David and Don started their accounting firm in 1977 based on the principles of quality service, expertise, and sound business advice. These principals were developed from their life long relationships with family, friends, and business associates.
David grew up in Inverness on a family farm just five miles from our Indianola office, where he was introduced to sound conservative business principals. His education includes attendance at Marion Military Institute for his first year and one-half of college before transferring to Mississippi State University where he graduated in the fall of 1971 with a BS in Accounting. In May 1969 David joined the Army National Guard completing his full time training and returning to his local unit. He completed Officer Candidate School and received his commission as a Second Lieutenant in the summer of 1971. David continued to serve part time in the National Guard until 1980 having obtained the rank of Captain and serving as a Detachment and Company Commander. Prior to starting their own firm, David worked as an operational auditor for a health care entity and in public accounting for a local certified public accounting firm.
Having to start a new accounting business, David has performed every function of the firm. Over the years, the firm has enjoyed steady growth and the opportunity to apply his entrepreneurial skills and education. Today, his activities are concentrated on business tax and management advice along with estate planning. Most of the firm's clients are small and medium size businesses which require personal, confidential, and a very experienced business advisor which comes with age and dedication. In the last ten years, David has served as executor of estates and as trustee of trusts. His role as executor and trustee in estates and trusts has given him insight to estate planning, tax, and business consideration of handling estate affairs.
David has recently completed his Certified Valuation Analyst (CVA) designation. Along with the knowledge of business valuation has come the opportunity for litigation support. He has been involved and testified in court actions involving business and farm related matters. David is a member of the Mississippi Society of Certified Public Accountants and the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants.
David is married to Mary Jane Abernathy of Nashville and they have two children.
Don and David first met as fraternity brothers at Mississippi State so it was only natural they started a practice together in 1977 after passing the CPA exam. Building on each other's strengths, the firm has prospered.
Don grew up in Calhoun City but his roots have also been in Webster County, Mississippi where his family has farmed and grown timber for five generations. Don, his brother, Lon, and sister, Phyllis, still own the family farms from both sides of his parent's families and farm ownership is deeply rooted in his blood. Don, Lon, and Don's son, Nash, built a cabin on the family's old homestead near Mathiston to have a weekend retreat and to have a place to stay when they attended Mississippi State functions. Another great addition to the Stallings family came about when Don met his wife, Sissy, while attending Mississippi State. A third generation Mississippi Delta girl, Sissy homesteaded Don in the Delta starting a great Hill-Delta link.
Don worked his way through college on the cooperative education program at Mississippi State University working for the Tennessee Valley Authority in construction accounting. Don's early experience in farming and construction has been invaluable in his accounting practice.
Don has developed several financial models on farming, construction, restaurant operations, personal care services, and other operations that have allowed the firm to expand its area of expertise to business financial planning and operational and funding consultation.
While helping a friend in the middle of a divorce, Don became intrigued with
litigation support earning accreditations as a certified valuation analyst
(CVA) in 2001 and as a certified forensic analyst (CFFA) in 2003.
Don's daughter, Frankie, is an attorney with Daniel, Coker, Horton & Bell in Jackson, Mississippi, and his son, Nash, is a contractor in Canton, Mississippi.
Connie Andrews Manager
Connie already had two children and had helped her husband establish a successful farming operation in Bolivar County, Mississippi when she decided to go back to school and get an accounting degree. Connie graduated with honors from Delta State University in May, 1996 with a Bachelor of Business Administration degree in accounting. She joined Baird & Stallings in October, 1996 and has become a valued business counselor for our clients.
As a partner with her husband in their farming operation, Connie has done it all on a farm including driving a truck during harvest season. She keeps the books, prepares payroll and income tax returns, handles all the Farm Service Agency reporting, and meets all the bank's lending requirements for their farm. She makes maintaining a good home for her husband and children and working at the same time look easy.
With such "hands on" experience in a farming operation it was only natural that a lot of our farm clients recruited Connie to advise them on how to keep their farms financially strong. The first thing most of them say when they come in the door is, "I need to see Connie".
It would be hard to find anything around the office that Connie has not done and done well. She has extensive experience in write-up, income tax, auditing, tax planning, business and personal financial planning, forensic analysis of financial information, and cash flow modeling.
Training new staff members has been one of Connie's responsibilities, and if they pass Connie's "training school", they will make good financial counselors.
Connie is responsible for the firm's audits of retirement plans, which is one of the most demanding of all assurance services with intense government scrutiny.
Connie is a master of handling multiple tasks and our clients appreciate her personal attention to their businesses.
Marshall H. Conico, CPA Staff Accountant
Retaining good professional staff is one of the most important goals of any CPA firm and we are fortunate to have Marshall Conico on staff for his second year. Marshall received a Bachelor of Business Administration in Accounting from Delta State University in 2001. He is a member of the Mississippi Society of Certified Public Accountants and the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants.
