Email: m.adams@apexaccountingcpa.com
Mike is a Partner at Apex Accounting who oversees our Cranbrook office. He is a Chartered Professional Accountant who has been in public practice since 1997. Mike is involved in all areas of client service, including accounting, audit, corporate and personal taxation, and business consultation. Mike enjoys working closely with business owners and managers to minimize tax and improve profitability.
Born and raised in Creston, B.C., Mike worked on his family’s dairy farm before attending College of the Rockies where he obtained a Business Administration Diploma in accounting. He joined the firm in December 1997, acquired his CPA, CA designation in 2002 and became a partner in 2003.
An active member of the community, Mike is the treasurer for the East Kootenay Division of Family Practice and a past president of the Cranbrook Chamber of Commerce, and JCI Kootenay. He is also a past treasurer for the Cranbrook Society for Community Living and the Cranbrook Youth Soccer Association.
In 2012, Mike was presented with a lifetime membership in the Senate of Junior Chamber International for his work as a member of JCI Kootenay. Mike has also volunteered his time with a number of other local charities and not-for-profit organizations.
In 2017, Mike was honoured to receive the Citizen of the Year award for his work in the community of Cranbrook.
Email: e.carr@apexaccountingcpa.com
Erin is a Partner at Apex Accounting who oversees our Creston office. She is a Chartered Professional Accountant who has been in public practice since 2002. Erin is involved in all areas of client service and enjoys working closely with her clients to assist in meeting their corporate and personal financial goals.
Erin was born and raised in Creston, as were her parents, and she and her husband have enjoyed living, working and raising their family in the lovely Creston Valley. She attended the University of Lethbridge and obtained her Bachelor of Management degree in 1997.
Erin acquired her CA designation in 2008 and later operated the Creston office as a sole proprietor before merging and becoming a partner with Apex Accounting in 2020.
Erin is the treasurer of the Creston Valley Ministerial Association, received the Rick Hansen Foundation Difference Maker award as recognition of her years of volunteering as assistant coach for the PCSS senior girls volleyball team.
Erin is active in the community, is very family oriented and looks forward to meeting with you. Please feel free to email her at e.carr@apexaccountingcpa.com.
Email: m.smith@apexaccountingcpa.com
Matt is a Chartered Professional Accountant who is involved in all areas of client service, including audit, review, compilation, personal and corporate taxes. Born and raised in Cranbrook, Matt received a Business Administration Diploma in accounting from the College of the Rockies in 2012 and a Bachelor of Management Accounting Major from the University of Lethbridge in 2014.
Matt joined the team at Apex Accounting in 2015 and in 2019 obtained his Chartered Professional Accountant designation. Aside from work, when he’s not spending time with his wife Hayley and their four children, Kayden, Felix, Kasper, and Coda, he enjoys playing the guitar, playing basketball, and coaching youth basketball.
Email: b.vandermeer@apexaccountingcpa.com
Brenda is a Partner at Apex Accounting based out of our Creston office. She is a Chartered Professional Accountant who has been in public practice since 2006. Brenda is involved in all areas of client service, including audit, accounting, corporate and personal taxation and business consultation. She enjoys working with her clients of all sizes to reach their financial goals. As the firm’s audit partner, Brenda also has a passion for the standards and enjoys working on them with our team and audit clients.
Brenda graduated with her Bachelor of Management in 2006 from the University of Lethbridge and obtained her CPA, CA designation in 2011. Born and raised in Sparwood, BC, Brenda grew up playing piano and figure skating. She spent time living in Red Deer, Alberta, and Nelson BC before moving back to the East Kootenay and joining Apex Accounting in 2013 in Cranbrook. In December 2020, Brenda and her husband relocated to Creston to be based out of our Creston office.
Brenda is an active volunteer. She joined JCI Kootenay in 2014 where she held various positions including president and past president for JCI Kootenay and JCI BC/Yukon, 2018 National Vice President for JCI Canada and JCI Canada Treasurer from 2017 to 2020. In 2019, Brenda was award her lifetime membership in the Senate of Junior Chamber International. Currently, Brenda is a member of the Creston Valley Rotary Club and Treasurer for the Ducks Unlimited – Creston Chapter.
In her leisure time, Brenda enjoys spending as much time at Christina Lake with her family, camping, drawing, reading, carpentry projects and family time with her husband and Labradoodle Ebony.
Email: d.woods@apexaccountingcpa.com
Deb has worked in public practice since 1992 with the last nine years being with Apex as the manager of the Creston office.
Although she has been involved in many aspects of client service over the years, she now predominantly works with assurance clients. She works with students, mentoring them and helping them to achieve their professional goals.
After growing up on a farm in Saskatchewan, she made her way to Alberta and then finally to Creston. In her spare time, she enjoys reading, doing crafts and spending time outdoors with her family.
Email: j.barnett@apexaccountingcpa.com
Born and raised in the Kootenays, Jessica began her career in 2007 at the firm. In 2010, she moved to Vancouver to continue working in public practice where she acquired her CPA designation in 2020. She moved back to the East Kootenays in 2022 and rejoined the firm in 2024.
