North Carolina

McConnell & Jones expands to North Carolina

Published

1 year ago

June 29, 2023

McConnell & Jones expands to North Carolina

Houston-based McConnell & Jones LLP announced that it will be merging with Durham, N.C.-based Thomas & Gibbs CPAs PLLC, effective July 1.

The deal marks McConnell Jones first foray into North Carolina; it already has offices in Houston, Dallas, and Austin, Texas, and in Washington, D.C.

“We’re filling in a gap there between the Southwest and the Mid-Atlantic,” McConnell Jones managing partner Wayne McConnell told Accounting Today. “We currently have current clients that we work with in North Carolina, as well as in so many other states in the Southeast — in Tennessee and Florida, for instance. So it’s giving us a physical presence.”

“Growing organically in a new region is a little bit tougher than that doing an acquisition where they already have a footprint there,” he continued. “And so we feel like there’s a lot of value associated with them being physically in that area. They’ve got tons of relationships there. … It provides a really sound solid, foundation for us to expand in North Carolina and throughout the rest of the Southeast.”

Financial terms were not disclosed, but Ken Gibbs and Shawana Spann will join McConnell Jones as partners, bringing the firm’s total to 12. The firm will keep their offices in Durham.

Founded in 2001, Thomas & Gibbs offers a range of tax, accounting and audit services, with particular strengths in client accounting services, and it has a strong presence in the nonprofit and government space.

Wayne McConnell

“They already have a presence in nonprofits and governments … so Shawana Spann is going to be leading our nonprofit practice,” said McConnell. “Ken Gibbs is not only a CPA, but also a lawyer, so we’re getting two for the price of one there. We do some IRS representation, but with him being a lawyer, we feel like that’s the space that we’ll be able to expand more with him coming on board.”

Thomas & Gibbs also brings expertise in another area McConnell is interested in: offshoring.

“They’re doing some offshoring already, which is not something that we’re doing,” he explained. “So we’re really excited about joining forces with them. They’ve already vetted the vendor that they’re using and they’re very comfortable with them, and have been working with them for a couple of years. And so we are looking at expanding that to include our clients on that same platform and with that same vendor.”

The process, and the future

The two firms became acquainted through the Diverse Organization of Firms, an affiliate of the National Association of Black Accountants that brings together Black and other minority owners of CPA and professional services firms.

“One of my partners, Odysseus Lanier, is the immediate past chair of that organization and … he met the partners at Thomas & Gibbs at one of their meetings, and struck up a conversation with them,” recalled McConnell.

That was early in 2022; over the next year and a half, the firms began talking more seriously.

“We had them come over and visit our offices, and we went over and visited their offices, and they expressed an interest in doing a transaction,” said McConnell. “We feel like it was a good cultural fit; when they came over and met with our partners, there was positive energy in the room, the chemistry was good and it just feels good. For me personally, my intuition told me that here’s a couple of folks that are really good people, and the more time we spent with them, the better we felt about it.”

McConnell Jones is not a regular acquirer; its last deal, which resulted in its presence in Washington, was a few years ago — but the firm is open to more.

“We do growth through organic means, of course, but we think that M&A is certainly an integral part of what we’re doing,” said McConnell. “We have sweet spots already, and we want to cross-saturate those sweet spots, to continue to grow that and sell that sweet spot, but we’re also looking for acquisitions to buttress that growth.”

They also have some specific markets in mind.

“We’ve made a run at a couple firms in the Chicago area,” he noted. “So the Midwest would be a target, and the city of Atlanta is also another attractive target for us. So those are a couple of cities — one that currently sits in the Southeastern region, that being Atlanta, and of course Chicago’s the third largest city in the country. Who would not want to be in Chicago?”

He also noted South Florida as another potential area for expansion, as the firm does a lot of work there.

With all that said, the firm remains committed to organic growth, too.

“We have a pretty robust marketing and business development engine,” he said. “We’ve got pipelines set up in each of our respective sweet spots, and our consulting, tax and audit practices meet once a month. We’re using Microsoft CRM to track our business development activities. Each partner has been charged with goals established around that growth.”

That proactive approach to new business complements another source of growth that emerged in 2020.

“Quite frankly, after the George Floyd incident, our phone was ringing,” McConnell said. “Folks were reaching out to us given that we’re African American-owned firm. And so there’s been a fair amount of activity as a result of the corporate community reaching out to satisfy some of their ESG goals.”

McConnell Jones was already established in the corporate space, and remains committed to it.

