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Our goal is to establish long-standing consultative relationships with our clients. We view our role as not merely providing clients with numbers, but also advising them on what the numbers mean in terms of where they have been and where they want to be financially. Together they address issues related to expansion of the business, succession of ownership, personal asset protection, and profit improvement.
Our professionals receive on-going training in specific industry areas, technology, accounting and tax law. They are easily accessible due to our offices' geographical proximity to clients' locations. And because we do business in the same area, we are familiar with trends in the business environment that might impact profitability.
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"To be successful in business, you must surround yourself with the best professionals possible and our move to Baden, Gage & Schroeder was a very important decision for us. You have contributed to our growth and success by the knowledgeable, personal service you have provided us as a growing business. You have always held our best interest first and I view you as our most trusted advisor, particularly important in this climate of complex and ever changing tax laws and regulations."
Peter T. Eshelman
Chairman & CEO
Joseph Decuis LLC
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OUR DIRECTORS
Christine K. Hootman, CPA, Managing Director
Chris has over 30 years of professional experience with 25 years experience with Baden, Gage & Schroeder, LLC. Her practice focuses on providing audit, consulting and litigation support services for manufacturers, wholesalers and distributors with revenues of $10 million to $150 million and for financial institutions. Chris spent 6 years with Ernst & Young LP, Toledo, Ohio focusing on audit, fraud detection and merger and acquisition services including related SEC reporting; and on audit and internal audit specialization in financial institutions.
Chris is a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, the Indiana CPA Society and the Ohio CPA Society. She is also a member of the Indiana Manufacturing Association and the Fort Wayne Sports Corporation. She was the Indiana CPA Society Chair Award Recipient in 2010. Chris is a Summa Cum Laude graduate of The Defiance College. Contact Chris at chootman@badencpa.com.
Jeffrey A. Sanderson, CPA, Director of Taxatio
n
Jeff will analyze your tax situation to develop a strategy to minimize your tax burden. Jeff began his public accounting career in 1985 with Arthur Young & Company in Toledo, Ohio. He joined Baden, Gage & Schroeder in 1989. Jeff provides strategic tax planning services to companies in the manufacturing/distribution industry and other closely-held businesses. He regularly consults with companies that have multi-national and multi-state facilities to develop practical tax management strategies.
Jeff is a member of the Fort Wayne Estate Planning Council, the Indiana Manufacturing Association and the Associated Builders and Contractors. He is a frequent speaker to various organizations including the Entrepreneurs Alliance of Northeast Indiana. Jeff is a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, the Indiana CPA Society and is a graduate of Indiana University/Purdue University in Fort Wayne. Contact Jeff at jsanderson@badencpa.com.
Diane M. Zimmerman, CPA, Audit Director
Diane has over 27 years of professional accounting and audit experience. She has 24 years with Baden, Gage & Schroeder, LLC focusing on audit, accounting and consulting services primarily for financial institutions. Prior to joining the firm, she was a corporate accountant for a major Indianapolis bank for 3 years. Her practice focuses on providing accounting and audit services, and the facilitation of the achievement of business goals for financial institutions with total assets of $50 million to $400 million and service companies with revenues to $50 million.
Diane is a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, the Indiana CPA Society and the Indiana Bankers Association. Diane is a graduate of Marian College with a Bachelor of Science in Accounting. Contact Diane at dzimmerman@badencpa.com.
Brian D. Bowman, CPA, Director, Audit Division 
Brian began his career at Baden, Gage & Schroeder in 1992. He provides clients with audit, accounting, income tax, budgeting and cash flow projections, merger and acquisition, and profit improvement services. He is a member of the firm's Manufacturing Services Group and provides services to manufacturing, distribution and service industry clients. He is also a member of the firm's Employee Retirement Plan Audit Services Group.
Brian is a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, the Indiana CPA Society and the Indiana Manufacturers Association. He is a member of the United Way of Allen County Audit Committee and treasurer of the Harold W. McMillen Center for Health Education, Inc. Brian is a graduate of Indiana University. Contact Brian at bbowman@badencpa.com.
