Principals

Connie Hammell is the Managing Principal of KWC. Connie has more than 15 years of experience providing tax planning & preparation, business consulting, and financial statement compilation and review services. She is accomplished in many industries including professional services, government contractors, real estate, and healthcare.

Connie works with closely held businesses and their owners in a variety of industries, providing compliance and advisory services on a range of issues that impact this segment. She also oversees the Client Advisory Services group, which provides accounting, outsourcing and technology solutions to a broad range of clients.

Get to Know Connie at Work

Q. What do you love about your job?
After 15 years of supporting our closely held business clients’ compliance needs, I was looking for a different way to provide value and fortuitously was given an opportunity to assist a client in building out a remote accounting department using cloud-based accounting tools.  Creating a system that would produce the information that the business owners needed to make quick and sound business decisions was really rewarding.  With the support of the principals here at the firm, I turned that one client opportunity into a new department that provides a wide array of support services to our clients.

Q. Describe your most memorable moment at KWC.
Being elected as the firm’s Managing Principal by my peers. It is a tremendous honor and responsibility to shepherd the firm forward – I hope to continue to contribute to KWC’s legacy and success.

Q. Why did you choose a career at KWC?
Like many recent college graduates, I was looking for a job. I interviewed at several firm’s but kept coming back to the feeling that I had at KWC. I could tell as I toured the office that people enjoyed working there and I wanted to be a part of that. I realized early on that the Firm could provide me with a career that I found rewarding and compelling while also allowing me the flexibility to enjoy life outside of work.

Q. What are people most surprised to learn about your job?
People assume accounting is the same as math – they couldn’t be more incorrect. Yes, of course, there are lots of numbers in accounting. However, we are accumulating the data and helping to translate the story those numbers tell about the health of the company, where the profit centers are and what needs to be fine-tuned. Most of my day to day involves consulting with clients to figure out how to help them accomplish their goals based on the narrative of the financial statements.

Connie Outside the Office

Q. How are you active in your community?
I am a member of the Alexandria Rotary Club and have been since 2014. I enjoy serving the community through this organization by delivering Meals on Wheels to Alexandria’s senior citizens with the assistance of my daughter.

Q. What do you do for fun?
I love to read; I would read all day if I could. But since I can’t, I also spend a lot of time at rock-climbing gyms, soccer fields, basketball courts and Dojangs supporting my kid’s activities.

Q. What’s your favorite vacation spot and why?
The Dominican Republic – life is slower, the people are happy, the food is amazing, and the water is blue. There is no better place on earth.

Q. What word best describes you?
Loyal

Q. What’s your favorite book, or one that you’ve read recently?
Deborah Harkness – The All Souls Trilogy. A three-book series it has everything: history, magic, time-travel, packed into one story.

Q. What’s one thing people are often surprised to learn about you?
I am a cancer survivor – I was diagnosed with multi-follicular thyroid cancer in my 20s. The experience gave me a different perspective on what was important and guides a lot of my life views today.