“We’re being very proactive in our own approach to approaching corporate America, and even before George Floyd, we had a large presence in the corporate community,” said McConnell. “We’re a firm that provides good quality service; we just happen to be African American-owned, and so we have made the investments, and we feel like we’re corporate-ready and able to respond when called, but we’re also ensuring that we are aggressively pursuing opportunities where we know that we do that work.”

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North Carolina

Eli Pancol helps Duke football beat Virginia Tech, keep spot as North Carolina’s top team

Published

3 hours ago

November 24, 2024

Press Room

Eli Pancol helps Duke football beat Virginia Tech, keep spot as North Carolina’s top team

Duke hasn’t played pretty football at times, but the Blue Devils have consistently proven to be the top team in North Carolina.

After beating UNC (6-5, 3-4) and N.C. State (5-6, 2-5) earlier this year, Duke (8-3, 4-3 ACC) will go for the Tobacco Road sweep in the regular-season finale at Wake Forest (4-7, 2-5) on Nov. 30 (Noon, ACC Network).

Because of their consistently dominant defense and the ability to handle in-game adversity, the Blue Devils are in position to win double-digit games for just the second time in program history.

That’s quite a debut for first-year coach Manny Diaz, who has helped the Blue Devils win five of their six one-score games this season, including a 31-28 victory against Virginia Tech on Saturday in the home finale at Wallace Wade Stadium.

Duke report card vs Virginia Tech

Here’s what and who stood out on senior night in Duke’s eighth win of the 2024 college football season.

Duke wide receiver Eli Pancol caps comeback with special finale at Wallace Wade Stadium

Eli Pancol, Duke’s sixth-year wide receiver who missed the 2023 season with an injury, capped his comeback with an incredible performance in the final home game of his career.

Eli Pancol’s incredible comeback story

Finishing with five catches for 188 yards and three touchdowns, Pancol did most of that damage on two of the first four plays when he had an 86-yard catch-and-run touchdown, followed by a 77-yard catch-and-run TD. In his final two games at Wallace Wade Stadium, Pancol combined for 16 catches for 326 yards and four touchdowns.

Ozzie Nicholas, Cam Bergeron, Kendy Charles shine for Duke football defense

Pancol wasn’t the only senior to shine Saturday night against the Hokies. Duke’s top three tacklers were seniors, combining for 31 tackles, including three for loss. Princeton graduate transfer Ozzie Nicholas, Duke’s leading tackler, led the way again with 11 tackles. Fellow linebacker Cam Bergeron and defensive tackle Kendy Charles each had 10 tackles.

Overall, Duke had 14 tackles for loss, including eight sacks. The Blue Devils have consistently been among the top five teams in the nation at creating havoc for offenses as a steady presence in the backfield. It’s the main reason Duke is in position to reach 10 wins this season.

Manny Diaz keeps proving he was right hire for Blue Devils

Duke has won 10 games once since 1922, getting it done in 2013 under former coach David Cutcliffe, who helped resurrect a struggling program. Following Cutcliffe’s departure, Mike Elko won nine games in his first season and eight in his second before bolting to Texas A&M.

After a successful stint as a defensive coordinator at Penn State, Diaz got a second head-coaching opportunity when Duke hired him in December 2023. In three seasons as the head coach at Miami, Diaz had one year with eight wins. He accomplished that in his debut year at Duke, putting the program in position to join an exclusive club if the Devils can win their final two games.

Rodd Baxley covers Duke, North Carolina and N.C. State for The Fayetteville Observer as part of the USA TODAY Network. Follow his ACC coverage on X/Twitter or Bluesky: @RoddBaxley. Got questions regarding those teams? Send them to rbaxley@fayobserver.com.

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North Carolina

Live Updates: Ball State vs No. 16 North Carolina At Battle 4 Atlantis 2024 – FloHoops

Published

11 hours ago

November 23, 2024

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Live Updates: Ball State vs No. 16 North Carolina At Battle 4 Atlantis 2024 – FloHoops

No. 16 North Carolina and MAC favorite Ball State face-off in the Bahamas for a special one to kick off two weeks full of holiday college basketball tournaments coming live to FloHoops. The game begins at 6:30 p.m. ET on Saturday, Nov. 23 and is the second of many in the 2024 Battle 4 Atlantis Women’s College Basketball tournament.

The Paradise Island, Bahamas-based tournament hosts eight teams including No. 18 Baylor, Indiana, and Texas A&M.

