Ken is the founding member of Swink, Smith, Coplen & Co., P.C.  He focuses on providing strategic tax planning, compliance and consulting services to closely held businesses and high net worth individuals. Beyond traditional compliance services, he also provides estate planning, risk assessment, cash management and financial planning and advisory.

Ken serves his clients as a trusted advisor, providing specialized consulting and research services based on their individual needs. He works with a variety of clients and has significant experience with real estate and manufacturing entities. Ken’s ability to learn and understand his clients’ specific goals enables him to introduce creative solutions designed to grow their organization and maximize their overall financial picture.

Prior to joining Swink, Smith, Coplen & Co., P.C., Ken began his professional career in the private sector. He worked as an accounting manager for R. Rowland & Co., a St. Louis-based, New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) member organization.

Ken resides in Millstadt, Illinois with his wife and two children. In his free time he enjoys golfing, watching and playing basketball and spending quality time with his family.

Memberships & Affiliations

Certified Public Accountant Missouri and Illinois
Personal Financial Specialist
Registered Investment Advisor
Licensed Insurance Agent
American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA)
Missouri Society of Certified Public Accountants (MOCPA)
Financial Planning Association (FPA)

Coetta earned an Associate’s Degree in Accounting in 2013 and is currently enrolled at Maryville University working towards her Bachelor’s Degree in Accounting. Coetta joined Swink, Smith, Coplen & Co., P.C. in March of 2019. Coetta has three years of accounting experience, specializing in manufacturing and wholesale distribution. Now at Swink, Smith, Coplen & Co., P.C., she dedicates her time to performing daily accounting duties and preparing financial reports.

Coetta grew up in a military family causing her to live all over the world. She settled in Missouri and lives in Ballwin with her sons. Coetta spends her free time hiking, making home improvements, and traveling.

Chris earned a Master of Accountancy from Truman State University in 2012. Chris joined Swink, Smith, Coplen & Co., P.C. in February of 2013. As a staff accountant in the tax department, Chris assists with tax planning, preparation, and consulting services for our clients. Chris works with a wide range of clients including residential real estate, property management, construction, IT consulting, and restaurants/bars. Chris also assists upper management with consulting and estate planning for high net worth individuals

Chris currently resides in South St. Louis County. Outside of work, he enjoys competing in local and state-wide amateur golf tournaments, along with playing many other recreational sports. He is also a fan of Blues hockey and Cardinals baseball.

Memberships & Affiliations

American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA)
Missouri Society of Certified Public Accountants (MOCPA)

Paige earned a Bachelor of Science in Finance and is a currently a candidate for a Master of Science in Forensic Accounting from Webster University, Fall 2019. Paige joined Swink, Smith, Coplen & Co., P.C. in November 2018, as a staff accountant in the tax department. Paige assists with tax planning, preparation, and consulting services for our clients.

Paige currently resides in Festus, MO.  She enjoys traveling and trying new cuisines, crafting: including crochet and jewelry making, staying active through hiking and yoga, and watching cartoons with her nieces, nephews, and cat Olive.

Memberships & Affiliations

Student member of Missouri Society of Certified Public Accountants (MOCPA)

Julie earned a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from the University of Missouri – St Louis. Julie joined Swink, Smith, Coplen & Co., P.C. in January of 2019. Julie has more than 10 years of experience including accounting, payroll, and property management. Now at Swink, Smith, Coplen & Co., P.C., she dedicates her time to performing daily accounting duties and preparing financial reports.

Julie is a valued resource to the Swink, Smith, Coplen & Co., P.C. team and attributes her success to her organizational skills and attention to detail.

Julie grew up in St. Louis and lives in Fenton with her family. She enjoys time with her family and her hobbies include jogging, working out, golf and house renovations.

Jacob joined Swink, Smith, Coplen & Co., P.C. in 1999 as a staff accountant, was promoted to Director in 2011 and was admitted as a shareholder in 2017. As a director, he helps lead the client management, quality control and staff development for the firm’s tax practice. He provides proactive tax planning, preparation and consulting services for clients in a variety of sizes and industries. In addition, he also serves as the Cost Segregation Team Leader for the firm. Jacob has worked with individual, LLC and corporate clients in the following industries:

• Commercial and Residential Real Estate
• Manufacturing
• Wholesale Distribution
• Professional Services
• Restaurants

Beyond the basic tax preparation and consulting, Jacob provides several specialized tax services. Some of the specialized services include assisting retirement, and handling IRS and state audits. With a passion for real estate, Jacob has consulted on commercial and residential real estate acquisitions and sales, loan refinancing, tax deferred like kind exchanges and Section 754 step-up in basis.