Michael R. Ziembo, CPA, Director, Audit Division
Mike joined Baden, Gage & Schroeder in 1995. He provides clients with audit, accounting, income tax, budgeting and cash flow projections, merger and acquisition, technology enhancement and profit improvement services. Mike is a member of the firm's Manufacturing Services Group and provides services to manufacturing, distribution and service industry clients.
Mike is a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, the Indiana CPA Society and the Indiana Manufacturers Association. He is Past President of the Board of Directors for Big Brothers Big Sisters of Northeast Indiana and serves on the boards of Erin's House for Grieving Children and the Neighborhood Health Clinic. Mike is a graduate of the Indiana University Kelley School of Business. Contact Mike at mziembo@badencpa.com.
Perry M. Schroeder, CPA, Director
Perry is one of the founding partners of Baden Gage & Schroeder. He has over 40 years of professional experience. Perry works with mid-sized organizations on matters related to audits, mergers and acquisitions, Subchapter C and S operations, ESOP operations, partnerships, business valuations, and facilitation of the achievement of business goals. He works with business owners and high net worth individuals on individual income tax planning, retirement planning and estate tax planning.
Perry is a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, the Indiana CPA society and maintains Series 66 securities license. He is also a member of the Fort Wayne Estate Planning Council, the Indiana Manufacturers Association and the Building Contractors Association. Contact Perry at pschroeder@badencpa.com.
Robert E. Martin, CPA, Director of Audit and Accounting
Bob leads our Firm's Employee Retirement Plan Audit Services Group and our Not-for-Profit Service Group. He has over forty years of experience in providing audit, accounting and consulting services to privately owned businesses and organizations in the construction, manufacturing, distribution, not-for-profit, service and wholesale industries.
Bob is a graduate of the Indiana University Kelley School of Business. He is a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants and the Indiana CPA Society. He is also a Board Member (Treasurer) and a member of the Executive and Finance Committees for the American Red Cross of Northeast Indiana. Contact Bob at bmartin@badencpa.com.
Carla B. Butler, CPA, Director, Kendallville Office 
Carla directs the Kendallville branch of Baden, Gage & Schroeder. Carla joined Baden, Gage & Schroeder in 1983. She is experienced in providing audit, accounting and tax services to privately held companies and organizations. She also provides individuals with consultation and compliance services for taxation issues.
Carla is a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants and the Indiana CPA Society. Contact Carla at carla@mchsi.com.
OUR MANAGERS
Melissa J. Bradberry, CPA, Manager, Tax Division
Melissa has over 10 years of professional tax and accounting experience. She joined the Baden, Gage & Schroeder tax department in 2007. She is responsible for supervision and preparation of tax returns, tax planning and consulting to individuals and companies in a variety of industries.
Melissa has a Masters in Business Administration from Arkansas State University. She is a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants and the Indiana and Arkansas CPA Societies. Contact Melissa at mbradberry@badencpa.com.
Tina M. Perez, CPA, CCIFP, Senior Manager, Audit Division
Tina has over 25 years of professional experience and is a member of Baden, Gage & Schroeder's Construction Industry Services Group. She specializes in providing auditing, accounting and tax services for for clients in the construction, service, wholesale and not-for-profit industries.
Tina graduated with distinction from Manchester College with a Bachelor of Arts in accounting. She is a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, the Indiana CPA Society, and is a Certified Construction Industry Financial Professional. She serves on the boards of the Northern Indiana Chapter of the Construction Financial Management Association, the Fort Wayne Chapter of Executive Women International, the Better Business Bureau of Northern Indiana and the Finance Committee of Arts United. Contact Tina at tperez@badencpa.com.
Kara M. Smith, CPA, Senior Manager, Tax Division
Kara has over 16 years of professional tax experience specializing in tax consulting and services. Her practice focuses on consultations in business structure, buy/sell scenarios, growth planning, estate planning, and tax reduction strategies.
