Michael O’Hanlan

Michael O’Hanlan, CEO of R. M. O’Hanlan Consulting, has served the accounting needs of the Washington, DC area for over 20 years.  His experience ranges from services in commercial, not-for-profit, & government contractor accounting, business advisory, and fraud examination.

He earned a B.A. in Russian Language from Michigan State University, and a Master of Arts in Slavic Linguistics from the University of Virginia.  While in graduate school, he followed his intuition and took two basic accounting courses at Piedmont Community College.

After graduating, he worked in Washington, DC as a Russian interpreter.  He first discovered his future career in accounting when his director gave him a literal shoe box containing an entire year of missing financial documents from his company.  He compiled the documents into financial statements that the company’s outside accounting firm used in their audit. This was based on what he learned from two quarters of first-year college accounting!

He finished his Associates of Science in Accounting from Northern Virginia Community College, which qualified him to sit for the Certified Public Accountant’s Examination (still on the bucket list).  He built his newfound career first as an “accounting temp” thriving on resolving the worst financial situations which he commonly refers to as “disaster accounting.”

Working as an auditor in telecommunications, he challenged one vendor with $2,300,000 in disputed charges, and won $1,500,000.  He based his accomplishment on his auditing and financial analysis skills.

As Senior Advisory Associate at KPMG, he participated in the Financial Improvement and Audit Readiness (FIAR) Plan.  He was tasked to clarify government accounting issues to members in the Department’s highest levels using his background in accounting, teaching and training.  He discovered the value of advisory services and, today, they are always included in the services provides all his clients.

He is a Certified Fraud Examiner (CFE) and member of the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners (ACFE).  What started as a routine accounting cleanup for a client’s finances resulted in O’Hanlan uncovering thousands of dollars in embezzlement and payroll fraud.  Fairfax County investigators used O’Hanlan’s forensic research to win a $263,000 felony conviction against an office manager of a small home services company.

O’Hanlan is a Certified QuickBooks^® ProAdvisor in both Desktop and Online editions.  He is dedicated to continuing professional education expanding his problem-solving skills to help clients make best use of their accounting systems.

With RMOHC, he creates individualized solutions creating financial peace of mind in the client and empowers them to conduct business that is profitable, legal, and compliant.

O’Hanlan is equally serious about his accounting as he is serious about making his clients’ experience positive and fun.  You will find some of his humor throughout this website.  He sees humor as a reflection of both peace of mind and empowerment, not failure.  If you can laugh, you are grounded, no matter what condition your books are in.

In his spare time, you might hear him practicing harp having played in symphony for over 30 years.  He is most often found at the back of the pack of your neighborhood triathlon.