Leaders
Robert L. Braun
Robert L. (Bob) Braun, Ph. D., is the Phil K. Livingston Professor of Accounting and head of the Department of Accounting and Finance at Southeastern Louisiana University. He has published in Accounting Organizations and Society, Journal of Accountancy, and Issues in Accounting Education, among others. Research interests include the examination and advancement of ethics in the accounting profession, pedagogical inquiry, and auditing behavior. Teaching interests include ethics, auditing, and principles of accounting.
Sheelah S. Brewer
Sharee Brewer, CPA, CGFM, CFE began serving with the Mississippi State Board of Public Accountancy as the Executive Director, Investigations on June 30, 2017. She replaces Andy Wright who was promoted to Executive Director March 1, 2017. Prior to joining the MSBPA, she served for 5 years as a Finance & Accounting Consultant with the University of Tennessee's Institute for Public Service in the agency known as MTAS (Municipal Technical Advisory Service). In this capacity, she provided technical assistance to Tennessee municipal governing bodies and financial staff relevant to standards of practice, governing regulations, and Tennessee and Federal law. She also served as an instructor for a state-mandated certification program designed specifically for local government financial personnel as well as other training of a technical nature assigned by the University. Before coming to work with the University of Tennessee, she was employed for 22 years as a Financial & Compliance Auditor with the Tennessee State Comptroller's Office of Local Government Audit where she conducted audits of county governments and associated component units. She graduated from Mississippi State University in 1987 with a Bachelor of Professional Accountancy degree and completed her MBA with a banking and finance emphasis with the University of Tennessee in 2016. She holds CPA licenses in both Tennessee and Mississippi, earning the Tennessee certificate in 1993 and Mississippi certificate in 2017. Sharee holds additional certificates as a Certified Governmental Financial Manager and Certified Fraud Examiner.
Mark Edmonds
Mark A. Edmonds, Ph.D., CPA, is an assistant professor in the Department of Accounting and Finance at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. He has taught principles and advanced accounting classes in face-to-face, flipped, and online formats. Dr. Edmonds began his career providing assurance services for the internationally recognized accounting firm Ernst & Young. At the conclusion of his professional service, he obtained his Ph.D. from Southern Illinois University Carbondale. He serves as the education adviser on the board of the Institute of Internal Auditors Birmingham Chapter. Dr. Edmonds's research focuses on alternative learning strategies and auditor decision making.
Jan F. Lewis
As a tax member of BMSS Advisors and CPA's (formerly Haddox Reid Eubank Betts), Jan's responsibilities include income and estate tax planning, research, and compliance for individual and business clients. Her areas of practice include healthcare, oil & gas, construction, real estate, and high-net-worth individuals. An avid and well-respected speaker, she has taught continuing education classes throughout Mississippi and nationwide in the areas of income tax planning, business tax matters, and S corporation tax issues and has given presentations on financial literacy, current tax policy, and other tax issues to various groups across the state. Jan has also authored articles on tax matters for the Tax Adviser publication of the AICPA's Tax Division and has been interviewed by Fox Business News, NPR, Forbes, Wall Street Journal, Bloomberg, and the Detroit Free Press for her insight on various policy and practice matters affecting taxpayers.
Jan is active in the Mississippi Society of Certified Public Accountants (MSCPA), previously serving as president of the Society, and as an officer of the Society's Central Chapter, as well as a trustee of the Mississippi Tax Institute. Jan is a member of the Long Range Planning Committee and the Young CPAs Liaison Committee.
She is also an active member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA), and has held many leadership roles within the AICPA throughout her career. She has served as the MSCPA's elected representative to the AICPA Council and on the AICPA Life Insurance and Disability Plans Committee. She was a member and chair of the AICPA's Tax Practice and Procedures Committee and is currently the immediate past chair of the AICPA's Tax Executive Committee (TEC), having previously served as a member, vice chair and chair of that committee. The TEC is the senior committee overseeing the work of all Tax Division committees and technical resource panels of the AICPA, and her work with that committee has been especially rewarding both personally and professionally.
In May of 2023, Jan began a three-year term as one of 26 members of the Board of Directors of the Association of International Certified Professional Accountants (the Association), and one of 18 members of the AICPA's Board, while also serving on the AICPA Governing Council. In her role as a board member of both the Association and the AICPA, Jan is a part of the executive committee that directs the strategic vision of both organizations. The AICPA is the national professional organization for all CPAs, with over 420,000 members in the U.S. and worldwide. The Association is the global voice of the accounting and finance professional, with over 650,000 members globally, and was founded by the AICPA and the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (CIMA). It is a distinct honor to be in this position of leadership in the profession.
Guy M. McClain
Guy McClain is an Associate Professor in the Else School of Management at Millsaps College. He teaches courses in accounting, primarily focusing on auditing and financial statement analysis. He also teaches the accounting senior seminar which focuses on the globalization of accounting standards. He is also an affiliated visiting professor with the IESEG School of Management in France with campuses in Lille and Paris. He has also taught during the summer term with the East China Normal University in Shanghai, China.
Billy A. Morehead
William A. (Billy) Morehead, Ph.D., CGFM, CPA:
Billy is a Professor of Accountancy at Mississippi College in Clinton, Mississippi where he teaches primarily Governmental and Advanced accounting classes at the undergraduate and graduate levels. Billy retired from the State of Mississippi in 2011 after 27 years of service in various roles, including Vice President for Finance and Administration, Interim Dean, Chair, and Associate Professor at Delta State University, auditor for the State Auditor's Office; GAAP Project Administrator for the State Department of Finance and Administration; and CFO within the State Department of Mental Health.
Billy has been a member of the Association of Government Accountants for more than 30 years and has served as both National President and National Treasurer. Billy has served in various other national and chapter roles including the Chair of the Editorial Board for the Journal of Government Financial Management and the Chair of the Higher Education Committee. Billy has also received several AGA national awards, including three National President's Awards, the Educator Award, and the Robert W. King Memorial Award. Billy is a member of the Mississippi Society of CPAs and the American Institute of CPAs.
Dave L. Nichols
Dr. Dave L. Nichols is Associate Professor and Horne LLP Lecturer in the Patterson School of Accountancy at The University of Mississippi. He earned his Ph.D. in Accounting at Oklahoma State University. His research interests include, in addition to Title VII employment issues, accounting certification issues and the usefulness of geographic segment reporting. Professor Nichols' articles have appeared in or have been accepted in the Southern Law Journal, Journal of International Accounting, Auditing and Taxation, Journal of Computer Information Systems, Industrial Management, International Financial Management Journal, Critical Perspectives on Accounting, Journal of Corporate Accounting & Finance, Human Resource Planning, Petroleum Accounting and Financial Management Journal, Journal of Individual Employment Rights, and the Journal of Contemporary Business Issues.
Thomas G. Stephens
Tommy Stephens received a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration degree (Major in Accounting) from Auburn University in 1985. In 1992, he earned a Master of Science degree (Major in Finance) from Georgia State University in Atlanta. Presently, Tommy is a Certified Public Accountant, a Certified Information Technology Professional, and a Chartered Global Management Accountant.
In 1995, Tommy began authoring and presenting continuing professional education courses to accounting and finance professionals. In 2003, he affiliated with K2 Enterprises, and in 2007, he joined the firm as a partner. Over the past twenty-seven years, Tommy has presented over 2,800 educational sessions to over 71,000 participants throughout the United States and Canada.
Tommy maintains professional memberships with the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants and the Georgia Society of Certified Public Accountants. Additionally, he is a past member of the Institute of Internal Auditors.
