Leadership Team

PARTNERS

John W. Lucht, CPA
Managing Partner

John joined Smith & Howard in 1990 as Audit Partner after spending time at a Big 4 firm. He served as partner in charge of our Accounting, Advisory and Assurance Services, until November 2010, when he assumed the role of Managing Partner.

John received his BBA in accounting from the University of Georgia. He is a member of the AICPA and the Georgia Society of Certified Public Accountants. In addition, he is an alumnus of Leadership Gwinnett, and has served as an Advisory Board member with the YMCA and Big Brothers Big Sisters. John is a Trustee of the Georgia Gwinnett College Foundation, a member of Trinity Lutheran Church, where he is Financial Committee Chairman and past Treasurer and Executive Board member.

John and his wife live in Decatur. He spends his free time with his family and enjoys tennis, golf and travel...and particularly looks forward to trips to Europe and beaches "anywhere".

James C. Howard, CPA
Partner

Jim was a founding partner of the firm in 1971. Prior to starting Smith & Howard, he was with an international accounting firm. He provides tax and advisory counsel to individuals and businesses, while focusing on client service and his role as a mentor to those in the firm rising in leadership roles. Jim received a BBA degree with honors and a Master of Public Accountancy from Georgia State University and a Juris Doctor degree from Woodrow Wilson College of Law. Upon passing the CPA exam, Jim received the distinct honor of receiving the highest grade in Georgia. In late 2006, Jim and co-founding partner Joe Smith were honored by Georgia State University as the 2006 recipients of the Robinson Alumni Leadership Award for Lifetime Achievement.

Jim is a member of the AICPA and the Georgia Society of Certified Public Accountants, where he has served on several committees, including the Personal Financial Planning Committee as well as the Board of Directors. He is also a member of the Georgia and American Bar Associations, the Atlanta Tax Forum, the Atlanta Estate Tax Planning Council and the National Association of Estate Planning Council.

Jim currently serves as Treasurer of the Georgia State University Athletic Board and as Chairman of the Board of Trustees of Theater of the Stars. His past civic and community activities have included service on the Board of Trustees of the Georgia State University Foundation, the Board of Trustees of the Georgia State Alumni Association, the Board of Trustees of Trinity School, and the Planned Giving Committees of the Westminster School and the Atlanta Historical Society.

Both Jim and his wife are native Atlantans. They are members of Peachtree Road United Methodist Church, where Jim has served as Chairman of the Finance Committee and as a member of the Administrative Board.

Jim frequently combines his love of travel with an equal love of golf, playing courses around the world with the goal of playing all the major courses one day. He has played Shinnicock Hills, Pine Valley, and Royal Troon, where he birdied the "postage stamp" hole. He recently made his first hole-in-one (there was a witness).

Debbie R. Torrance, CPA/PFS
Partner

Debbie left a Big Four accounting firm to join Smith & Howard in 1991. As partner in our tax group, Debbie provides tax planning, compliance and advisory services to businesses and individuals. She specializes in merger and acquisition consulting, international taxation counsel, estate planning, transactional analysis, stock option analysis and entity selection. In addition to overseeing the tax planning and compliance services of the firm, Debbie leads our Manufacturing/Distribution specialty team, as well as our Family Owned Business practice area.

Debbie graduated from Winthrop College with a BS in Finance, and earned her Master's degree in Accounting Tax from Clemson University. She is a member of the AICPA, where she is a Member of the Tax Division, the Georgia Society of Certified Public Accountants, where she is a past member of the Board of Directors, the Atlanta Tax Forum, the Atlanta Estate Planning Council and the Gwinnett Chamber of Commerce. Debbie is a Certified Personal Financial Specialist, and serves as Treasurer of Castle Chess, Inc.

Debbie, her husband and son live in Atlanta. She enjoys golfing and reading in her spare time.

