Bell & Company
For over 40 years, Bell & Company has provided our clients with a level of service unmatched in our field. With over 50 full-time professionals, no challenge is too great for our team with over 300 years of combined experience. Our clients range in size from individual to large corporations. Our firm has the resources, experience, and depth of knowledge to offer services to both individuals and businesses. We can deliver the services you need in a professional, fast, and cost-efficient manner.
Not only do we believe in providing the best accounting services to our clients, but we also believe in giving back to our community locally, regionally, and globally. Bell & Company’s previous service work includes a fundraiser to buy and distribute over 400 containers of school supplies for children in Haiti following the 2010 earthquake and financially supporting a medical clinic in their village.
In Arkansas, the firm supports numerous efforts in our community; serving on various boards and through the Faulkner County Community Foundation we are able to support local charities with grants.
Richard Bell, CPA, JD - Shareholder, President & CEO
While working for other public accounting firms and serving as controller for a property management company and finishing law school at night, Richard developed a passion for helping others achieve their financial goals and decided to establish Bell & Company in 1981 with his wife, Lee. By doing so, Richard thought he could provide professional accounting and financial services that were delivered with competency, proficiency, timeliness, and reasonable fees. That became reality as Bell & Company has been thriving since its creation.
Richard’s areas of concentration are tax and business and estate consulting. Richard has niche, extensive experience in serving the transportation industry as the Bell Firm represents fifty-plus private carriers. Richard has written articles for transportation trade publications and provided continuing education seminars. Richard has also served as a forensic or expert witness in state and federal courts, involving transportation financial "damage" matters. Richard’s passion is being a “work out CPA” for troubled companies. Part of his life’s work has been helping financially distressed transportation companies to restructure, regain viability, and once again, become profitable companies that provide jobs for employees and their families.
Richard is an adjunct professor at the University of Central Arkansas. Richard teaches a class on Business Law for Entrepreneurs. He has also been recognized by Arkansas Business for the 2020 Lifetime Achievement Award in Accounting. Richard serves on the Dean’s Advisory Board and was recognized in the 2017 Bowen’s Public Service Award for Bowen Law School. Richard was appointed by the Arkansas Governor to serve as a Board Member on the Arkansas Board of Accountancy.
Richard and Lee have two adult children, Clayton and Jennifer, who are already making their footprints for the betterment of society.
Nell Sterling, CPA - Shareholder and COO
Nell joined the practice in 1986 as a partner with her brother and founding partner, Richard Bell. She specializes in tax, IRS audit representation, and working with small businesses. Before her career in public accounting, Nell spent ten years in banking, sales, and marketing. She serves clients in a variety of professions, including attorneys and physicians, and other small business professionals.
Nell assists her clients with setting up new business entities and working through the maze of regulations and compliance filings faced by entrepreneurs. In addition, Nell represents individuals, businesses, and their owners going through IRS and/or State audits and examinations.
Nell enjoys helping clients by providing personal service of the highest quality in a caring, professional manner. She is attentive to their needs and dedicated to helping them become successful and achieve their financial goals.
Nell and her husband Mike have one son, Jaison. He and his wife, Callie are both professional photographers and own Sterling Imageworks. Nell has one grandson, Elias who is the light of her life.
Nell is active in her community and serves as a director and officer for the North Little Rock Chamber of Commerce, Oak Grove Community Organization, and Thrive 365. In her leisure time, Nell enjoys traveling with her husband Mike and their two shelties, Kodie and Dakota. Nell also devotes a great amount of time to her three rescue horses, Mesa, Steele, and Gidget.
Jeff Lovelady, CPA – Shareholder, CFO
Jeff started with Bell & Company in 1992. He provides clients with financial attest and consulting services and also manages the IT Department. One of Jeff’s goals is to provide clients with a sense of comfort that they have all the information that they need to make an informed decision. He also strives to make sure his team members have all the tools that are necessary in order to perform for their clients. Jeff takes time to understand his clients’ needs and helps minimize their tax burdens and improves their cash flows.