Marshall joined Baird & Stallings in January, 2002 and has had extensive experience in income tax preparation, auditing, write-up, and forensic analysis of financial information.
Marshall has spent many hours on fish ponds observing feeding and weigh-backs. He can tell you anything you want to know about a catfish operation. In January, he got to see the finished product when he observed inventory at the fish processing plant. The temperature is around 50 degrees below freezing in the cooler, so he's looking forward to observing feeding on the pond bank next August.
Marshall has assisted David Baird in projecting income taxes for year-end planning and on business cash flow models.
Marshall is an affiliate member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants and is currently pursuing his certification in public accounting.
The future of Baird & Stallings is in the hands of our capable young staff of professionals.
Stacie Koger, CPA Staff Accountant
The most important measure of a firm's continuing success is it's ability to recruit new staff. We are very fortunate to have Stacie Koger, an honor graduate of Mississippi State University, as one of our newest recruits. Stacie received a bachelor's of accountancy from Mississippi State University in 2001 and a master's of taxation from Mississippi State University in 2002. She is a member of the Mississippi Society of Certified Public Accountants and the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants.
Stacie grew up in Belzoni, Mississippi, the daughter of a Mississippi Delta farmer, so she knows farming first hand. Her Dad is a successful row-crop farmer and her Mom handles the business end of the farm while managing the family's transportation business. Stacie has learned Quickbooks accounting software from working with her mother on the family books.
Perhaps it was her love of farming that led her to marry Trey Koger, Ph.D., a research scientist at the Stoneville, Mississippi experiment station. She met him while working for an extension research scientist as a student at Mississippi State.
As a training exercise, Stacie prepared a financial model for her father's row crop operation comparing actual results to crop planning budgets published by the Department of Agricultural Economics at Mississippi State. Her Dad says it's a whole lot easier making a profit on paper than it is working in the dirt.
Stacie has become our tax-exempt organization "expert" around the office. She has prepared several successful applications for tax-exempt status handling the initial paperwork and the follow-up with the Internal Revenue Service. She has completed sixteen hours of continuing education on audits of not for profit organizations, and has conducted an audit of a foundation funding research on womens' health issues.
In her short time here, Stacie has become a valued addition to Baird & Stallings who our clients can rely on to take care of their financial needs.
Kathy Anderson Office Manager and Information Technology Specialist
The first employee of Baird & Stallings, Kathy has been with the firm since 1978. No one in the firm is more knowledgeable about our clients and their accounting records than Kathy. Kathy has virtually built our system of information technology. She handles all the accounting and client billing of the firm.
Many of our clients depend on Kathy for their payrolls and financial statements and treat her as one of their family. Kathy grew up in Inverness and she has known most of our clients all of her life. She has been around farmers and farm related businesses all her life and she has an intimate knowledge of how businesses operate.
No matter how complex the accounting system, Kathy can produce a full set of financial records on time every month. She is one of the best bookkeepers in Mississippi today.
Kathy is an expert in dealing with the IRS, Mississippi State Tax Commission, and Mississippi Unemployment Tax Commission on payroll issues.
If there is a question concerning software, Kathy is the first person our staff consults.
Kathy prepares individual, partnership and corporate income taxes. She is responsible for most of the depreciation schedules prepared in the office on fixed assets.
Even though Kathy has a daughter who is a freshman in college, it is hard to tell sometimes which one is younger. Young in spirit, Kathy keeps all of us young at heart.
A firm cannot prosper without strong senior management, and Kathy has been a big part of Baird & Stallings' success story.
Electra McClellan Asssistant Office Manager
Assisstant Information Technology Specialist
Strong support staff is the heart of any CPA firm. Electra is a graduate of Delta State University with a Bachelor of Business Administration. She is planning on pursuing her Masters degree in the fall of 2004.
Having grown up in the Indianola area, Electra has been a good friend of most of the firm's clients for many years. Without a doubt the most outgoing of anyone in the office, she puts a smile on everyone she meets.
Electra has mastered the firm's accounting system and her responsibilities include preparation of client financial statements, payroll tax returns, tax agency correspondence, and coordination of due dates for client reporting.
It is not unusual to see Electra in the office on Saturday mornings when a client needs something in a hurry. Responsible, timely service is what the clients have come to expect from Electra.
Hard working and a caring attitude for the firm's clients are trademarks of Electra. We are lucky to have her.
Kristi B. Smith Bookkeeping and Information Technologist
We were excited to add someone with Kristi's experience to our staff in September, 2004. While attending high school and college, Kristi worked with the Indianola Pecan House having served both as assistant manager and manager. As young as she looks it is hard to believe she worked with Indianola Pecan House for 9 years before coming to Baird & Stallings.
Kristi received an associate degree in computer information systems from Mississippi Delta Community College in 2001 and a bachelor of business administration from Delta State University in 2003. Some of her primary duties include preparation of client financial statements, payroll tax returns, tax agency correspondence, and due date monitoring. Kristi's number one asset is her smile and friendly relationship with the firm's clients.