Timothy F. Agnew, CPA/PFS, CFP®
Partner

Tim joined Smith & Howard in 1991. He is a partner in our tax department and serves as Managing Director of Smith & Howard Wealth Management. Tim specializes in providing estate and personal financial planning services, and comprehensive tax services to businesses and high net-worth individuals, including corporate and pass-through entity income tax planning and individual income tax planning. Tim spends a significant amount of his time in the private equity and real estate arenas.

Tim earned a BBA in Accounting and a Master of Taxation degree from Georgia State University. He is a member of the inaugural Philanthropic Advisor Leadership Institute class, a member of the AICPA, where he is a participates in the Tax and Personal Financial Planning Division, and the Georgia Society of Certified Public Accountants, where he is a member of the Estate Tax Committee. He also is a member of the Atlanta Tax Forum, the Atlanta Estate Planning Council, the Financial Planning Association and Vistage (formerly known as TEC).Tim is on the board for the Georgia Federal Conference and serves on the Boards of Directors of Pipeline Data, Inc. and Cynergy Data, LLC.

Tim, his wife and sons live in Alpharetta. He enjoys backpacking and camping with his family, and also has trained for and competed in adventure racing.

® Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards, Inc. owns the certification marks CFP®, Certified Financial Planner™ and federally registered CFP (with flame design) in the U.S., which it awards to individuals who successfully complete CFP Board’s initial and ongoing certification requirements.

Sean C. Taylor, CPA
Partner

Sean joined the firm in 1993 and is partner in charge of the Accounting, Advisory and Assurance Services group. He provides advisory, audit, review, attestation and other assurance services for privately-held businesses and nonprofit organizations. He also is involved in employee benefit plan audit services for private and public companies, and field audit and assurance services for financial institutions.

A leader in the specialized services for lenders, non-profits and contractors groups, Sean is frequently called on to present to these industries. His recent presentations have included Smith & Howard’s Blueprint for Understanding Contractors workshop, non-profit issues as a panelist at two non-profit forums, and FIN 48. Sean also manages the quality control system of the department and peer review process for the firm.

Sean graduated from the University of Georgia with a BBA in accounting. He is a member of the AICPA, the Georgia Society of Certified Public Accountants, Vistage (formerly known as TEC), the Associated General Contractors of America, Georgia Branch and the Associated Builders and Contractors.

A native Atlantan, Sean, his wife and children live in Dunwoody. He spends his spare time with his family, serves on various committees at Dunwoody United Methodist Church, and enjoys an occasional UGA football game.

Anita M. LeFevre, CPA
Partner

Anita joined the firm in 2000 and is a partner in our tax group. She specializes in providing tax planning, compliance and accounting, and business consultation services to small to medium sized businesses, their owners, and other individuals and entities. Anita is also a member of our real estate services team.

Prior to joining Smith & Howard, Anita was Director-Tax Department at a mid-size local CPA firm. She graduated from The University of Pennsylvania with a B.S. in Economics, majoring in accounting. Anita is a member of the Georgia Society of Certified Public Accountants and AICPA.

She and her husband live in Smyrna. Anita is a member of ALTA and USTA tennis, and also enjoys reading fiction ("...anything well written is fair game".)

Marvin H. Willis, CPA, CITP
Partner

Marvin joined the firm in 1999. He is a partner in the Accounting, Advisory and Assurance Services group and serves as partner in charge of our specialized services for contractors. Prior to joining Smith & Howard, Marvin spent several years as CFO of a large Atlanta business. He has extensive experience in accounting, auditing, information systems, business management and consulting. Marvin’s background as CFO and his financial knowledge provide tremendous value to our clients in the areas of SOC engagements, internal control reviews, corporate governance matters, general business advice, accounting and technology services.

Marvin received his BBA in accounting from Georgia State University. He is a member of the AICPA and the Georgia Society of Certified Public Accountants. As a member of the Gwinnett Chamber of Commerce, Marvin serves on the Board of Directors and also on the Chairman's Club. He is an alumnus of Leadership Gwinnett. Marvin is an active member of the Georgia Chapter, Associated General Contractors, and serves on the National Editorial Board of The Contractor, a newsletter for construction business executives. In addition, Marvin is a Certified Information Technology Professional, as designated by the AICPA. This credential certifies that Marvin is recognized by the AICPA for his unique, multi-disciplinary perspective, his technology expertise and his ability to bridge the gap between business and technology.

