J. Russell Lipford, Jr., CPA

Admitted to public practice in 1971.

Partner since 1974.

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J. Russell Lipford, Jr., a Macon native, has been employed by Clifton, Lipford, Hardison & Parker, LLC, f/k/a Truman Clifton & Company, since he started his public accounting career in 1969.  Russell advanced quickly, becoming a shareholder in 1974, and has remained a primary part of the Clifton, Lipford, Hardison & Parker, LLC foundation ever since.

Russell has worked with a wealth of clients in his many years of practice, dealing with governments, individuals, and businesses.  This diverse experience has culminated into specializations in estate planning, business planning, and corporate mergers & acquisitions.  Russell also has experience in expert witness engagements, giving expert testimony, and in consulting on business formation & capitalization concerns.  His industry specialties include Timber, Real Estate, Kaolin, Governmental, Qualified Plans, and Non-Profits.

Russell has also been successful in developing business ventures outside the accounting area.  These include an extended stay motel company (Villager Lodge) which was merged with a public company in 1994, and the acquisition and development of the largest Coldwell Banker franchise in Georgia outside Atlanta.  Russell also has interest in several real estate ventures in the Southeastern United States.  He also served as a founding director of New Southern Bank in Macon (now Atlantic Southern Bank).

Russell received his BBA from Georgia College and State University and is a Certified Public Accountant (CPA) in good standing with the American Institute of CPAs and the Georgia Society of CPAs.  He has served as State Chairman of the Governmental Accounting Committee, President of the Macon Chapter, and Chair of the Chapter Scholarship Committee.

The Middle Georgia community and civic responsibilities have always been a priority of Russell’s.  He currently serves as the chairman of the Audit Committee of the Methodist Home Foundation, served as finance chair of the Central Georgia Boy Scouts board, and is an active member of the Exchange Club of Macon.  Russell is the recipient of the 1999 Georgia Society of CPAs Public Service Award in recognition of his lifetime of service to the Middle Georgia community and local charities.  In 2008 he received a National Award from the United Methodist Association as Trustee of the Year for Methodist Agencies.  In 2009 he received the Silver Beaver award from the Central Georgia Boy Scout Council.  He also serves as Audit Committee Chair for the Community Foundation of Central Georgia.

Russell is a member of the Liberty United Methodist Church where he has served as Finance Chair and Chairman of the new building program.  He was the founding Chairman of the Georgia College Accounting Association, Chairman of the Dean’s Advisory Council for the Business School, and has served as Chairman of the Georgia College and State University Foundation. He has received two outstanding Alumni awards from GCSU. 

He and his wife Dolores have three sons.  Rusty, after receiving his PhD, continues working as a Microbiologist at AMGEN in Thousand Oaks, California where his lives with his wife Angela, also a microbiologist at AMGEN, and their two children.  Kevin is a partner with Clifton, Lipford, Hardison & Parker and he and his wife, Andrea, and their son live in Perry, Georgia.  Russell's youngest son, Jeremy, still lives in Macon.  Russell and Dolores now have three grandchildren.