Whitley Penn Announces New Partners for 2022

Fort Worth, TX (December 15, 2021) – Whitley Penn is pleased to announce the following individuals have been promoted to Partner as of January 1, 2022:

Andy Hines, CPA, joined Whitley Penn in 2010. Hines is a certified public accountant with more than 10 years of experience in public accounting serving a broad range of clients, focusing primarily on private clients in the manufacturing and distribution, healthcare, oil and gas servicing, employee benefit plan, and nonprofit industries.  Hines also heads the Audit Innovation and Technology initiative for Whitley Penn Audit.  Hines earned his BBA and MS in accounting from the University of Texas at Arlington.

Hines is a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) and the Texas Society of Certified Public Accountants (TXCPA). He serves as Treasurer and Chair of the Finance Committee for Helping Restore Abilities, a local Arlington nonprofit.  He has also served as the Treasurer for FitWorth, a Fort Worth based nonprofit, and as a committee member for the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation’s Annual Stair Climb event in DFW. 

He is an alumni of the 2017 Leading Edge class of Leadership Fort Worth and in 2014 was selected to participate in Nexia’s Secondment program where he worked abroad as an audit senior in Melbourne, Australia.

Joe Lavis, CPA, joined Whitley Penn in 2011. He has significant experience advising clients on tax and advisory matters with a focus on partnerships, corporations, and high-net-worth individuals. He primarily works with private equity portfolio companies and middle market entities in the energy, real estate, manufacturing, distribution & retail, and professional services industries.

Lavis’s experience includes assisting public and private companies with the preparation and review of their annual tax returns and estimated payments, mergers and acquisitions, partnership targeted allocation considerations & calculations, start-up accounting, and other general tax consulting and accounting projects.

Lavis is a Member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA), the Texas Society of Certified Public Accountants (TXCPA) and serves on the Executive Committee for the Dallas Chapter of the Council of Petroleum Accountants Society (COPAS).

Lavis received his B.B.A. in Accounting from Baylor University.

Kristen Sayegh, CPA, joined Whitley Penn in 2012. Her tax practice has centered around working with families, entrepreneurs, closely held businesses, and high-networth individuals focusing on estate planning, financial planning, federal and multi-jurisdictional income tax planning, and professional accounting services.  She is a member of the Houston Estate and Financial Forum, American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) and the Texas Society of Certified Public Accountants (TXCPA).  Sayegh serves on Whitley Penn’s Innovation Council and is involved with the firm’s recruiting efforts at several Texas universities. Additionally, Sayegh regularly prepares and presents on tax legislation both internally and externally.

Sayegh was a Rotary Ambassadorial Scholar to Hong Kong, Past President of the Rotary Club of Houston Skyline and a member of Leadership Houston, Class of XXXII.  She was the University of Houston-Victoria’s 2021 Young Alumna of the Year and was a Houston Business Journal 2021 Woman to Watch Honoree. 

Sayegh received a B.B.A. and M.B.A. from the University of Houston-Victoria.

Patrick Simmons, CPA, joined Whitley Penn in 2013.Simmons has more than nine years of experience serving public sector clients including school districts, higher education, local municipalities, special-purpose districts, and nonprofit organizations. His primary role is to oversee audits of public sector clients which includes financial statement audits, single audits (federal & state compliance), and program-specific audits.

Simmons has extensive knowledge of financial reporting as it relates to preparing, analyzing, and reviewing Annual Comprehensive Financial Reports (ACFRs). In addition, he has extensive knowledge of internal control best practices, Governmental Auditing Standards, and the OMB Uniform Guidance.

Simmons is a member of American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) and Texas Society of Certified Public Accountants (TXCPA).

Simmons received his Master’s in Accounting from the University of Houston – Clear Lake and his undergraduate degree from Texas A&M University.

Roger Tovar, CPA, joined Whitley Penn in 2021. Tovar is an Audit Partner within the firm’s Public Sector group, and has over 16 years of experience in auditing and performing other attest engagements for various governmental entities, including counties, cities, school districts, other special‐purpose governments, and nonprofit organizations, council of governments and other special purpose districts. He is a member of the Government Finance Officers Association (GFOA), Special Review Committee (SRC), American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA), and Texas Society of Certified Public Accountants (TXCPA). He also participates in Texas Association of School Business Officials (TASBO) events in exhibitions.

Tovar attended Angelo State University where he earned his B.B.A. in Accounting.

“We congratulate and welcome these notable individuals to the Whitely Penn Partnership,” stated Larry G. Autrey, Whitley Penn Managing Partner. “We wish them great success as they continue this new chapter in their career.”

About Whitley Penn, LLP

Whitley Penn has consistently been recognized as “One the Top 100 Firms in the U.S.” and “Best of the Best” by INSIDE Public Accounting and other industry publications.  For more information on Whitley Penn, please visit www.whitleypenn.com.

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