With many years of experience working with transportation companies, Jeff has authored articles for some transportation magazines, including the Arkansas Trucking Magazine and the Arkansas Business’s Transportation edition. Jeff also likes puzzles, so deciphering a financial analysis is what he enjoys doing the most.
Kelly M. Phillips, CPA, Shareholder
Kelly joined Bell & Company, P.A. in 2009, and she is responsible for client service, reviewing tax returns, managing staff workloads, tax research, and training. She is a charitable organization specialist, helping entities get their charitable status and maintaining their exempt status once it has been approved. She consults frequently with business owners to set up best practices in accounting systems and tax planning strategies. Prior to joining the Bell & Company Team, she began her accounting career in 2000 with a regional firm in Birmingham, Alabama.
Kelly believes in good customer service and enthusiasm for the work she does. She works with all types of clients and is a frequent speaker to organizations about taxes for their particular industry.
Kelly, her five children, two dogs, a cat named Taco, a turtle, and two fish live in Sherwood. She spends the majority of her time outside of the office trying to keep everyone's schedules straight, and when she can find the time, paper crafting and reading.
Jennifer L. Bell-Mobbs, CPA, JD, LLM in Taxation – Shareholder
Jennifer officially joined the firm in 2010 upon graduating from law school at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock; although she worked at the firm during summer and winter breaks since she was a teenager. Jennifer obtained her L.L.M. in Taxation from the University of Missouri at Kansas City in 2012.
With legal and accounting educational backgrounds, Jennifer is finding her niche at the firm by assisting in IRS notice correspondence – she is licensed to practice in front of the U.S. Tax Court. She also assists in small business consulting and multi-state income taxation preparation.
As a second-generation owner herself, Jennifer also works with many clients towards successful transition in the family business. Jennifer is actively involved with the Faulkner County Community Foundation as well as numerous other organizations, including Eagle Bank, Faulkner County Advisory Board, Lines Cemetery Association, UALR Bowen School of Law Alumni Board, and Where the Stars Still Shine.
Jennifer attributes her dedication and drive to succeed, not only in the work place but also to better society, to her father who taught her at an early age that it is important to give back. She also says that she is encouraged daily to give more by her brother who founded Where the Stars Still Shine, which focuses its efforts in the remote mountain village of Baie d'Orange, Sud Est, Haiti.
In her spare time, Jennifer enjoys riding horses and attending social functions in the Conway and Little Rock areas.
RONALD L. BALL, cpa - PRINCIPAL
Ron joined the firm in 2017. He was formerly the managing partner of the firm King, Ball & Company, which recently merged with Bell and Company. He passed the CPA exam in 1989 and brings 30 years of public accounting experience to the firm. His primary area of practice is with small business and individuals providing various tax compliance and planning services.
He has served on various charitable and civic boards over the years. He has a special interest in the equine thoroughbred industry and has participated as an owner, breeder, syndicator, board member, and advisor for many years. He has many tax clients who participate in the industry as well.
Ron lives in Maumelle with his wife Camille and has two adult sons and a daughter-in-law. He is a 1981 graduate of the University of Arkansas-Fayetteville with a bachelor’s degree in accounting.
Ron tries to follow the rule of “treating clients the way that he would want to be treated.”
Bobbi Jolene Britton, PHR, SHRM-CP
In 2019 Bobbi joined the Bell & Company firm as the Human Resources Director and is tasked with building the foundation for an HR Department to support the current team and continued growth of the Company. She is certified by the Human Resources Certification Institute as a Professional in Human Resources and a Certified Professional with the Society of HR Managers. Bobbi is a member of the Society of Human Resource Management (SHRM), Central Arkansas HR Association (CAHRA), Arkansas Compensation Association (ACA), and the Industrial Liaison Group (ILG).