Jessica’s experience involves many areas of client service including review, compilation, and personal and corporate taxes for privately held corporations and not-for-profit organizations. Jessica is also involved with training staff.
Aside from work, she enjoys mountain biking, travelling, and exploring restaurants in the area and abroad.
Amanda began her professional career in 2008 working in public practice in Manitoba. In 2011 she moved to Calgary to continue in public practice, where she successfully completed her professional designation in 2015.
Amanda’s experience involves all phases of financial statement, tax and accounting engagements for public, privately held companies and not-for-profit organizations. She specializes in assurance work focusing on small to medium size businesses, as well as assisting clients in the setup and training of their company books.
Amanda enjoys spending time outdoors with her daughter when she’s not busy driving her around to her activities.
Erin started with Apex in 2016 as an administrative assistant with a strong background in administration but not a lot of experience in the accounting world. Over the years she has developed a desire to learn at least the basics of accounting to better serve the clients, staff, managers & Partners of Apex Accounting. Erin is now embracing her new role as Office Manager of both Creston & Cranbrook offices and is enjoying the challenge of learning everything that encompasses.
Michelle has been with Apex Accounting since 2019. She has her Bachelor of Business Administration in Accounting from Camosun College in Victoria.
Penny has been with Apex Accounting since 2005. She helps clients with setting up Federal & Provincial tax accounts, Payroll, Bookkeeping, Trusts, Personal taxes and Corporate year-ends. She loves the firm’s “Pay it Forward” culture and is an active volunteer in the community.
Mikayla obtained her Bachelor of Management with a major in accounting from the University of Lethbridge in 2023. She joined the firm in March 2020. She is currently enrolled in the CPA program.
Matthew received his Bachelor of Business Administration from the Okanagan College in Kelowna and majored in accounting. He joined Apex Accounting in March 2022
Hannah will be completing her Bachelor of Business Administration degree from the College of the Rockies in the spring of 2025. She is currently working part time while in post-secondary with plans to continue full time with Apex after graduation.
Originally from Ontario, I moved to BC in 2017 and graduated from COTR with a BBA in 2021-2022. A CPA student with roots in farming, I’ve worked on farms, in custom housing construction, timber framing, and log homes, and gained bookkeeping experience during college.
Tanzice recently joined the Apex team as an administrative assistant. With extensive experience in management and office practices, she brings valuable skills to the role. Outside of work, she loves playing the guitar, hiking, and enjoys both down hill and cross country skiing, as well as paddle boarding.
Jeanette is an Accounting technician with bookkeeping experience. She joined the firm in November 2018.
Geoffrey is finishing off his Bachelor of Management degree at the University of Lethbridge, where he majored in accounting. He has just joined the firm and will be aiming to enter and complete his CPA designation in the coming years.
Erin started with Apex in 2016 as an administrative assistant with a strong background in administration but not a lot of experience in the accounting world. Over the years she has developed a desire to learn at least the basics of accounting to better serve the clients, staff, managers & Partners of Apex Accounting. Erin is now embracing her new role as Office Manager of both Creston & Cranbrook offices and is enjoying the challenge of learning everything that encompasses.
Pam joined the firm in December 2008 after acquiring experience as a tax preparer and bookkeeper/entrepreneur for almost 10 years.
Louise has worked at the Creston office since July 1994, and knows the local businesses well. She particularly enjoys working on investment files.
Anna is an Accounting Technician with a Bachelor’s of Science degree in math. She has been with the firm since early 2019.
Nikita is one of the first faces you see when coming into the Creston office as her role is administrative assistant, she recently joined the firm in 2023
Sigita joined the firm in November 2020 after moving to Creston from Manitoba. Sigita grew up in Lithuania, lived in Austria, US and now Canada.
Jenn joined the firm in September 2021, after moving to Creston with her family. She previously worked as a bookkeeper at an accounting firm in Alberta for almost 4 years, before joining Apex.
Jodelle is one of the Administrative Assistants for Apex. She enjoys working with an amazing team and has learned many new things in her role. Having lived in the Creston Valley for most of her life, she appreciates everything this beautiful place has to offer.
Leanne is an Accounting Technician with a Bachelor of Business Administration, Major in Accounting from Thompson River’s University. She was employed by an accounting firm in Nelson for 8 years before moving to Creston. She joined the firm in 2022.
Jennifer joined the firm in January 2025 as an Accounting technician. She is currently working towards earning her Associate Certificate in bookkeeping at Selkirk College. Dedicated and eager to grow, Jennifer is enthusiastic about learning from her colleagues and contributing to the team’s success.
Hadley joined the firm in Jan 2025, after moving to Creston with her family.
She is currently working toward an Accounting Diploma at College of the Rockies and looks forward to acquiring new skills and expanding her knowledge.
I am a passionate and dedicated individual towards my accounting career racking up 6 years of experience in the bookkeeping and accounting field and obtained ACCA certification equivalent to a bachelor’s degree. I am currently working on completing an accounting diploma for a pathway to the CPA program.