About Us

We provide services exclusively to local government agencies. That is our sole focus.

Firm History

Before we share what we do, please let us tell you what we don’t do. What we don’t do is play both sides of the game. We are totally transparent about our lack of conflicts of interest. Here is what we mean. You can count on us to provide services exclusively to local government agencies. Period. We do not engage with private waste collection or landfill companies as clients. We serve only local jurisdictions to avoid any potential conflicts of interest.

Who We Are

MSW Consultants is a sole proprietorship management consulting firm that provides advisory services to local governments in the field of solid waste management.

What We Do

We conduct cost of service and rate studies for municipal solid waste service providers. We assist cities in procuring and negotiating solid waste franchise agreements.

How We Work

We work hard for the interests of our clients. At the same time, we strive to understand the perspective of all project stakeholders (waste haulers, etc.) to foster constructive and fruitful business relationships.

Leadership

MSW Consultants was founded by David L. Davis, CMA. Prior to establishing the firm, Mr. Davis served as a division controller for Waste Management, Inc., worked as an accounting manager for Riverside Public Utilities, and was a Senior Associate with Hilton Farnkopf & Hobson (now HF&H Consultants). Since establishing the firm in 2000, Mr. Davis has provided a broad range of solid waste consulting services to local jurisdictions in the areas of rate setting, service procurement, regulatory compliance, waste diversion, facility feasibility analysis, and operational assessment.

David Davis, CMA

President

David Davis is a cost accountant and an expert in solid waste macro- and micro-economics. Mr. Davis has held executive management positions in both local government, and in the private sector. Mr. Davis has served as the chief financial officer for hauling and landfill divisions of a national waste management company, and provided solid waste consulting service to over 50 local government agencies. Mr. Davis is an active contributor in the solid waste industry, and has served on the Board of Directors of the Southern California Waste Management Forum (SCWMF) since 1999. Mr. Davis graduated from Cal State Fullerton with a B. A. in Finance, and is a Certified Management Accountant (CMA). He is the principal of MSW Consultants, and is located in Temecula, California.

Craig Stroud, CPA

Senior Consultant

Craig Stroud is a CPA and operational analyst with over 16 years of experience revamping the operations of companies. He is familiar with corporate controls and accounting flow to performing in-depth analysis and modeling extensive what-if scenarios. He has served in managerial, operational, analysis and marketing roles within the professional services, DOD, healthcare and e-commerce arena’s. As a strategic coach within the professional services arena he facilitated the growth of over 35 client firms grow through a concentrated practice management program. As a revenue analyst with SAIC Craig ran extensive data queries and financial models to maximize IPT program staffing revenue. He has built multiple departments within companies, from conception to operational profitability.

Chen Newman

Financial Analyst

Chen is a skilled accountant and financial analyst with several years of experience in retail, banking, and local government. She has been responsible for analyzing the budgets of special municipal districts to ensure that they meet their debt service coverage ratios, and comply with their reserve requirements. She has been responsible for budgeting, accounts receivable, accounts payable, monthly close, and management reporting. As an auditor for SCPA in Shanghai, China, she was responsible for various audit tasks including preparing confirmation letters, conducting inventory checks, preparing notes for audit reports, and reconciling audit workbooks with source documents. She is highly skilled in MS Excel.

Ms. Newman has been with MSW Consultants since January 2019. In that time, she has worked on solid waste consulting engagements for the counties of Monterey and Santa Barbara, and the cities of Chula Vista, Glendale, Lompoc, Orange, Rancho Santa Margarita, Santa Maria, Vernon, and Whittier. As staff auditor on a municipal compliance audit of a major waste hauler, she was instrumental in identifying over $60,000 in unpaid franchise fees. She has also assisted in the preparation of CalRecycle AB 939 Annual Reports (EAR) for the cities of Orange and Vernon.

Girard Mobley

Financial Analyst

Girard is a skilled financial analyst and project manager. He has extensive experience in conducting audits on waste haulers for municipalities, and in providing recycling outreach and education to commercial waste generators. He graduated from San Diego State University with a BS in Business Administration with a focus on Finance and a minor in Economics.

Mr. Mobley has been with MSW Consultants since March 2019. In that time, he has worked on solid waste consulting engagements for the County of Santa Barbara, and the cities of Chula Vista, Lomita, Norco, Orange, Rolling Hills, Signal Hill, Vernon, and Whittier.

Mr. Mobley has audited the accounting records of over 18 waste haulers. He also oversees the recycling survey program in the city of Vernon providing outreach and educational resources to over 400 commercial waste generators. He regularly educates commercial waste generators about the requirements of AB 341 and AB 1826. Prior to joining MSW Consultants, he served for twenty years in the United States Marine Corps as a combat engineer.