Accounting Alumni & Friends

Pam Balentine was born in Flint, MI and excelled through high school and graduated Valedictorian. She went on to earn her Bachelor and Master’s degrees in Accounting from Michigan State University. Starting her career at the prestigious EY in the Detroit office, Pam continued her career in auditing at various Fortune 500 companies. While working in internal audit, Pam started Viking CPA Group in March of 2013.

In November 2014, Pam relocated to Atlanta, GA and in March 2017, Pam took a huge leap of faith and went full time with her own accounting firm, where she services small to mid-size business owners, assisting them with their tax, accounting, and consulting needs. In addition to growing her firm, Pam also served as an Adjunct Professor at Kennesaw State University. Pam prides herself on being a value add to her clients and forming relationships…being the CPA with personality!

Jeffrey Ficks is a Strategy & Transactions partner at EY with more than 20 years of experience in the automotive, commercial vehicle and commercial aerospace industries.  He has served in crisis management, turnaround consulting, transaction support, and corporate finance roles.  He has significant global restructuring experience with both in-court (including US Chapter 11, US state receiverships and UK administration) and out-of-court restructuring transactions under various insolvency regimes.  Jeff has also provided both buy and sell-side due diligence services for various Fortune 500 companies.  Jeff received his BA in accounting from Michigan State University and is also a Certified Insolvency and Restructuring Advisor (CIRA), Certified Public Accountant (CPA) and Member of the Association of Insolvency and Restructuring Advisors (AIRA) and American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA).

Ryan Green is currently the Chief Financial Officer for Re:Car, Inc. He has held CFO positions previously at Harley-Davidson Financial Services, Rivian Automotive and May Mobility. Ryan focuses on building company financial capabilities in the areas of People, Process & Systems and strives to explain complex financial topics in an easy-to-understand fashion for his stakeholders. He is passionate about being a servant leader, making sure the needs of his customers are met first and foremost. Ryan’s extensive experience with start-up companies has allowed him to create finance and other corporate service organizations from scratch. He seeks career development opportunities for his staff so they can achieve their career goals.

Ryan earned his BA in Finance from Michigan State University in 1995 as well as his MBA from Wayne State University in 1998. Ryan has been married to his wife Erin since 2001 and they have two daughters, Olivia & Avery.

Dave is a partner with KPMG in Cleveland, OH where he provides professional audit and related services to both public and privately held companies. He has served companies in a variety of industries, primarily industrial manufacturers, both domestic and multinational. Dave also spent part of his career in KPMG’s Department of Professional Practice in New York where he focused on technical accounting areas such as business combinations & restructurings, revenue & inventory, leases & long-lived assets, and reporting & SEC matters.

Throughout his career at KPMG, he has taken on several important roles within the firm, including being an instructor for the firm’s national training program and an active participant in the firm’s performance management and mentoring programs. Dave also serves as the partner champion for Cleveland’s Employee Council which focuses on initiatives regarding recognition and appreciation, work-life balance, coaching, mentoring and teamwork. He also serves as a member of KPMG’s Audit Quality Support Network which focuses on the firm’s audit quality initiatives.

Dave graduated from the Eli Broad College of Business with a B.A. in Accounting in 2006.

Wendy Hillman serves as the Director of Finance and Budget for the Charter Township of Northville. In her role, Wendy is responsible for overseeing all aspects of the Township’s financial operations, including the preparation and management of the Township’s $70 million annual budget. Her duties encompass treasury and investment functions, accounting, purchasing, utility billing and the development of the Township’s annual financial report.

A key focus of Wendy’s leadership is to maintain and enhance public trust by ensuring financial integrity and transparency. She is committed to implementing best practices in financial management, while also mitigating risks through sound fiscal policies and controls.

Prior to her role with Northville Township, Wendy spent 14 years with Plante & Moran, PLLC, performing audits and consulting work for governmental clients. Wendy graduated from Michigan State University with a B.A. in Accounting and is a registered Certified Public Accountant. In addition Wendy is a member of various external organizations including the Michigan Township’s Association, Michigan Association of Certified Public Accountants, and Michigan Governmental Finance Officers Association.

Shelley Hulgrave is the Executive Vice President & Chief Financial Officer for Penske Automotive Group in Bloomfield Hills, MI.  Penske Automotive Group is the second largest automotive retailer in the U.S., with additional transportation operations in the U.K., Canada, Western Europe, Australia and New Zealand.  She has also served as the Corporate Controller and other financial roles since joining Penske Automotive Group in 2006.  Prior to that, she held various positions with DaimlerChrysler Financial and Ernst & Young LLP in Detroit, including the Campus Champion for EY recruiting at Michigan State.