Continuing to take a proactive role in the development of his professional career, Jacob’s clients benefit from his dedication to continuing professional education and ability to stay abreast of accounting and tax issues.

Jacob lives in South County with his wife and their 2 sons. He enjoys spending time with family, golfing and watching Cardinals baseball.

Memberships & Affiliations

Certified Public Accountant Missouri and Illinois
Professional Memberships
American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA)
Missouri Society of Certified Public Accountants (MOCPA)
University of Missouri Saint Louis Alumni Association

Kim joined Swink, Smith, Coplen & Co., P.C. in January 1992 as a staff accountant. In 1996, Kim moved into the role of the firm’s first firm administrator.  As the firm’s Director of Firm Administration, Kim is responsible for the day to day operations of the firm. These activities include but are not limited to the human resource function, financial reporting for the firm, managing both the administrative team and the out-source controller division, facilities management and any other items that are not necessarily client centric.

Kim attributes her success to her organizational skills, ability to multi-task on various projects, and her innate ability to connect with people.  Over the years, Kim has developed expertise in many different areas of managing a CPA firm.

Kim grew up in St. Louis and currently resides in Creve Coeur, MO with her husband and two children.  She enjoys traveling, working out, hosting dinner parties and remodeling rooms in her house. Kim is very active volunteering at the Humane Society of Missouri and is an active member of the DeSmet Mother’s Club.

Memberships & Affiliations

Society of Human Resource Management
AICPA – CPAFMA member
Missouri Society of CPAS – Auxiliary Member

Ryan joined Swink, Smith, Coplen & Co., P.C. in 2013 as an intern. Now as a staff member, he helps in the preparation of tax returns, tax planning, and preparation of financial statements. Ryan has worked with clients in the following industries:

• Automotive Dealerships
• Not-for-Profits
• Real Estate
• Trade Shows

Ryan currently lives in St. Louis City. He enjoys listening to local music acts and participating in recreational sand volleyball leagues.

Memberships & Affiliations

American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA)
Missouri Society of Certified Public Accountants (MOCPA)

Ashley earned a Master of Accountancy from the University of Missouri – St Louis and joined Swink, Smith, Coplen & Co., P.C. in 2008 as a staff accountant. In 2013, Ashley was promoted to Manager. As a Manager in the tax department, Ashley provides proactive tax planning, preparation, and consulting services for clients in a variety of sizes and industries. Ashley has worked with individual, LLC, and corporate clients in the following industries:

• Commercial and Residential Real Estate
• Manufacturing
• Automobile Dealerships
• Professional Services

Beyond the basic tax preparation and consulting, Ashley provides specialized tax services. Some of the specialized services include assisting clients with preparing for retirement, handling IRS and state audits and estate planning. Ashley works a great deal with high net worth individuals.

Ashley attributes her success to her organizational skills, hard work, and ability to interact well professionally and personally with clients and colleagues. Ashley continues to develop her professional career by taking continuing education courses and staying abreast of accounting and tax issues.

Ashley currently resides in Florissant, MO. She enjoys traveling and going to Cardinals games and concerts. She has also volunteered in different capacities throughout the years. She currently volunteers approximately 200 hours per year with Cardinals Care, an organization that helps non-profit youth organizations. Ashley is also the VP of Finance for With STL, the Young Processionals Group for Make-A-Wish Missouri.

Memberships & Affiliations

Certified Public Accountant Missouri and Illinois
American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA)
Public Accountants (MOCPA) Missouri Society of Certified

Earl is the founding member and President of Swink, Smith, Coplen & Co., P.C. (formerly known as Swink, Fiehler & Company, P.C.). He has dedicated the past 38 years to nurturing Swink, Smith, Coplen & Co., P.C. into a professional services firm committed to providing outstanding client service.

