman of the Year at the Lincoln Journal Star’s annual Inspire Awards. She was inducted into the Nebraska Business Hall of Fame in 2015, named a Nebraska Alumni Association Master in 2014, received the Dr. Barbara Hibner Trailblazer Award in 2012, and was inducted into the UNL School of Accountancy Hall of Fame in 2004. She received the Nebraska Society of CPAs’ Public Service Award in 2013 and has been recognized for her leadership and commitment to community service by the Lincoln Partnership for Economic Development. Martin recently served as chairman of the American Council of Life Insurers (ACLI) and chairman of the University of Nebraska Foundation. She also serves on Lincoln Vision and Prosper Lincoln steering committees, the board of National Research Corp., and the honorary board of trustees of the Million Dollar Round Table (MDRT) Foundation. Matt McGill has become a shareholder in Johnson, Bergmeier,Wolf &Cipperley inOgallala. The Omaha native and 2002 Creighton PrepHigh School graduate received a Bachelor of Accounting from Bellevue University in 2014. McGill joins shareholders Brett Cipperley, Brady Caskey, and Mike Tuttle. Brooke Miller has been promoted to shareholder of KSO CPAs PC in Kearney. Miller received a Master of Business Administration degree from the University of Nebraska at Kearney and joined the firm in 2009. She is a CPAwith extensive experience in tax and auditing and a Certified Fraud Examiner (CFE). KSO CPAs PC has been serving south-central Nebraska for more than 45 years. Chris Robinett has joined SP Group PC in Lincoln. Robinett, a native of Franklin, earned a Bachelor of Science in both finance and accounting from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. He has more than 30 years of experience in public accounting, including both business and individual tax planning and preparation. Melissa Ruff, an audit managing director at Deloitte & Touche LLP in Lincoln, has been appointed to fill the vacancy for a licensed CPA from Nebraska’s first congressional district on the Nebraska Board of Public Accountancy. She has more than 20 years of experience providing audit services to public and private companies. Ruff is a member of the firm’s Office of the National Professional Practice Director, focusing on audit quality initiatives. She graduated from the University of Nebraska at Kearney with a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration with an emphasis in accounting. AndrewSimmons, CPA, PC, celebrated two decades of growth with an open house to commemorate the firm’s 20th anniversary. The firm opened in Central City on December 4, 1999, and acquired the Fullerton office in January 2008. Doug Skiles, Skiles, Loop, Bremer & White CPAs in McCook, has been appointed chairman for the CPA Examination Review Board (ERB). The ERB consists of five members who serve three-year terms. Skiles served 10 years on the Nebraska Board of Public Accountancy, two years on the National Association of State Boards of Accountancy (NASBA) Board of Directors, and three years with the ERB. This year marks his 41st tax season with Skiles, Loop, Bremer & White CPAs. Shelly Stromp (pictured right), a partner with KPMG LLP in Omaha, has been selected as chairman of the Nebraska Board of