Kara is an accounting graduate of Indiana University. She is a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants and the Indiana CPA Society. Contact Kara at ksmith@badencpa.com.
Mike D. Smith, CFA, AVA, Senior Manager, Business Valuation Services
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Mike joined Baden, Gage & Schroeder in 2009 with nine years of business valuation experience. He provides business valuation and succession planning services to clients in closely-held businesses and small to medium-sized companies in various industry groups.
Mike has credentials from nationally recognized valuation organizations. He holds an Accredited Valuation Analyst (AVA) designation and earned his Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) designation in 2002. Mike is a graduate of the University of Wisconsin with a Bachelor of Science in Finance. Contact Mike at msmith@badencpa.com.
Shawn B. Sollenberger, CPA, Manager, Audit Division
Shawn joined Baden, Gage & Schroeder in 2001. He was third in the State of Indiana's successful candidates for the May 2001 CPA examination. Shawn focuses on providing audit, accounting and consulting services to clients in the financial institution, manufacturing and construction industries and non-profit organizations.
Shawn is a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants and the Indiana CPA Society. He is a graduate of Manchester College with a Master of Arts in Accounting. Shawn is a member of the Indiana Bankers' Association and the
Institute of Internal Auditors. He also serves as Treasurer and Executive Board member of the Allen County Education Partnership. Contact Shawn at ssollenberger@badencpa.com.
Sarah M. Strimmenos, CPA, Senior Manager, Audit Division
Sarah joined Baden, Gage & Schroeder in 2010 with sixteen years of experience in public accounting. Her practice focuses on providing audit, accounting and consulting services to clients in the manufacturing, distribution and service industries. Sarah's client base consists of entities with varying structures from owner-managed businesses to foreign and private equity ownership. She also provides interim CFO and transactional consulting services. Sarah has extensive experience providing assurance services to employee benefit plans and also consulting related to compliance with department of Labor and ERISA regulations.
Sarah is a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants and the Indiana CPA Society. She is a graduate of Ball State University with a Bachelor of Science in Accounting. Contact Sarah at sstrimmenos@badencpa.com.
Susan K. Wesner, CPA, Senior Manager, Audit Division
Susan's public accounting career began in 1986 with a national CPA firm where she gained audit experience for organizations in the not-for-profit, manufacturing, public utilities, and food processing industries. Currently, Susan provides audit, accounting and tax services to clients in the not-for-profit, governmental, service and manufacturing industries. She has also gained extensive experience in auditing employee retirement plans and performing outsourced accounting services for companies in various industries.
Susan is a graduate of Indiana University. Susan is a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants and the Indiana CPA Society. She is also an audit committee member for the American Red Cross of Northeast Indiana, an officer of the Psi Iota Xi Philanthropic Sorority, and a finance committee member for the Fort Wayne Urban League and Big Brothers Big Sisters. Contact Susan at swesner@badencpa.com.
Melissa J. Wolf, CPA, Manager, Tax Division
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Melissa recently joined Baden Gage & Schroeder with over 10 years of professional experience. She specializes in estate, trust and gift tax consulting services and manages tax engagements for clients with fiduciary income tax and gift tax service needs. She also has experience with responding to IRS notices and representing taxpayers in IRS audits.
Melissa is a graduate of Indiana University. She is a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants and the Indiana CPA Society. Melissa serves on the Fort Wayne Estate Planning Council and the Big Brothers Big Sisters Women's Brunch Committee. She also volunteers as a Junior Achievment volunteer and Study Connection tutor. Contact Melissa at mwolf@badencpa.com.
Michael G. Wyss, CPA, Senior Manager, Tax Division
Mike joined Baden, Gage & Schroeder in 1996. He provides tax services to privately held companies and organizations in the construction, financial institution, manufacturing and not-for-profit industries. He has also gained extensive experience in auditing employee retirement plans and performing the role of controller for companies in various industries.
Mike is a graduate of Indiana University. He is a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants and the Indiana CPA Society. Contact Mike at mwyss@badencpa.com.
