Forbes produced its inaugural America’s Top 200 CPAs list in 2024, and two of our Hokies made the list:  Krystal McCants, ‘03 and Brandon Pope, ’13 and ‘14.  Forbes editorial staff compiled a list of CPAs active in public practice from independent nominations and accolades from a variety of CPA societies and associations.  Nominees were rated on a range of weighted criteria including expertise, innovation, thought leadership, experience, and service to the community and to their profession, as well as responses to selected questions.

Krystal McCants with the Hokie Bird
Krystal McCants

Krystal McCants, CPA, is a Tax Principal in the Falls Church office of Yount, Hyde & Barbour, CPAs. She has over 21 years of public accounting experience working with and advising high net worth individuals, trusts, and closely held businesses. Krystal specializes in income tax planning, compliance, and review. She serves as an advisor to her clients by providing tax guidance and business planning strategies.

Since joining the industry, Krystal has held several leadership roles in the Virginia Society of CPAs (VSCPA). Currently, she serves as the Chair-Elect of the Board of Directors and previously served as the Chair of the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion advisory council. In conjunction with serving as the Chair-Elect of the VSCPA, she is now an at large member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) Council.  

In 2024, Krystal was honored to be named to Forbes inaugural "America's Top 200 CPAs" list. Also, this year, Krystal was named one of the Washington DC Metro Area’s Top CPAs by Washingtonian Magazine for the 8th time and voted as a Top Financial Professional by Northern Virginia Magazine for the 3rd time.  

In addition to her contributions within the CPA community, Krystal is actively involved with her alma mater. She currently serves as a member of the Pamplin Advisory Council at Virginia Tech.

Brandon Pope

Brandon Pope, CPA, is a senior director of accounting and finance at Vaco, LLC. He helps clients from Virginia and all across the nation with their accounting and finance talent solutions needs. He previously spent 5+ years as an auditor for the public accounting firms Keiter and Deloitte. He currently sits on several VSCPA committees, including the Board of Directors.  

Brandon earned his Bachelor’s degree in Accounting & Information Systems from Virginia Tech in 2013 and stayed on to earn his Master’s in 2014.   

Congratulations Krystal and Brandon!