Visionary, Leader, Strategist, Mentor

A twofold vision inspired LaShanda R. Thomas to establish The Clairmount Group, PLC, Certified Public Accountants, in 2002: First, she wanted to use her knowledge and experience as a Certified Public Accountant to guide clients to outstanding business results. Secondly, as a wife and mother who had faced the challenge of balancing work and home, she wanted to create a business environment in which employees could achieve career aspirations without compromising family values in the process.

Consistent with her founding vision and as the firm’s Managing Partner, Ms. Thomas favors a team approach to client service, and encourages and nurtures less seasoned staff members, helping develop their skills and abilities to reach their fullest potential. Her goals for The Clairmount Group are to lead its competitors, not only as an innovative professional services firm that assists clients to improve operational and managerial efficiency to produce solid results, but also as a preferred place to work for women.

LaShanda Thomas leads by example, setting a course for her team that combines the skills and knowledge gained during more than 20 years in public accounting, auditing, grant and financial management, and business advisory services. She started her professional career with PricewaterhouseCoopers as a senior associate. She worked on a variety of projects for clients in a range of organizations, including government, manufacturing, and public, private and charter education.

She honed her management and strategic skills while serving as Wayne County’s Assistant Director of Grants. While there, she developed creative and useful procedures and systems, not only to improve the efficiency of the grant management process, but also to streamline cash receipts countywide.

A pivotal shift in her career was serving as the Chief Financial Officer of a startup company which resulted in a defining moment for her professional development and spurred her decision to start The Clairmount Group.

Combining strategic and technical skills, honed in these positions, Ms. Thomas guides her team of highly skilled accountants in service to clients in four primary business lines: nonprofits, religious organizations, charter schools and small- to medium-sized businesses. Applying its unique “Four Faces” approach, The Clairmount Group is a catalyst that helps clients enhance stewardship, operations and strategy.

Under Ms. Thomas’ leadership and by following these principles, The Clairmount Group combines solid accounting practices, strategic thinking and technical expertise that benefit clients on every project they undertake. The Clairmount Group is now in its second decade, and the client list and project scope have expanded significantly as the firm’s results and reputation grow.

Ms. Thomas is a graduate of Michigan State University, with a Bachelor of Business Administration in Accounting. She is also a Certified Public Accountant. Active in her community, LaShanda Thomas is a member of the local chapters of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc., Jack and Jill of America, and The Links, Incorporated. A mother of five, she and her husband Terence live in the metro Detroit area.