Federal audit and advisory practitioner with 14 years of experience across public accounting, consulting, and federal financial management — bringing an independent voice grounded in real engagement work.
Rob Persons' introduction to federal service came before his professional career even started. After high school, he enlisted in the Marine Corps as a Rifleman — a starting point that shaped how he would later approach federal financial management: from the inside, with an operator's understanding of mission first.
He brought that perspective into accounting, earning his degree from George Washington University and entering the profession from an unconventional starting point. Over the past 14 years, that path has taken him through public accounting, federal audit, advisory consulting, and ultimately into building his own firm.
He began his accounting career at Cotton & Company before joining KPMG's federal audit practice, where he supported financial statement audits across several federal law enforcement agencies. That audit background shaped his understanding of financial management and the importance of balancing auditability with mission accomplishment.
From KPMG, he moved to PwC and later Guidehouse, where his work expanded into OMB Circular A-123 internal control assessments, financial statement preparation, and technical accounting research. Working across both the audit and advisory sides of federal financial management gave him a perspective that is as practical as it is technical.
In 2022, he founded Persons Consulting LLC, through which he supports defense, law enforcement, and legislative branch agencies on internal controls, audit readiness, and financial system migrations.
That same drive to fill a gap he saw led him to launch a NABA-sponsored CPE program at federalfinancecpe.com. The idea was born from personal frustration — he could not find self-study options focused specifically on federal accounting, so he built them himself. He contributes to this publication for the same reason: the federal financial management community deserves more independent voices, delivered in a way that works for professionals who are busy and on the move. He continues to serve in the Navy Reserve as a Supply Corps Officer.