No. 16 North Carolina is 3-1, coming off of a close loss a week ago to No. 2 UConn, falling 58-69 to the Huskies. They hold wins this season against NC A&T, UNC-Wilmington, and Charleston Southern.

Currently undefeated, Ball State will be hoping to upset North Carolina to add an important win to their resume en route to a potential at-large bid to the NCAA tournament at the end of the season. They have defeated Northern Iowa, IUPUI, Memphis, and Old Dominion so far this season.

Read the live updates, watch highlights and view scores after the game tips off at 6:30 p.m. ET.

Live Updates: Ball State vs No. 16 North Carolina Score At Battle 4 Atlantis

Refresh the page for live updates, highlights and scores from today’s game in the Bahamas. Tip off is at 6:30 p.m. ET.

While You Wait…LIVE NOW: Watch Columbia vs Indiana

Click here to tune in live to more women’s college basketball live on FloHoops.

we’ve got a 3️⃣ point game y’all 👏@CULionsWBB | #Battle4Atlantis | @B4AOfficial pic.twitter.com/9Rg0GzJtl6
— FloCollege | Basketball (@FloCollegeHoops) November 23, 2024
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Earlier Today On FloHoops: Baylor Puts Up 15 Threes, Hits Triple Digits vs Southern Miss

After four great quarters of basketball between Southern Miss and Baylor—the Lady Bears come out on top of game one of the Battle 4 Atlantis Women’s tournament.

Five Baylor players had more than 14 points today against the Lady Eagles and were 44% (15-34) from behind the three-point line, making that the most threes for them this season. Fontleroy and Andrews both tallied four.

For Southern Miss, Grayson and Evans led the points with 12, despite Grayson fouling out.

Despite their quick start, the Eagles were unable to keep up with Baylor and will be looking for redemption against the loser of Columbia vs Indiana. Baylor will play the winner.

Read the full game recap.

Battle 4 Atlantis Women’s Tournament Schedule

Saturday, November 23

Sunday, November 24

Monday, November 25

Battle 4 Atlantis Women’s Bracket

Battle 4 Atlantis 2024 Women’s Teams

How To Watch The Battle 4 Atlantis 2024 Women’s Tournament

Every game except the championship of the Women’s Battle 4 Atlantis will be streaming on FloHoops, FloCollege and the new FloSports streaming app.

Game replays, highlights and more will be available on all platforms.

How To Watch College Basketball On The FloSports Network

Basketball games are streaming all year long on FloHoops, FloCollege and the new FloSports streaming app. Game replays, highlights and more will be available on all platforms.

Watch NCAA Women’s Basketball On FloHoops

The NCAA Women’s Basketball is streaming live on FloHoops and the FloSports app.

The BIG EAST Digital Network is also on FloHoops and the FloSports app.

FloHoops Archived Footage

Video footage from all events will be archived and stored in a video library for FloHoops subscribers to watch for the duration of their subscription.

Join the College Basketball Conversation on FloHoops Social

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North Carolina

North Carolina A&T now offers degree in artificial intelligence

Published

20 hours ago

November 23, 2024

Press Room

North Carolina A&T now offers degree in artificial intelligence

GREENSBORO, N.C. (WTVD) — North Carolina A&T State University is now offering a bachelor’s degree in artificial intelligence.

It is a milestone for the university to be the first in our state and one of only a handful in the nation to offer this program.

In the program, students can pick one of two concentrations: Advanced AI Systems through the College of Engineering and Applied AI in the College of Science and Technology. Courses are available both in-person and online.

Some schools already offer a concentration in artificial intelligence, but A&T will be offering a full program dedicated to AI. The university said there are talks to develop a graduate studies program in AI.

School officials report that AI jobs are increasing in North Carolina, which will help in workforce development. According to a recent Hanover Research report, North Carolina is projected to grow at a pace over three times faster than the overall labor market, potentially generating more than 20,000 new jobs.

“Artificial Intelligence and machine learning are increasingly part of everyday life with the potential for profound and far-reaching impact on virtually every facet of society,” Chancellor James R. Martin II said in a news release. “Collaborating with federal and state agencies, major industry leaders and fellow research universities, we have created a rich AI learning environment that is well informed by the latest in science and policy. Our new bachelor’s degree will prepare students for immediate impact, especially in the critical area of human interaction with AI.”

They anticipate enrolling their first group next fall.

SEE ALSO | James Martin II announced as new chancellor for NC A&T after UNC BOG unanimous vote

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