Marvin, his wife and children live in Grayson, Georgia. When not working, he spends time with his family skiing, fishing, camping and bicycling. Marvin is an active member of First United Methodist Church of Lawrenceville, serving on the Audit and Finance Committees.

Marc A. Azar, CPA/ABV, CVA
Partner

Marc joined Smith & Howard in 1995 after several years with a Big 4 firm. He is a partner in our tax department, with diverse experience providing income tax and business advisory services to a wide variety of clients, including corporations, partnerships, nonprofits, individuals, and estates. An accredited business valuation expert, Marc also provides valuation, appraisal and consulting services.

He received his undergraduate degree in accounting and graduate degree in accounting in taxation from the University of Florida, and his MBA in Finance from Georgia State University. Marc is a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, where is Accredited in Business Valuation (ABV) and the Georgia Society of Certified Public Accountants, where he serves on the Business Valuation Committee. In addition, Marc is a member of the Atlanta Tax Forum and the National Association of Certified Valuation Analysts (CVA). He is involved in the Atlanta Gator Club, the University of Florida Alumni group and the GSU Alumni Association.

Marc and his wife live in Atlanta. He enjoys tennis and running, and has devoted substantial time since joining Smith & Howard to serve as our United Way campaign chairperson. Under Marc's leadership, the firm's overall contributions now rank among the top four accounting firms (including the Big 4) in Atlanta.

Paul L. Atkinson, CPA
Partner

Paul joined Smith & Howard in 1997. He is a partner in the accounting, advisory and assurance services group. Paul's public accounting experience includes audits of many of the firm’s construction, distribution, nonprofit and technology clients.

Paul received his BBA in Accounting from the University of Georgia and is a member of the AICPA and the Georgia Society of Certified Public Accountants. He also is an active member of the Associated General Contractors and Georgia Branch Young Leaders Program.

Paul, his wife and two children live in Suwanee, Georgia. When not working, he enjoys playing golf and tennis and spending time with his family.

Mark E. Abrams, CPA/PFS, CFP®
Partner

Mark joined Smith & Howard in 1998, and is a partner in the tax services group. He provides comprehensive tax planning and compliance services to businesses and individuals. In addition, Mark leads the Real Estate team and specializes in estate planning and personal financial planning.

Mark earned his BBA in accounting from the University of Georgia and his Master of Taxation degree from Georgia State University. He is a member of the AICPA and the Georgia Society of Certified Public Accountants, where he is a member of the Personal Financial Planning Section. In addition, he is a member of the Atlanta Estate Planning Council, the Atlanta Tax Forum and the Financial Planning Association, Georgia Chapter.

Mark, his wife and children live in Marietta, Georgia. He spends much of his free time playing with his boys, but also enjoys UGA football and music.

® Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards, Inc. owns the certification marks CFP®, Certified Financial Planner™ and federally registered CFP (with flame design) in the U.S., which it awards to individuals who successfully complete CFP Board’s initial and ongoing certification requirements.

Jodi M. Malis, CPA
Partner

Jodi joined the firm in 2000 and has over 20 years of public accounting experience. She is a partner in our accounting, advisory and assurance services group and is responsible for numerous audits in industries including manufacturing, distribution, franchising and nonprofits. Jodi also leads our employee benefit plan audit services for private and public companies.

Jodi graduated with highest distinction from Indiana University with a BS in Accounting. She is a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants and the Georgia Society of Certified Public Accountants, where she is a member of the Assurance Services Section Leadership Team and the Employee Benefit Plan Task Force. Jodi serves on the Board of Directors of Women in Pensions.

Jodi lives in Alpharetta with her husband and three children. Outside of work, Jodi spends most of her time with family activities. Additionally, she is a workout enthusiast, and has run several marathons.