Shelley also serves as a Director for Oakland Family Services in Pontiac, MI.  Oakland Family Services focuses on prevention, education, and treatment services to help enrich the lives of children, strengthen families and help rebuild lives in the community.

Shelley earned her B.A. in Accounting from Michigan State University in May of 2000.  During her time at MSU, Shelley served as a teaching assistant for ACC 201.  She is also a Certified Public Accountant in the State of MI.

Mike is a state and local tax partner with PwC based in Michigan. He has more than 16 years of experience assisting clients solve their unique challenges related to state and local taxation compliance, controversy, and consulting matters. He has extensive state and local tax compliance, consulting, and controversy experience with Fortune 1500 and private companies on complex multi-state and local income tax matters. In addition, he has extensive experience with accounting for income taxes, including analysis related to state uncertain tax positions and state tax controversy. He has diverse experience and knowledge related to tiered flow-through structures, property tax, and is a state tax technology and automation innovator and driver. Mike is a champion on the MSU recruiting team and enjoys his visits back to campus and the Eli Broad College of Business. Mike also is very involved with Gleaners Community Food Bank of Southeastern Michigan and has a passion for food security.

Mike earned his B.A. (2004) and M.S. (2005) in Accounting from Michigan State University and is a CPA licensed to practice in Michigan. Mike is also a member of the MICPA and AICPA.

Matt is an Audit Project Manager for Dow in Midland, Michigan. He began his career in 2010 as an accountant in Dow’s Controllers function and spent his first few years in financial accounting and fixed assets supporting several Dow subsidiaries and joint ventures in North America. He participated in several large M&A projects and the implementation of a new global SAP platform. Matt relocated to Houston, Texas in 2015 as a cost analyst supporting Dow’s Hydrocarbons business. In 2017, Matt moved to a role in Packaging & Specialty Plastics as a finance analyst. In this role he partnered with the commercial and supply chain functions to provide finance support for the Polyethylene and Specialty Resins businesses. In 2021, he relocated back to Midland and transitioned to his current role where he leads global internal audits in a variety of functional areas such as manufacturing, supply chain order management, and finance.

Matt holds a B.A. (2009) and M.S. (2010) in Accounting from Michigan State University. Matt is a registered Certified Public Accountant. He enjoys the opportunity to mentor new hires and attract talent to Dow through university recruiting initiatives.

Crystal is the Manager for Financial Reporting at OneStream Software in Birmingham, MI. OneStream delivers a software platform that unifies core financial functions and broader operational data and processes within a single platform. During her time with OneStream, Crystal actively participated in the preparation and filing of the Company’s Form S-1 with the SEC for their initial public offering in July 2024. In her current role, Crystal leads the SEC reporting process and the implementation of new accounting technical standards and SEC regulations. She also assists with valuation and integration of mergers and acquisitions and provides accounting guidance for corporate transactions and initiatives.

Crystal began her career at Deloitte in audit and assurance where she served public and private audit clients in the consumer and industrial products and real estate sectors.

Crystal has a B.A. in Accounting (2016) and a M.S. in Accounting (2017) from Michigan State University. While attending MSU, she served as a teaching assistant and graduate assistant for ACC 202. She is a CPA and CMA and holds membership in the MICPA, AICPA, and IMA.

Will is an Assurance Partner based in EY’s Detroit, Michigan office, with over 18 years of experience serving SEC registrants and privately-held companies in a variety of industries including mobility, life sciences and media and entertainment.

Will has extensive experience coordinating audits of companies from large multinationals to start-ups, assisting management teams in evaluating technical accounting matters, including the impact of new accounting pronouncements, significant transactions, and advising his clients on internal control initiatives. He also has extensive experience assisting companies with SEC and other regulatory filings and working closely with companies as they embed new technologies into their products and business models.

Will received his B.A. in Accounting from Michigan State University and is a Certified Public Accountant (CPA) in Michigan. He is also a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA), Michigan Association of CPAs (MICPA) and National Association of Black Accountants (NABA).

Kelly is a partner in the Consumer and Industrial Products Mid-Central Trust practice.  She has been a professional with PwC for 17 years, primarily serving audit clients in the Detroit area.  Her career has been focused on delivering services and providing value to clients in the automotive and consumer products sectors.  She has served a wide variety of multinational SEC registered companies as well as spent time in the New York Metropolitan Area as a PwC National Quality Organization consultant.

Kelly has a B.A. in Finance and M.S. in Accounting from Michigan State. She is a member of the AICPA, MICPA, United Way Emerging Philanthropists, and Impact100 Detroit.