Prior to founding Swink, Earl worked at Arthur Andersen where he provided tax, audit, and consulting services to a variety of industries, including real estate, insurance, financial services, manufacturing and construction. He prides himself on providing proactive, value-driven advice to his client base. A hands-on approach and dedication to positively impacting his clients operations truly enables Earl to serve them as their trusted business advisor.

Earl has extensive experience working with clients in a number of capacities, including advanced income and estate planning, succession planning, investment strategies, profit enhancement services, financing assistance, corporate reorganizations, strategic planning and other specialized services. He has worked on over 200 merger and acquisition transactions, including due diligence and consultation in the areas of deal structure, funding, valuation, integration and other related business issues.

Earl is a well-known financial leader in the St. Louis market. He is a St. Louis native and has remained in the area with his family.

Memberships & Affiliations

Certified Public Accountant, Missouri and Illinois
American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA)
Missouri Society of Certified Public Accountants (MOCPA)
University of Missouri St. Louis Alumni Association
Alliance of Merger & Acquisition Advisors (AMAA)
Enterprise Bank, Sunset Hills – Board Advisor Member

Joan joined Swink, Smith, Coplen & Co., P.C. in January 2012. As a manager in the tax department, Joan provides tax planning, preparation, and accounting services for our clients and also assists them with their daily business operations. She works with a diverse client base including non-profit, manufacturing, distribution, property management, and service entities.

Following her graduation from the University of Missouri-Columbia in 1983, Joan began her public accounting career as an auditor for a large public accounting firm. She then went to work in industry as a financial accountant for Brown Shoe Company. From there she went back into public accounting and did everything from tax planning and tax preparation to basic accounting and assistance with write-up work and special projects.

Joan attributes her success to her organizational skills, hard work, and ability to interact well professionally and personally with clients and colleagues. She has spent significant time working with non-profits and family-owned businesses and enjoys getting to know them and learn about their specific needs.

Joan grew up in St. Louis and currently resides in Oakville, MO with her husband. She enjoys traveling, gardening, running and reading. She has also volunteered in different capacities throughout the years. She served as the treasurer for the Meramec Sharks Hockey Club when her sons played hockey in the club. She has mentored college students through Missouri Society of CPAs.

Memberships & Affiliations

Certified Public Accountant Missouri
American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA)
Missouri Society of Certified Public Accountants (MOCPA)

Michelle joined Swink, Smith, Coplen & Co., P.C. in 2005 bringing a solid background in audit and accounting as well as expertise in the areas of insurance industry accounting, not-for-profit accounting, internal audit and fraud examinations.

Michelle’s career began as an auditor at PriceWaterhouse Coopers where she focused on insurance, financial services and not-for-profit industries. After leaving PriceWaterhouse Coopers, Michelle spent seven years as an internal auditor with MetLife, Inc.

Michelle is a valuable resource to our team and her clients, consulting with them regarding accounting, controls and technical standards. She performs a variety of services for her clients including outsourced accounting and consulting services, controls assessments, and designing and establishing accounting processes in a variety of industries.

Outside of the office Michelle actively volunteers in her community and with her church.

Memberships & Affiliations

Certified Public Accountant Missouri and Illinois
American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA)
Missouri Society of Certified Public Accountants (MOCPA)

Sharon joined Swink, Smith, Coplen & Co., P.C. in 2013 as an outsourced controller accountant bringing her accounting education with an eagerness to learn and desire to grow.

Sharon graduated with her Master’s degree in Accounting from the University of MO – St. Louis and has almost ten years of accounting experience, starting as a tax intern at a small local CPA firm, transferring to a full time accountant at a commercial real estate company. Now at Swink, Smith, Coplen & Co., P.C., she dedicates her time to performing daily accounting transactions and preparing financial reports. Her focus and clientele includes real estate clients and not-for-profit clients.

Sharon is a valued resource to the Swink, Smith, Coplen & Co., P.C. team and her clients, providing them with guidance regarding the accounting and financial aspects of their business, providing support, and being ready and available to accept and accomplish any task.

Outside of the office, Sharon spends her time with her husband volunteering with their church in South City, gardening, and running with their two dogs.

Memberships & Affiliations

Missouri Society of Certified Public Accountants (MOCPA)