ATLANTA, Jan. 4, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Southern Company Chief Financial Officer Art P. Beattie today announced several changes within the company's financial management team, effective March 31.

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Ann P. Daiss will become chief accounting officer and comptroller of Southern Company, as well as senior vice president and comptroller of Southern Company Services. Daiss is currently vice president, comptroller and chief accounting officer for Georgia Power.

Daiss will replace W. Ron Hinson, who will become executive vice president, chief financial officer, treasurer and comptroller of Georgia Power, the largest subsidiary of Southern Company, serving 2.4 million customers in all but four of Georgia's 159 counties. Hinson will assume the role vacated by Ronnie R. Labrato, who has announced plans to retire.

"Southern Company's long-term success is a direct result of our commitment to identifying and developing leaders," said Beattie. "Ann and Ron have consistently demonstrated effective leadership, and I am confident they will continue to excel in their new roles."

Daiss, 45, joined Southern Company Services in 1998 as director of accounting. In her current role, which she assumed in 2006, Daiss is directly responsible for all internal and external accounting and reporting, as well as Georgia Power's rate case regulatory strategy. Her previous job duties included responsibility for the consolidated financial reporting and Securities and Exchange Commission reporting for Southern Company and its registrant utility subsidiaries. Prior to joining Southern Company, Daiss was a senior audit manager for Arthur Andersen's Atlanta office, where she served clients in the utility, airline and investment management industries.

Hinson, 56, joined Georgia Power in 1979 as an accounting associate. During his 27 years with Georgia Power, Hinson held numerous positions in the corporate accounting organization, including serving as vice president and comptroller, and was an active participant in state regulatory activities. He was elected to his current position with Southern Company in 2006.

With 4.4 million customers and more than 43,000 megawatts of generating capacity, Atlanta-based Southern Company (NYSE: SO) is the premier energy company serving the Southeast through its subsidiaries. A leading U.S. producer of clean, safe, reliable and affordable electricity, Southern Company owns electric utilities in four states and a growing competitive generation company, as well as fiber optics and wireless communications. Southern Company brands are known for energy innovation, excellent customer service, high reliability and retail electric prices that are below the national average. Southern Company and its subsidiaries are leading the nation's nuclear renaissance through the construction of the first new nuclear units to be built in a generation of Americans and are demonstrating their commitment to energy innovation through the development of a state-of-the-art coal gasification plant. Southern Company has been recognized by the U.S. Department of Defense and G.I. Jobs magazine as a top military employer and listed by DiversityInc as a top company for Blacks. The company received the 2012 Edison Award from the Edison Electric Institute for its leadership in new nuclear development, was named Platts' 2011 Power Company of the Year and is continually ranked among the top utilities in Fortune's annual World's Most Admired Electric and Gas Utility rankings. Visit our website at www.southerncompany.com.

SOURCE Southern Company