Sarah Jennings, CPA, CFE, CAE, Principal, Director, Consulting

Sarah is a principal in Maner Costerisan’s Accounting and Outsourced Solutions department. She leads the firm’s Fraud and Forensics practice and its Nonprofit team. Sarah oversees outsourced solutions engagements providing guidance and advisory services to client leadership and teams on financial analysis, projections and workflow. She has a particular specialization in performing fraud risk assessments and internal control process improvements for organizations across various industries. Sarah maintains a strong desire to help her clients augment their internal controls and fraud prevention systems while minimizing their costs in the process. Sarah also performs examinations for various organizations to determine and document the extent of loss due to fraud.

Sarah is leading our firm’s initiatives in innovation and community engagement involving many internal team members as well as community leaders and stakeholders. This increased focus is an exciting representation of Maner Costerisan’s concentration on its’ corporate social responsibility.

Beyond her client responsibilities at Maner Costerisan, Sarah regularly shares her expertise with colleagues and peers by speaking on industry-related topics including fraud (risk areas and prevention), financial oversight, board governance and ethics.

Sarah volunteers her time with various charitable organizations primarily focused on leadership and entrepreneurism.

Sarah resides in Laingsburg, Michigan with her husband, Russ, and their son, Kannon. In her free time, she enjoys gardening, cooking and playing golf.

I am dedicated not only to the task my clients have engaged me with, but also to helping their organizations succeed and thrive overall.

Jeff Allen, CPA, ABV, Principal

Jeff brings more than 18 years of experience to the Maner Costerisan team. Passionate about diving into new problems and devising thoughtful, out-of-the-box solutions for clients, Jeff specializes in valuation, expert witness testimony, financial and treasury management, forecasting, budgeting, executive leadership training and financial consulting. With his ability to simplify highly-complex concepts, combined with his drive to help clients solve their problems – Jeff is exceptionally talented in devising unique solutions tailored entirely to a business’s unique needs.

After joining Maner in 2006, Jeff left the firm to work at a global medical manufacturing product corporation, gathering essential skill sets that help him more closely relate to issues and perspectives facing clients. Since returning to the firm in 2018, he’s been promoted to Principal and has taken on additional responsibilities, helping lead the firm’s growing consulting practice.

As part of his day-to-day work, Jeff provides fractional CFO services to Maner’s several small and mid-size business clients. Additionally, he focuses on providing financial consulting services to startups and distressed businesses. He also leads the firm’s business valuation services specialty and provides a wide range of valuation-related services to multiple industries.

An avid camper, hiker and outdoorsman, Jeff lives in the woods of Williamston, Michigan, with his wife, Megan, their two boys, Jonas and Evan, and their three-year-old schnoodle.

I enjoy the breadth and expanse of projects and clients I get to work with at Maner. No one client is ever exactly the same as the previous or next, which means I’m constantly challenged.

Rod Taylor, Senior Governmental Consultant

Rod joined Maner in 2023 as a senior governmental consultant. An active member of Maner’s growing Government Industry Committee, he leads the firm’s new Municipality Consulting Services team within the Consulting Solutions division of the Accounting and Outsourced Solutions department.

Rod brings more than 27 years of experience working in governmental entities to the firm. Most recently, he served as a division administrator at the State of Michigan, assisting local governments with maintaining strong fiscal and operational health. He leveraged statistical analysis to identify local units with fiscal or operational distresses and proactively worked with them to address their challenges. Prior to his time at the State, Rod worked for 11 years as the DeWitt Township manager.

In his new role as a senior governmental consultant, Rod will support Maner’s government clients in strengthening their fiscal and operational structure.

Rod believes by helping local governments with best practices, good governance and long-term planning, he can play a part in ensuring that critical public services are delivered efficiently and effectively. Helping to drive change is Rod’s favorite part of his job, and he believes assisting local governments to make positive decisions will strengthen them and make them more resilient. Local government officials are dedicated to achieving their objectives, growing their communities, and ensuring that they are vibrant. Rod and the rest of the experts at Maner look to assist these communities with this mission.

Rod chose Maner because of the great work environment filled with devoted professionals that want to make a positive impact.

A graduate of Ferris State University and Central Michigan University, Rod has a Bachelor of Business Administration and a Master of Science in Business Administration. He lives in DeWitt, Michigan, with his wife and two kids. He enjoys woodworking, classic cars, fishing, hiking and hunting.

I enjoy breaking down problems or challenges into the smallest elements to help identify and find creative solutions to problems.

Dennis Theis, CPA, CVGA, Principal, Director

I get excited about helping others reach their potential. Using what I know to produce the best result with our team for our clients is what is most rewarding to me. It has not only stretched me professionally but has provided me great personal satisfaction.

Bethany Verble, CPA, CFE, CBPA, Senior Manager

Bethany is a senior manager in the Consulting division of Maner Costerisan’s Accounting and Outsourced Solutions department. She began her career as an intern with the firm’s Audit team in 2015 and was hired full-time shortly after. Bethany’s passion for helping her clients strengthen their internal controls and operations as an auditor led her to a new focus, providing consulting and advisory services to clients of all industries. In this role, she helps organizations plan for the future and achieve their goals. She also offers investigation services to organizations that have been victimized by or have suspicions of fraud, helping determine any losses and implementing controls to prevent loss and mitigate risk in the future.

Bethany regularly presents on fraud prevention and internal controls to organizations across the state, including the Michigan Township Association (MTA), Michigan School Business Officials (MSBO), Michigan State Association of Accountants, Auditors, and Business Administrators (SAAABA), American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO), and others.

In addition to her client-focused responsibilities, Bethany is passionate about learning, growing, and supporting her team. She served as head of the internal audit department training team and chairs Maner’s Employee Engagement Committee – a group dedicated to furthering culture and engagement for associates at all levels.

Outside of Maner, Bethany is the Vice President of the Lansing Association of Certified Fraud Examiners and joined the Michigan Women in Finance board in 2022. In 2023, Bethany was named to Lansing Symphony Orchestra’s Board of Directors.

Bethany graduated from Lansing Community College and Davenport University with a bachelor’s in Accounting, Fraud, and Investigation. A resident of Mason, Mich., she loves to read, bake, exercise, and is actively involved in a community choir.

My mission in life is to end each day with a sense of accomplishment. What I've learned in public accounting is that you'll never get everything done, but if you've learned even one thing, or helped one person that day, you've accomplished a lot!