Early career choices introduced her to Accounting and she worked as an Accounting Clerk. Working with employees while handling their payroll and benefits issues inspired her to convince her then-boss that a true HR department was needed. He agreed and said, “it’s on you; tell me what you need.” This unfettered support from former and current employers is the cornerstone to her success. The opportunity to help employees, be it a personal or professional matter with which she is able to assist and to see their smile and appreciation are what provides her with professional fulfillment.
Bobbi is from Little Rock and grew up in the Allendale neighborhood. Her father was an OTR truck driver and her mother took care of managing the family of 5 children. Witnessing both of her parents' sacrifices to ensure their children had a better life than they solidified a strong worth ethic within her. Seeing the strong, independent woman that her mother was greatly impacted her view of herself. In her spare time, Bobbi loves to travel because there is so much world she has yet to see.
Deanna Lovelady - Marketing Director
Deanna joined the firm in 1991 where she is responsible for the firm’s branding and marketing activities. She is also an Administrative Assistant to Richard Bell and has served him for over 30 years.
Deanna’s personal philosophy is to live your life one day at a time and keep it simple. She attributes much of her success to her mother; who had a great work ethic and gave Deanna a great foundation.
Deanna enjoys serving her church as Ministry Leader for Celebrate Recovery, singing in the worship team, and helping and serving on various groups at church. Deanna and her husband Jeff enjoy spending time together, traveling, and working together.
Professional Memberships:
Board Member, Salvation Army Advisory Board Central Arkansas
Member of NLR Chamber of Commerce
Member of Arkansas Trucking Association
Member of the National Association for Accounting Marketing
AbBY Freeman, CPA - Principal
When Abagail “Abby” Freeman was a sophomore in high school, she had to take a computer class. She wanted to take the easy word processing course, however, her parents made her take computerized accounting instead! Since then, she has enjoyed accounting and is happy to have found a field that she excels in.
Abby joined Bell & Company in 2014. Her main focus is aiding clients in managing their taxes and assisting the Bell & Company partners in running their office in Conway.
She is passionate about training the next generation of CPAs in both technical skills and how to take care of clients. She attended Henderson State University for both her undergraduate and graduate degrees, receiving her Master in Business Administration in May 2014. She is also the current treasurer of the Frederick Place Property Owners Association. Abby’s goal as a CPA is to help clients understand their tax situation as much as they want and to help them take care of the rest!
In her free time, Abby loves putting together puzzles and LEGO projects. She also loves everything Disney! She was born in Buffalo, NY but her family moved to Arkadelphia, AR when she was just four. She and her spouse, Hayden, live in Conway, AR with their three hamsters.
Nadine Grady, CPA - Principal
Nadine Grady has been a member of the Bell & Company team since 2007. Since then, she has become a manager and has won the Bell & Company Unsung Hero award. She is a member of AICPA, ARCPA, CPAmerica, and the Kiwanis Club of North Little Rock (which she had the honor of being the president of from 2014-2016).
Nadine graduated from Lyon College in 2007 with a Bachelor of Science in Accounting. In 2010, she graduated from the University of Arkansas at Little Rock with a Master of Accountancy with the Outstanding Graduate award.
Nadine specializes in attest work. She oversees attest projects as well as trains staff on these projects. She has a group of clients that she oversees and tends to the needs of, including taking care of their bookkeeping and taxes as well as their attest work. She also works a lot with contractors and trucking companies. Nadine enjoys clients that come up with unique projects or situations that she could never foresee that allow her to assist and learn something new in the process. She loves seeing small businesses grow!
It’s important to find enjoyment in everything you do, and Nadine does just that! She takes satisfaction in solving problems, and doing so encourages her to work even harder. She loves to learn new things and teach others. Every difficult task is a learning experience! Accounting was a perfect career path for Nadine since she loves numbers, patterns, and rules. In her spare time, Nadine enjoys completing jigsaw puzzles and puzzle books, baking, and watching movies. Nadine has one son, Elliott.
