The CFOS Team
Kent L. Thomas
Kent Thomas is the founder and managing member of CFO Solutions. Since founding CFO Solutions in 1996, Kent has lead the Company to successfully serve over 300 companies ranging from start-up to $70 million in annual revenues. During this time CFO Solutions clients have raised over $470 Million in equity, debt and lease financing. Kent is a frequent speaker on finance, entrepreneurism, accounting and related topics. In addition, he has served in numerous volunteer capacities including executive or advisory roles for the UACPA, Utah World Trade Center, Grow Utah Ventures, The Wayne Brown Institute, various universities and the Mountain West Capital Network. Kent served as chief executive or chief financial officer/controller of seven companies between 1984 and 1996. Kent started his career in the Salt Lake City office of Ernst & Whinney (currently Ernst & Young) in 1979. Kent has a Bachelor of Science degree in Accounting from Brigham Young University, an MBA from the University of Utah, and is a licensed, Certified Public Accountant.
Jerry L. Vance
Jerry Vance has eighteen years of management experience as a COO, CFO and controller. Jerry has provided CFO consulting services, including, management, acquisition, fundraising, forecasting, valuation, equity, debt and other business consulting and accounting services for over 100 of CFO Solution’s clients and has experience with numerous industries. Jerry has significant experience working with public companies including all SEC reporting. He has accounted for hundreds of millions of dollars of debt and or equity transactions and has been instrumental in securing numerous debt and equity rounds of financing with various companies. His international experience includes finance and accounting of foreign operations in Mexico and the UK. Jerry holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Accounting from the University of Utah.
JB Henriksen
JB Henriksen has over 20 years of experience in financial management and accounting for growth businesses. JB has served as CFO for over 20 businesses ranging from pre-revenue to over $1 billion in various industries. JB was a principal with Mavericx, where he served as CFO for both venture capital and private equity-backed companies. He has experience with mergers and acquisitions and has worked closely with investment bankers and private equity investors. He also has expertise in implementing new accounting systems. JB became a Certified Public Accountant while working for Deloitte and Touche. He is an experienced speaker, and is an adjunct professor at both the University of Utah and Brigham Young University, where he has taught accounting for over 20 years. He volunteers time to consult entrepreneurs through the Wayne Brown Institute, Utah Technology Transfer Office, BYU Student Mentor Group and advises other entrepreneurial groups in the community. JB graduated from the University of Utah with a Bachelor of Arts in Accounting.
Marc White
Marc brings over 20 years of financial leadership expertise and a passion for value optimization, with particular emphasis on planning and reporting organization performance. Marc has helped lead a number of venture capital and angel-backed international technology firms as CFO, Interim CFO, Sr. Consultant or Board member/adviser. He has directed multiple mergers and acquisitions, and has been instrumental in facilitating millions in equity and debt funding and deployment. Marc has held various accounting, tax and finance positions including Group Treasurer for a $1 billion international manufacturing organization. Marc has been a presenter, panelist and speaker at a variety of conferences and workshops. Marc speaks conversational Japanese, earned honors with a Bachelor of Science degree in Accounting and holds an MBA from the University of Utah.
James E. Herrin
Jim Herrin has over 20 years of senior management experience in accounting/finance, corporate development, administration and foreign trade and investment. James is highly experienced in corporate start-ups and early stage companies. He has worked for the past fourteen years as a senior finance and development executive in the biomedical industry with MacroMed (now Protherics), MyGene International, and ViroPan. Prior to this, he worked for the State of Utah International Business Development Office as an International Trade Executive with specific responsibility for Utah’s Korea and Taiwan Trade and Investment Offices and the Utah Export Finance Assistance Program. James received his MBA from the University of Utah and Bachelor of Science degree from Brigham Young University. He is also an accredited associate of the Institute for Independent Business in Watford, England.
Todd Soelberg
Todd Soelberg has more than ten years of experience in accounting and financial management including management roles at Ernst and Young’s prestigious Silicon Valley office, Blue Pumpkin Software, NextPage, and Alpha Bay. Prior to joining CFO Solutions, Todd built a successful consulting practice providing CFO, controller, and technical accounting services to emerging startups and multi-national public companies. Todd has experience helping companies cut costs by eliminating wasteful steps, dramatically reducing audit fees, and improving close cycle time. He has experience with debt and equity financing, revenue recognition, capital and operating lease negotiation, and control design and implementation. Todd is fluent in Spanish, and graduated from The School of Accountancy at BYU’s Marriot School of Management.
Richard Fillmore
Richard Fillmore has 35 years of operational and financial experience in commercial banking and in private sector finance. After seventeen years in commercial banking, Richard left the industry in 1990 to pursue a career in corporate financial management. During this time Richard served as CFO of a construction equipment retailer, as Vice President of Finance of an Internet based medical records retrieval service, and as controller for Business & Financial Solutions L.L.C. Richard currently serves as Controller/Consultant for CFO Solutions. Richard excels in the areas of operational policy implementation, personnel, accounting systems, controls for small to mid-sized organizations and financial modeling. Richard is a Certified Quick Books Pro advisor, and holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Finance from the University of Utah.
Jill J. Salter
Jill Salter has 24 years of experience in general accounting with specific experience as a controller and financial auditing. Jill specializes in inventory accounting and manufacturing. Throughout her career, she has been responsible for accounting, office operations, information systems, inventory design and implementation, general administration, human resources and payroll. Jill has experience in the design and management of office workflow, accounting, and inventory operations. She was instrumental in managing accounting operations for a manufacturing company that grew from $10 million in annual sales to over $25 million. Jill is a licensed Certified Public Accountant and holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Accounting and a Masters of Professional Accountancy from the University of Utah.
