Meet The Team

Mark A. Welp, CPA, CFE

Mark is an Audit Principal with Holbrook & Manter and Certified Public Accountant with 10+ years’ experience. In addition to working with clients on various SOC engagements, Mark specializes in leading and performing annual audits and reviews of company financial statements across a diverse client base.

Mark’s abilities extend beyond the basic assurance services with his background as a Certified Fraud Examiner (CFE). As a CFE, Mark provides a wide range of services from internal control evaluations to forensic examinations. Prior to joining H&M, Mark worked for a local accounting firm in Columbus and in the audit division of Ernst & Young, LLP. At E&Y, Mark worked on integrated audits for large SEC issuers, including Limited Brands, Cardinal Health and Park National Bank. While working on these large engagements, he gained experience performing control testing under the requirements of Sarbanes-Oxley 404.

Education

  • Bachelor of Arts – Otterbein University
  • Master of Accounting – The Ohio State University

Professional Accreditation

  • CPA – Certified Public Accountant, Ohio
  • CFE – Certified Fraud Examiner

Association & Memberships

  • American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA)
  • Ohio Society of Certified Public Accountants (OSCPA)
  • Member of Peer Review Committee and Accounting & Auditing Committee
  • Past Treasurer of the Columbus Chapter of the American Marketing Association

Contact Mark Today: MWelp@HolbrookManter.com

Pete Rife, CISA, CISSP, CDPSE, ISO 27001 Lead Auditor

Pete Rife is a Certified Information Systems Auditor (CISA) and a Certified Information Systems Security Professional (CISSP).

Pete graduated from Ridgedale High School in Marion Ohio before attending The Ohio State University. He formed Zero One Communications, a technology integration and consulting firm which specialized in system design and deployment. During his years at Zero One Communications, he delivered solutions to a variety of industries including healthcare, financial services, manufacturing, governmental, and institutional clients. In 1998 Pete joined the technology consulting practice of Holbrook & Manter. Working with Holbrook & Manter, Pete has developed a technology management practice focused on providing medium enterprise clients with CIO-level advisory services. His recent client projects include extensive work in the healthcare and financial services sectors for several 500M+ companies across the US.

Examples of managed projects:

  • Managed all aspects of technology for the build and move of a new community hospital. Responsible for all technology requirements from design to build. Managed move of all clinical departments into new facility.
  • Managed a complete hospital pharmacy automation for a Lutheran Hospital Network hospital. LHN is an 8000+ employee hospital in the publicly traded CHS hospital group.
  • Managed the deployment of a 20+ site MPLS WAN (Wide Area Network) for a 300+ million energy company in central Ohio.
  • Design and deployment of a complete new network infrastructure for a worldwide manufacturer of heavy equipment.
  • Numerous projects regarding internal control and information security. Audits types include review of relevant compliance requirements including HIPAA, SOC 1, SOC 2, SOX and other regulations. Information Security policy development and awareness training are often included in these engagements.
  • Managed a complete software conversion and migration for a regional financial services firm. The project included database migration, SAN deployment, and WAFS (Wide Area File System) hardware for application acceleration and moving all infrastructure into a level 4 data center.

Professional Accreditation

  • CISA- Certified Information Systems Auditor
  • Certified Information Systems Security Professional (CISSP).

Education

  • Attended The Ohio State University

Contact Pete Today: PRife@HolbrookManter.com

Stephen C. Smith, CPA, CGMA, MBA, CVA

Stephen C. Smith is a Principal with Holbrook & Manter. Stephen has been with H&M since 1998, primarily focusing on Accounting and Auditing and the Management Advisory Service Areas while concentrating on the firm’s Consulting and Business Development and Business Valuation Services. Stephen’s industry and focus areas include manufacturing, construction, professional services and closely held businesses.

Prior to joining H&M, Stephen gained extensive diversified management experience for a $100+ million international manufacturer of life support systems and products. His responsibilities have included finance, accounting, Security Exchange Commission (SEC) reporting, payroll, financial reporting, budgeting, accounts payable and other controllership and management oversight functions.

Stephen is an alumnus of Deloitte & Touche, where he spent five years gaining extensive management, audit, tax, consultancy and SEC experience.

For years, Stephen has been asked to speak on various subjects to groups ranging from client seminars up to the Ohio Society of CPAs. His experience and training has allowed him to provide value to his clients and audiences by focusing on the vision, strategy and structure of their operations. He leads discussions on management, business analysis, business controls, ratio analysis and industry benchmarking.

Education

  • Master of Business Administration – Capital University
  • Bachelor of Science and Business Administration (Accounting and Finance) – The Ohio State University

Professional Accreditation

  • CPA – Certified Public Accountant, Ohio
  • CGMA – Chartered Global Management Accountant
  • CVA – Certified Valuation Analyst

Associations & Memberships

  • American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA)
  • Ohio Society of Certified Public Accountants (OSCPA)
  • National Association of Certified Valuation Analysts (NACVA)
  • Ohio Society of Certified Public Accountants committee member
  • Ohio Manufacturing Association
  • Board Member of several Community Board

Contact Stephen today: SSmith@HolbrookManter.com

David J. Gruber, Director of Risk Advisory Services & CPA


Dave Gruber has over 30 years of experience in accounting, financial, and consulting roles. Dave is the former President of DJG Financial Consulting, LLC, where he spent nearly a decade in various consulting roles focusing substantially on Sarbanes-Oxley compliance and part-time Chief Financial Officer duties. His experience includes both large public companies, privately held companies, and non-profit organizations. Dave has also served as a Trustee for four mutual fund complexes, as well as a Board Member for one non-profit organization.

In 2018, he was appointed as a Board Member for the State Teachers Retirement System of Ohio. Prior to becoming an independent corporate finance and accounting consultant, he served in a variety of accounting roles for various entities including Controller and Chief Financial Officer. His career started with PricewaterhouseCoopers, a certified public accounting firm.

Education

  • Miami University

Professional Accreditation

  • CPA – Certified Public Accountant, Ohio
  • Member – American Institute of Certified Public Accountants

Contact David today: dgruber@HolbrookManter.com

Jennie Severt

Jennie Severt is a Senior Associate on Holbrook & Manter’s Audit and Assurance Services team. She joined the Holbrook & Manter team in 2017 and has worked in public accounting for over 3 years. Jennie’s primary focuses include work in the not-for-profit and manufacturing industries, along with projects related to Sarbanes Oxley (SOX) compliance testing and Service Organization Control (SOC) testing.

Prior to joining the H&M team, Jennie started her career working for a large, global firm. During her time in public accounting, Jennie has gained experience with a wide variety of clients and industries, including both publicly-traded and privately-owned organizations. Through these experiences, Jennie’s interest and passion for working with an assortment of shapes and sizes of clients has grown. She most enjoys working with not-for-profit and closely held organizations, as there are generally more questions to be answered and help to be given when working with a smaller client.

Jennie obtained her undergraduate degree in Accounting from Capital University in Bexley, Ohio in the Spring of 2016. Over the last few years, Jennie has become increasingly involved in volunteer activities with the Ronald McDonald House of Central Ohio and has raised money for various events supporting Nationwide Children’s Hospital.

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