McLean, Koehler, Sparks & Hammond is pleased to announce the promotion of Barbara K. Walker, CPA, CVA, MBA to Partner and Jim Kehres, GSEC, CSSA  to Principal.
Barbara K. Walker, CPA, CVA, MBA, began her accounting and auditing career 15 years ago with MKS&H. Barb has extensive experience in various industries including construction, wholesale distribution, hospitality, manufacturing, government contracting, professional services, health care, and cemetery and funeral homes. In the non-profit sector, Barb has utilized her expertise to assist private schools, trade associations, long-term care providers, developmental service providers and governmental entities with their business and compliance needs.

A resident of Jefferson, Barb serves as Treasurer on the Executive Board of the Frederick County Chamber of Commerce.  Barb is a past Treasurer and Board Director for the Rotary Club of Carroll Creek and is currently a member of the Rotary Club of Frederick. Barb is a graduate of the Frederick County Chamber of Commerce’s Leadership Frederick program.  She is also a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants and the Maryland Association of Certified Public Accountants.

Barb holds a Bachelor’s degree from the University of Maryland at College Park and an MBA degree with a concentration in Accounting from Mount Saint Mary’s University.  She is a Certified Public Accountant and a Certified Valuations Analyst.

Jim Kehres, GSEC, CSSA, is the Vice President of McLean, Koehler, Sparks & Hammond’s technology consulting division, Tier One Technology Partners and has been with the firm throughout his 14 year career.  He assists small and mid-sized clients with the development, delivery and support of technology solutions.  Jim specifically has designed security solutions for many clients in both small and large environments.  He is qualified to effectively plan, implement, maintain, and support Microsoft Windows systems.

Jim was the lead engineer on an eight-month project for a private company awarded a military contract involving the design and implementation of a secure network consisting of Cisco routers, Checkpoint firewalls, and Storage Area Networks (SAN).  Jim also completed a project for a large local wholesale distribution company to secure their e-business platform using SonicWall products.

A resident of Columbia, Jim is a Microsoft Certified Professional, Certified by GIAC in Security Essentials and is a Certified SonicWall Security Administrator.  He also is an active member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountant’s Information Technology Alliance.  Jim has a B.S. in Computer Science from Towson University.

McLean, Koehler, Sparks & Hammond is a growing professional service firm with offices in Hunt Valley and Frederick.  MKS&H helps owners and organizational leaders become more successful by advising them regarding their financial, technology and management needs.