BETHESDA, Maryland (September 25, 2009) – The Greater Washington DC Family Business Alliance ("The Alliance"), the go to resource for family businesses located in Maryland, the District of Columbia, and Northern Virginia, announced today that Jacqueline M. Thompson, CPA, a Principal with Bond Beebe, the foundinfg company of the Alliance, has received professional certification as a Family Business Advisor from the Family Firm Institute ("FFI"). The FFI presented Thompson with the certification during their international conference, "Risky Business: Assessing and Managing Risk in the 21st Century Family Enterprise," held September 23-25, 2009 in New York City. The FFI is the premier international body for advising and research in the family business and family wealth fields, with the purpose of increasing public awareness and broadening understanding of trends and developments within those fields.

  The Family Business Advisor certification is a two-year program to increase the skills, tools, techniques, and understanding of future trends for those who advise and educate family businesses, especially in the areas of accounting, law and business management. Work and requisites for the certification includes prior degree or licensing in a core body of knowledge, such as accounting; attendance at and participation in several course-related seminars and conferences; and active membership in the FFI. Thompson, with over ten years of public accounting experience and a B.A. in accounting from the University of Maryland, specializes in small and family-owned businesses, including operational audits, accounting issues, and identifying tax issues facing these companies. She has worked with multi-generational family businesses in many industries, also focusing on business consulting topics such as retirement plans, succession planning and investment strategies.

The Greater Washington DC Family Business Alliance ("The Alliance") was founded in 2008 by Bond Beebe, a certified public accounting firm, to help family businesses located in Maryland, the District of Columbia and Northern Virginia find information and assistance they need to succeed. Its objective is to provide a structured forum for the exchange of ideas and best practices. The Alliance helps area family businesses achieve their business goals while maintaining healthy and harmonious family relationships.