Casey Foote
Casey has over ten years of management experience as a controller, CFO, or consultant. He has worked in various sectors including public accounting, education, distribution, manufacturing, MLM, retail, non-profit, automotive, and restaurant services. Casey also owned and managed construction and real-estate development businesses. Casey has implemented new accounting systems including MAS 500, SAP Business One, ComputerEase, Netsuite, and Quickbooks Enterprise. Casey has deep spreadsheet and database skills and is very capable with analytics and forecasting software programs such as Oracle Crystal Ball, SAS JMP statistical analysis, and derivatives modeling. Casey enjoys helping businesses streamline their accounting systems and find innovative solutions to the complexities of their business environment. Casey holds an MBA degree from the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School of Business with an emphasis in finance and a Masters of Accounting degree from BYU’s Marriott School of Management.
Don E. Vance
Don Vance has over 23 years of experience in business management with emphasis as a controller and accountant. Don specializes in financial statement preparation, budgeting and forecasting, financial statement analysis, audit preparation, general ledger reconciliations and accounting staff management. Don provides training and assistance to CFO’s, controllers, accountants and bookkeepers. He is instrumental in helping numerous companies become GAAP compliant, recover from accounting breakdowns, and improve financial reporting and in preparing them for audits, investment rounds and bank reviews. Don is an expert in QuickBooks, Intact, Great Plains, Net Suite, JD Edwards and numerous other accounting systems. Don earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Accounting from Utah State University and holds a Master of Accounting degree from Weber State University.
Kristen Walker
Kristen Walker joined the CFO Solutions team in September 2007 after moving from Orange County, California, where she worked in public accounting. Her public accounting experience included financial statement preparation, review, and audit, and tax return preparation for a variety of clients, the bulk of which were in the construction and retail industries. Prior to that, Kristen served in accounting staff and managerial positions at several businesses in the real estate, retail, and high-tech industries.
Kristen is proficient in financial statement preparation and is versatile and willing to take on new projects. Utilizing her experience as both auditor and audit client, she specializes in audit preparation, assistance, and support, and in designing and implementing controls to ensure GAAP compliance and future positive audit results for her clients.
Kristen is a CPA and graduated with a Masters of Accountancy, Tax Emphasis, from Brigham Young University.
Randi Letendre
Randi Letendre has over 20 years of experience as CFO, controller, and Financial Analyst. She worked as an Auditor for Ernst & Young and has extensive experience in business consulting. She consults businesses on effective cash management, strategic financial planning, budgeting and forecasting, and loan funding. She is an expert in company formation, and due diligence for mergers and acquisitions. As a consultant for new companies her expertise in credit management, operations and financial analysis and statement generation are invaluable. She has experience in systems implementation and trains and mentors companies on strategic tax planning and tax preparation. She is on the board of directors for the Ogden Weber Convention and Visitor’s Bureau. Randi earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Economics from The University of California, Santa Barbara
Craig Shields
Craig is an experienced financial executive with expertise in tax strategies and preparation. Craig has served as a financial executive and financial consultant for many businesses in several industries. He has worked with venture capital-backed companies as well as bootstrap funded developing companies. His experience includes positions as Director of State Taxes and Director of Tax Research and Planning at American Stores Company, a $19 billion company. He started his professional career with 10 years experience at Ernst and Whinney (Ernst and Young). He consults with businesses and individuals about income and other tax strategies. Craig received a Masters of Accountancy degree from Brigham Young University.
Dennis G. Bayes
Dennis Bays has 37 years of professional finance, accounting and human resources experience with a number of well-known companies. Dennis started his career with Price Waterhouse where he became a CPA specializing in the retail industry. He later worked on Mrs. Field’s Cookies IPO as Vice President of Finance for their parent company. Dennis also worked on ALTA Health Strategies IPO and in the completion of several business acquisitions for them as CFO. Dennis was responsible for accounting and budgeting for the Olympic Winter Games of 2002 and has experience with venture funding through his work as CFO of New Media Venture Partners. Dennis has also worked with development-stage companies, including health and fitness ventures as well as real estate development ventures. Dennis graduated magna cum laude from the University of Utah with a Bachelor of Science degree in Accounting.
Francis A. Lyman
Francis Lyman has considerable experience as an outsourced CFO, providing a financial oversight and reporting role for some clients, and a full accounting and bookkeeping function for others. Francis’ consulting experience involves leveraging technology to build and implement custom information and accounting systems. His specialty is in finding creative solutions to manage the financial and non-financial data of a company. Francis is an expert at integrating information systems including front-end systems with accounting systems, or inventory systems with the general ledger. He is also an expert at automating routine and mundane accounting and reporting processes that are often done inefficiently, non-timely, inaccurately, and at high labor costs in most companies. Francis holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Accounting from the Brigham Young University.
Lee Stephenson
Lee Stephenson has over 25 years of experience in financial management, tax planning and accounting. He has served as the CFO for companies ranging in size from 150 to 650 employees. He is experienced in business turn-arounds and has completed several mergers and acquisitions. In addition to traditional sources, Lee has also raised money using a city sponsored, tax-exempt municipal bond. Prior to this, he served as the Director of Tax for a privately held business in Denver, Colorado and assisted in structuring over 20 entrepreneurial ventures in oil and gas, ranching, ski resort operations, and aircraft leasing. He started his career in the Denver office of KPMG. Lee is a CPA currently licensed in Utah and Colorado. He holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Accounting from the University of Utah.