Certified Public Accounting Firm

From An Oil Rig in Brookshire to the Boardrooms in Houston

Contact: Caroline Rosen 
crosen@malonebailey.com
713.343.4286

Jeff Labay, Senior Audit ManagerHouston, TX, November 14, 2013 – Jeff Labay, CPA, Senior Audit Manager, at MaloneBailey, LLP brings hands-on experience to his career as an auditor of SEC-reporting oil & gas companies. In his early twenties, Labay joined El Campo-based BL Oilfield Services and began a one year opportunity working on mobile rigs in the Brookshire, Texas area as a Floor Hand. Labay’s responsibilities included bringing pipe out of the well, operating the tongs and running rods.

It was a natural transition for Labay, whose father has a career in oil & gas and whose uncle owns the company, BL Oilfield Services. “Given my family’s involvement in the oil & gas world, it was something I had been exposed to from an early age and always knew I wanted to be part of it, but at that point in my life I didn’t know exactly what that would look like,” said Jeff Labay, CPA, Senior Audit Manager at MaloneBailey, LLP.

After one year on the rig, Labay was encouraged by his father and wife to pursue an education and accounting was a natural fit. Labay received his Bachelor of Business Administration in Accounting from the University of Houston at Victoria as well as his Master of Business Administration also from the University of Houston at Victoria. Labay attributes a strong interest in reserve reports, depletion and impairment, and theory of full cost vs. successful efforts to his decision to specialize in oil and gas.

“Working on the rigs gave me a unique perspective into the oil and gas industry. I know the business and operations of my clients better because of the first hand experience I have working on a rig. From my time on the rig, I learned the importance of having a strong work ethic – we typically worked 10-12 hour days – and it solidified my passion for working in the oil & gas field,” Labay explained.

In 2006, Labay joined MaloneBailey, a CPA firm based in Houston that specializes in audit services for SEC reporting companies, as an audit staff. Seven years later, Labay has risen through the ranks and currently holds a Senior Audit Manager position. Labay’s focus is nearly exclusively dedicated to oil & gas companies with 95% of his clients who are upstream companies. Labay manages a team of auditors and often meets with the audit committees and boards of directors of the companies he audits to share the results of the audit and other financial reporting information.

“Whether I’m on the rig or in the boardroom, I find the oil & gas industry to be one that is challenging and rewarding and constantly evolving. Plus, living and working in Houston – the hub of the industry – affords me a lot of unique experiences and face time with my clients,” Labay added.

Labay’s oil & gas expertise was highlighted in an article he published along with Jay Norris, Audit Partner at MaloneBailey, and Miriam Rouziek, Audit Senior at MaloneBailey, in the summer 2012 edition of Petroleum Accounting and Financial Management titled, “Auditors Perspective: Mistakes Made by Small Public Oil & Gas Companies.” The article discusses the common accounting and disclosure mistakes and oversights of smaller SEC reporting companies engaged in oil and gas activities.

In April 2013, MaloneBailey reached a milestone in its 31 year history with 155 public company clients – more than it has ever had before. The firm is in exclusive company as one of only nine CPA firms in the world that require an annual inspection by the PCAOB; all other firms are inspected every three years. The Sarbanes-Oxley Act requires the PCAOB to conduct annual inspections for firms that regularly provide audit reports for more than 100 issuers. The nine annually inspected firms include, BDO USA, LLP, Crowe Horwath LLP, Deloitte & Touche LLP, Ernst & Young LLP, Grant Thornton LLP, KPMG LLP, MaloneBailey, LLP, McGladrey & Pullen, LLP and PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP.

MaloneBailey’s oil and gas practice comprises a little over 25% of its total client base. The firm provides SEC-regulated audit and private audit services to upstream, midstream and downstream companies. MaoneBailey’s client base includes drilling, exploration and production, refining and marketing, gas marketing and distribution companies MaloneBailey’s oil and gas clients range from start-up exploration and development companies to operating production companies with over half a billion in properties.

MaloneBailey’s service offering to oil & gas companies includes:

  • Public Company Audit Services
  • M&A Financial Due Diligence
  • Audit, Review and Compilation of Financial Statements for Closely-held Companies
  • Consultation on Complex Accounting Issues
  • Small Business Advisory Services

Jay Norris, CPA, Audit Partner at MaloneBailey, LLP, explains that “we believe our approach sets us apart from our competitors – we bring deep knowledge and experience in the oil & gas industry as well as significant focus on SEC auditing. This enables us to provide the increased quality that SEC and PCAOB demand while still maintaining our fees and turn-around time at the lowest reasonable levels.”

Today, MaloneBailey has 5 SEC-qualified audit partners serving smaller public companies on a full time basis, spreading their time between their base in Houston and their satellite offices in New York, Beijing and Shenzhen, China. MaloneBailey staff also work on SEC audit work full time. MaloneBailey participates in more than 600 SEC filings per year and has more dedicated SEC specialists on staff than most firms have SEC clients.

For more information about MaloneBailey and its oil & gas practice, please visit www.malonebailey.com.

About MaloneBailey, LLP

Based in Houston, Texas and with offices in New York, Beijing and Shenzhen, MaloneBailey is an international public accounting firm with deep knowledge and experience in the delivery of SEC audit services to small and mid-cap publicly traded clients with over 150 registrants as clients, including NYSE, AMEX and NASDAQ listed companies. MaloneBailey is a member of Nexia International. For more information about MaloneBailey, visit www.malonebailey.com.