Mauldin & Jenkins, LLC, an Atlanta-based CPA firm offering audit, accounting, and tax services for 100 years, is pleased to announce that previous Birmingham office Partner-in-Charge and Financial Institutions Group Leader, Hanson Borders, will officially transition into the Managing Partner position. In addition to Hanson’s delegation to managing partner, Mauldin & Jenkins also announces the appointment of five new Partners throughout the Firm: Heather Batson, Nicole Cunningham, Derrick Cowart, Michael Gordon and Tim Lyons.
As the transition of the leadership of Mauldin & Jenkins, LLC draws to completion for the seventh time in 100 years, we are reminded that the success of our Firm is driven by the motivation to build a Firm that will stand the test of time. At the foundation of this objective is the core value that partners are stewards of the Firm and will leave a vibrant and successful Firm to the next generation.
We would also like to thank Donny Luker for his service as Managing Partner for the last nine years and are excited for Hanson’s plans to move the Firm forward toward the next 100 years of success.
Hanson Borders, Managing Partner
Hanson began his career with Mauldin & Jenkins in 1989 and has twenty-nine years of auditing, tax and consulting experience primarily in the financial services area. In 2004, Hanson was appointed as the partner-in-charge of the Birmingham, Alabama office and in 2017 was elected as managing partner of the Firm effective as of September 1, 2018.
Hanson received his BBA in accounting from the University of Georgia in 1989 and his MBA from Georgia State University in 1998 and is a CPA in Georgia and Alabama.
MEET THE NEW PARTNERS:
Heather Batson, Chattanooga, TN
Heather Batson, CPA, has been with the firm since 2003. Heather graduated from the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga (UTC) with a Bachelor of Science in Accounting and Finance in 2001 and a Master of Accountancy in 2003. Heather’s experience includes audits for financial institutions, including public companies (SEC), not-forprofit organizations, and employee benefit plans.
She is a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) and the Tennessee Society of Certified Public Accountants (TSCPA). She currently serves on the state board of directors for TSCPA and has held various officer positions for the Chattanooga chapter. She also serves on the
accounting advisory board for UTC.
Nicole Cunningham, Birmingham, AL
Nicole Cunningham, CPA, has been with the firm since 2005. She received her BS in Business Administration in 2004 and her Master of Accountancy in 2005, both from Auburn University.
Nicole’s experience includes audits for financial institutions, internal control audits, non-profit organization audits, HUD audits, and examinations of controls at service center organizations. She is a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, the Alabama Society of Certified Public Accountants, Birmingham Young CPAs, the Alabama Association of Non-Profits, and is on the faculty of the Alabama Banking School.
Nicole is very active in the community with the Junior League of Birmingham.
Derrick Cowart, Savannah, GA
Derrick Cowart, CPA, is a partner in the governmental practice division of Mauldin & Jenkins, LLC. His experience covers a wide variety of state and local governments in Georgia and South Carolina. Derrick graduated from Georgia Southern University with a Bachelors of Business Administration and a major in Accounting, and has been practicing public accounting since 1985.
Derrick brought his talents and experience to Mauldin & Jenkins in 2018 as part of the Firm’s acquisition of a Savannah based governmental auditing, accounting and consulting practice for which he practiced for over 27 years. Derrick is registered and licensed to practice public accounting in the State of Georgia, and he currently spends 100% of his time serving local governments and non-profit entities.
Derrick is involved in several organizations promoting the public accounting profession and the governmental sector. Derrick is a member of the American Institute of CPAs, the Georgia Society of CPAs, and the Georgia Government Finance Officers Association (GGFOA).
Michael Gordon, Atlanta, GA
Michael Gordon, CPA, received his BA in Economics and European History from Vanderbilt University in 2003 and his MBA with a concentration in Accounting from the Georgia Institute of Technology Scheller College of Business in 2005.
Since joining Mauldin & Jenkins, LLC in 2005, Michael has focused his career on audits for financial institutions and audits of employee benefit plans. Additionally, Michael’s experience includes assisting clients with FDICIA and SOX 404 testing, HUD compliance and regulatory reporting. His experience at Mauldin & Jenkins, LLC also includes audits of clients within the governmental sector and the healthcare industry.
Michael is a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants and the Georgia Society of Certified Public Accountants. Michael is active within a variety of banking organizations in the Southeast.
Tim Lyons, Columbia, SC
Tim Lyons, CPA, recently transferred to our Columbia office from the Atlanta office. Tim specializes in service to clients in a wide range of industries including middle market and privately held businesses, employee benefit plans, higher education, not-for-profit organizations and governmental entities. His experience covers attestation services, consulting, and advisory work with a wide variety of clients throughout the Carolinas, Georgia, and Tennessee.
Tim earned his bachelor’s degree from Furman University in 2006 and his Masters of Science in Accountancy from the College of Charleston in 2009. He began his career in the Atlanta Office of Mauldin & Jenkins in 2009. In June 2018, Tim relocated from the Atlanta Office to the Columbia Office. Tim is licensed as a certified public accountant (CPA) in both the states of Georgia and South Carolina and is also a chartered global management accountant (CGMA).
Tim is involved in a variety of organizations to both support client industries and to promote the CPA profession overall. At the national level, Tim is a member of the American Institute of CPAs and is a graduate of the AICPA Leadership Academy, Class of 2012. At the state level, Tim recently completed a term on the Board of Directors of the Education Foundation for the GSCPA.
About Mauldin & Jenkins, LLC
Mauldin & Jenkins has provided audit, accounting and tax services since 1918. Since the firm’s inception in Albany, GA we have added offices in Atlanta, GA, Macon, GA, Birmingham, AL, Bradenton, FL, Chattanooga, TN, Columbia, SC and Savannah, GA. We have grown into one of the top 100 accounting firms in the nation. For more information, please visit www.mjcpa.com.
