Benford Brown & Associates, LLC

Happy Birthday to Dr. Alyssia Benford. Everyone at Benford Brown and Associates celebrates your special day and the leadership, vision, and dedication you bring to the firm. Your commitment to excellence has helped shape our legacy and continues to inspire our team, clients, and community. We wish you a wonderful birthday and a year ahead filled with continued success, joy, and meaningful accomplishments.

At Benford Brown & Associates, we proudly celebrate the accomplishments of this exceptional group of graduates from the Class of 2026. 🎓

Congratulations to Erica Lee Ross, Peyton Ellen, Randell Lee, and Curtis Cortez III on reaching this incredible milestone through hard work, perseverance, and dedication to their educational journeys.

Your achievements reflect the bright futures ahead of you, and we are excited to see the impact each of you will continue to make in your respective fields. Wishing you continued success as you step into your next chapter.

This past Saturday, we celebrated Kenan Collier, ZyNia Yancey, and Ronniecia Brown on their 3-year anniversary with Benford Brown & Associates.

Over the past three years, each of you has contributed dedication, professionalism, and excellence that continue to strengthen our team and support our clients. We are grateful for your hard work, commitment, and the positive impact you make every day.

Congratulations on this milestone anniversary, and thank you for being an important part of the Benford Brown family.

This past Friday, the partners of Benford Brown and Associates came together for a strategic retreat focused on the future of how we continue to serve our clients. We remain committed to delivering excellence, strengthening relationships, and evolving to meet the needs of those we are proud to support.

Benford Brown and Associates proudly congratulates Kimi Ellen, CPA, NACD.DC on being named a Forbes Best-In-State CPA for 2026 for the second consecutive year. This recognition reflects her continued leadership, commitment to excellence, and the meaningful impact she makes across the profession.

The partners and staff of Benford Brown & Associates honor the life and legacy of our dear client, Rev. Jesse Jackson, a tireless advocate for civil rights, economic justice, and political empowerment.

His leadership challenged systems, opened doors, and expanded opportunity for generations. Through faith, courage, and unwavering conviction, he reminded us that progress requires persistence.

May we continue the work and continue his legacy.

As we celebrate Black History Month, we honor Mary T. Washington Wylie, the first African American woman to become a Certified Public Accountant in 1943 and the first African American CPA in Illinois.

Mary Washington was the founder of Washington, Pittman & McKeever, which, until its acquisition by Mitchell & Titus in 2019, was the oldest Black-owned CPA firm in the United States. At a time when opportunities in public accounting were limited, she not only broke barriers but built pathways for others through mentorship and firm leadership, helping expand representation and opportunity within the profession.

Today we celebrate Rokia Yedan's 4-year work anniversary. Thank you for your dedication, professionalism, and the positive impact you continue to make. We appreciate all that you do and look forward to what’s ahead.

Today we honor the life and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., whose vision, courage, and commitment to justice continue to inspire generations. As we reflect on his leadership and service, we are reminded of the responsibility we share to lead with integrity, purpose, and compassion in all that we do.

As we celebrate 30 years of Benford Brown and Associates, we are honoring the milestones, relationships, and people who helped shape our firm. On the 15th of each month, we will highlight business accomplishments and those who made BBA what it is today.

We begin January with Firsts, recognizing our very first accounting client, Renaissance Adult Day Care Facility, formerly owned by Caroline Hicks and Mel Hicks. We are grateful for the early trust and partnership that marked the beginning of our journey and helped set the foundation for the firm we are today.