Professionals

Bill Harshman is the founding member of Harshman & Company, LLC. His practice includes providing business, accounting and tax consulting and representation services and tax return preparation services to a variety of companies that range in size from a few hundred thousand to several billion dollars in annual revenues. His clients represent a broad cross section of industries, including primary metals manufacturing and fabrication, software development and support, professional and technical services, real estate development, residential and commercial construction, restaurants and food service companies and non-profit entities.

Prior to forming Harshman & Company, he was a founding member of Harshman & Phillips, LLC and a partner in Ernst & Young, LLC and its predecessor firm, Arthur Young & Company. While at Arthur Young & Company, Mr. Harshman was the director of the Atlanta office Tax Department from June of 1982 until October of 1989. During this period, Mr. Harshman served two two-year terms on the Firm’s National Tax Advisory Committee, which set overall business and policy goals for the firm’s Tax Practice.

Mr. Harshman is a CPA in Georgia and is certified by the American Institute of Certified Public Accounts as a Certified Global Management Accountant (CGMA). He is a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants and the Georgia Society of CPAs where he has served as Chair and Vice Chair of the Leadership Team for the Georgia Society of CPAs Taxation Section. He is currently Chair of the GSCPAs Federal and State Tax Task Force and of its Federal and State Legislative Tax Force. Previously he served as both Chair and Vice Chair of the Tax Section of the GSCPA. He was also a member of the Georgia Department of Revenue Commissioner’s Advisory Council for 2010 – 2012.

Lark Brewster is a tax manager with Harshman & Company, LLC. She specializes in providing tax consulting, tax representation and compliance services to a variety of clients from large, multi-national manufacturers to local professional and business services companies.

Lark was with Harshman Phillips & Company for thirteen years prior to joining Harshman & Company at its founding. She began her public accounting career with Ernst & Young, LLC and prior to that worked in the Atlanta headquarters of a large auto parts distribution company.

Ms. Brewster is a CPA in Georgia and is certified by the American Institute of Certified Public Accounts as a Certified Global Management Accountant (CGMA). She is a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants and the Georgia Society of CPAs.

Brett Baker works with Harshman & Company, LLC and serves a variety of clients in Atlanta and the Southeast. His practice entails individual, business, accounting, and tax consulting; tax representation and compliance services; tax return preparation; and bookkeeping-related services. His clients encompass a variety of industries including, but not limited to, professional and technical services, law firms, real estate, residential and commercial construction, manufacturing, and healthcare. He provides services for small and large entities, ranging from one hundred thousand to multi-million dollars in revenue.

Prior to joining Harshman & Company, Mr. Baker was with Harshman Phillips & Company (“HPC”) for fifteen years. He was a Partner at HPC during his last eight years there. He began his accounting career with a large Atlanta home security company in 1992. He started off as a Staff Accountant, and later served as Controller.

Mr. Baker is a CPA in Georgia. He is a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) and the Georgia Society of CPAs. He is also a certified expert in Xero, a premier small business accounting cloud solution.

Dianne McLeod has twenty plus years of experience in business administration and human resources. She administers the firm’s operations, human resources, vendor relations and tax processing areas.

Dianne previously worked with Harshman Phillips & Company for 3 years prior to joining Harshman & Company at its founding. Prior to that Dianne worked for a community bank in Atlanta and was the Director of Human Resources.

Dianne is a certified Professional in Human Resources (PHR). She is a member of both Society of Human Resources Management National and Atlanta chapters.

Jim Jennings is a professional associate of and consultant to Harshman & Company, LLC. His practice focuses on providing tax services to privately-held businesses and to trustees and liquidating agents for debtors in bankruptcy. He provides his clients with extensive business and tax consulting services, including assisting in recovering assets of bankruptcy estates, formulating reorganization and restructuring plans, negotiating creditor claims and liquidating assets. He routinely advises both domestic and international operating companies and individuals on US taxation issues and planning.

Jim began his career as a loan officer with Manufacturers Hanover and has since worked in both public accounting and consulting with several firms focusing on mergers and acquisitions and for financially troubled companies in restructuring and bankruptcy proceedings. He currently has his own firm, Jennings Advisors, LLC, and regularly consults with Harshman & Company on tax matters, including representation of clients before both the Internal Revenue Service and state tax authorities.

Jim is a CPA in Georgia and has a Bachelor of Business Administration from Michigan State University and a Master of Taxation from Georgia State University. Jim is a member of the Georgia Society of Certified Public Accountants and of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants.