Linford & Company - Leadership Team

Newel Linford

Managing Partner | CPA, CISA

Newel has over 20 years of internal control and audit, IT assurance and advisory, and accounting experience; 9 of those years were with a “Big Four” accounting firm. During his career, he has been responsible for a significant number of SOC 1 (formerly SAS 70 and SSAE 16) audits and SOC 2 audits for companies spanning a variety of industries. Newel has developed SOC training content, led SOC training, and acted as the SOC quality leader for an entire “Big Four” region within the United States. He has also guest lectured at several universities on various topics related to advancements in information technology accounting. He is a certified public accountant (CPA) in the state of Colorado, a certified information systems auditor (CISA), and a member of both the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) and the Colorado Society of CPAs. Newel holds a Bachelor of Science in Accounting and Information Systems degree from Brigham Young University.
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Nicole Hemmer

Partner | CISSP, CISA

Nicole has over 17 years of experience in internal control-based audit, project management, attestation, and assurance services; 7 of those years were with the “Big Four” accounting firm, Ernst & Young. She has held responsibility for a significant number of SOC 1 (formerly SAS 70 and SSAE 16) audits and SOC 2 audits, internal control reviews, IT general control reviews, and Sarbanes-Oxley Section 404 attestation engagements for large SEC accelerated filers. She is also a certified information systems auditor (CISA) as well as a certified information system security professional (CISSP) and a member of ISACA. Nicole holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Computer Information Systems from Indiana University.

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Rob Pierce

Partner | CISSP, CISA, CCSFP, CHQP

Rob has over 16 years of information systems auditing experience. Prior to starting at Linford & Company, Rob worked for PricewaterhouseCoopers in their Systems and Process Assurance group as well as for a variety of public and private companies. He has experience in SOC audits, HIPAA audits, data analytics, industrial control and SCADA systems, and IT/business process improvement. Rob is a certified information systems auditor (CISA) as well as a certified information system security professional (CISSP). He is a member of the Institute of Internal Auditors and ISACA. Rob received his Bachelor of Science degree in Organizational Leadership and Supervision from Purdue University and his Master of Science degree in Business Administration–Computer Information Systems from Colorado State University.

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Ray Dunham

Partner | CISSP, GSEC

Ray comes to Linford & Company after almost 20 years in the defense industry. He spent 6 years on active duty in the U.S. Air Force (USAF) as a Communications and Computer Systems Officer. After separating from the USAF, he worked for 2 years as a Systems Engineer on large scale defense information systems before transitioning into the information security field. For 8 of the following 12 years, Ray worked as the Lead Security Engineer on multiple highly complex programs supporting the acquisition, processing and reporting of satellite data for the Department of Defense. During this time, he managed the security engineering efforts to implement security controls from various control catalogs such as the Director of Central Intelligence Directive (DCID) 6/3 and the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) 800-53. Ray is a CISSP and holds the GSEC and additional security certifications from the SANS Institute. Ray received his Bachelor of Science degree in Biology from the USAF Academy and his Master of Science degree in Telecommunications from Southern Methodist University.

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Isaac Clarke

Partner | CPA, CISA, CISSP

Isaac has over 15 years of internal control and audit experience, 7 of those years were with the “Big Four” accounting firm, Ernst & Young. He was responsible for a number of SOC 1 (formerly SAS 70 and SSAE 16) audits and SOC 2 audits, internal control reviews, IT general control reviews, and Sarbanes-Oxley Section 404 attestation engagements for large SEC accelerated filers. Isaac is a certified public accountant (CPA) in the state of Utah, a certified information system security professional (CISSP) and a certified information systems auditor (CISA). He holds a Master of Science degree in Information Systems Management from Brigham Young University and a Master of Science degree in Accounting from the University of Virginia.

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Megan Kovash

Partner | CPA

Megan has almost 10 years of experience in auditing internal controls, with a focus on IT general controls. Prior to working for Linford & Co., Megan spent 5 years with the “Big Four” accounting firm, Ernst & Young and moved on to a public company where she was part of Internal Audit. In her career, she has focused specifically on SOC audits, IT general control reviews, and data analytics. She also has experience in Sarbanes-Oxley Section 404 attestation engagements. Megan is a certified public accountant (CPA), in the state of Colorado. She holds a Master of Accountancy degree from the University of Denver and a Bachelor of Business Administration with a concentration in Accounting from the University of New Mexico.

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Maggie Cheney

Partner | CRISC

Maggie has over 15 years of experience in Risk Management and IT Compliance. She spent nearly 10 years in KPMG’s IT Advisory and Attestation practice before joining a financial technology company as the Risk and Compliance Director. She has overseen numerous SOC 1 and SOC 2 audits and other IT Compliance audits, including NIST 800-53. She has vast experience conducting risk assessments and implementing comprehensive IT compliance frameworks based on leading industry standards, including the NIST Cybersecurity Framework, AICPA Trust Services Criteria, ISO/IEC 27001:2022/27002 and the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS). She is Certified in Risk and Information Systems Control (CRISC) and obtained a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration, Finance, from the University of Colorado at Boulder.

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Lois Colby

Partner | CPA, CIA, CISA

Lois has over 25 years of internal control, audit, compliance, and IT assurance and advisory experience with 11 of those years with the “Big Four” accounting firm Ernst & Young. While at EY, Lois focused on SOC 1 and SOC 2 audits across multiple industries. She also provided IT Internal Audit outsourcing, financial audit support, and other special attestation services. While in industry, she held roles focusing on internal audit, ethics & compliance, governance, process controls, and privacy. Lois is a certified public accountant (CPA), certified internal auditor (CIA), and certified information systems auditor (CISA). Lois holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Accounting from Northern Illinois University.

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Rhonda Willert

Partner | CPA, CISSP, CISA, PMP

Rhonda Willert is a Partner at Linford & Co. with responsibility for delivering Audit and Assurance risk services, including but not limited to managing service organization controls engagements (SOC1, SOC2, SOC2+, SOC3 / Readiness, Type I, and Type II), Internal Audit services (IT and Business process audits), and training projects. Rhonda utilizes her CPA, CISSP, PMP, and CISA certifications to deliver leading-edge client service and experiences in order to enhance and add value with whatever service she takes on. Rhonda has years of diverse consultative and project management experience, working previously at a large Public Accounting firm, Deloitte, for 16 years leading the Denver office as a Managing Director in the Risk and Financial Advisory practice.

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Becky McCarty

Partner | CPA, CISA, CRISC, CIA, CFE

Becky McCarty has over 20 years of experience in internal controls, audit, and advisory services. She specializes in SOC 1 and SOC 2 examinations for Linford & Co., LLP. Becky completed a Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration (Accounting) and a Master of Science degree in Management Information Systems. She worked 6 years with KPMG LLP commencing in 1999, worked several years in the energy industry, and joined Linford & Co., LLP in 2018. Becky also served 9 years on the Board of Directors for a home healthcare nonprofit. She works closely with clients so that the examinations are performed efficiently and with minimal disruption while ensuring performance in accordance with professional guidance. She enjoys helping clients successfully achieve the requirements for their SOC compliance efforts based on their objectives and/or applicable trust services criteria.

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