How did you find your way to where you are today? Share a little about your professional journey.

I studied accounting at Furman because the logic and theory in the classroom made sense to me, but I never had a desire to actually become an accountant. After working as a fishing guide for a few seasons in Wyoming, Alaska, and Florida to help cover living expenses after moving to Charleston, I decided to apply for a job at an accounting firm and put my degree to work. That initial job involved traditional tax and write-up work for local businesses and individuals. I hated the tax season grind, but was able to apply classroom knowledge to real world and practical business scenarios.

After receiving my master's degree, I moved to Birmingham and worked with the tax group at a multi-family office serving high net worth individuals and their businesses. My work involved estate planning, investments, trust services, and more. While there, I earned my CPA and was exposed to topics I likely would not have experienced, but my real interests remained on the business side of things. I eventually began searching for a way to return to small business accounting, management, and operations activities. I worked for my dad's CPA firm for a couple of years to learn the ropes of practice management while I built up some clients of my own. I eventually hung my own shingle and founded PILLAR3 in order to pursue the areas that interested me most. Today, I focus on offering a variety of accounting and tax services while also emphasizing systems, strategy, and operational functions. Some folks call it "outsourced controllership" or "virtual CFO," and what I love most is the ability to roll my sleeves up and dig deeper with a smaller number of clients' businesses to help them grow. To me, it is like running several businesses all at once, and makes accounting more entrepreneurial than it may stereotypically be labeled.

What motivations fueled your career path?

I have always been interested in businesses—how they form, work, grow, and what makes the good ones survive. Accounting can seem dry when viewed from certain perspectives, but what fuels the interest and energy in my career is the way our industry could be compared to popping the hood on a business and getting a real look at what is inside.

When providing advice for professional development, what are some tools or resources one should consider?

I do not have many books to recommend for accounting in specific, but I do read industry trade journals and newsletters that provide relevant content on current trends, issues, etc. My favorite resources are probably the blogs and newsletters of a handful of software companies we have partnered with at our firm. I would suggest finding a company or author you align with and following their content. The software companies write more about industry trends/issues than they do software itself, and the underlying theme is finding solutions, which ultimately is all we are trying to do. Personally, I have a couple accounting software companies I follow, but also project management companies not specific to accounting that write good content about thought patterns, process development, and more.

What are some challenges you face in your industry?

It is easy to know what to do or how to do something. It is much harder to determine when or why to do something and then explain your reasoning to a colleague or client. This challenge tests your communication skills, which quickly become as important, or more important, than the technical skill. I think having a level of understanding among staff/colleagues and clients is what forms a solid working relationship and builds value. Without common knowledge and the ability to explain things along the way, accounting faces the risk of being unfairly perceived as a commodity. On the flip side, if you can effectively share the reasoning behind things, you can overcome that perception challenge and effectively exhibit the real value being provided. At least for me, it is easier said than done!

What do you wish you would have known getting started in your field?

Accounting is much more than completing an audit or preparing a tax return. It is also not just crunching numbers. It is more interesting than that when applied to real world scenarios. This is especially true when you become the trusted advisor or provider of financial information for someone who relies on that information to make important decisions. If someone told me, "you're going be the person business owners call to help grow and manage their companies," I probably would have been much more excited about entering the field. It is all about personal preferences, though, as a career in this field can take you in many different directions. There are several areas within that one can focus on once they find what is most appealing to them.

What additional education or certification is required/recommended?

When considering additional education or certification, your choice depends on how you plan to use your accounting degree. I pursued my master's degree primarily to assist in the hours needed to sit for the CPA exam. You can do many things without a CPA or graduate degree, so that should not be seen as a requirement. However, nothing has provided me with the confidence in my career quite like the CPA certification. If you want to grow faster or have your eyes set on management roles, public practice or industry, I highly recommend pursuing the CPA.

How has your liberal arts background shaped your career path or supported your success?

My liberal arts background has been beneficial to my particular career path. The technical element is important, but the general knowledge and widespread background provided by the liberal arts curriculum has opened more doors from a perspective of building relationships with others. Additionally, the network I built while at Furman continues to live on in my professional life as well. I have had several opportunities and clients fall into my lap from relationships created while at Furman. Because of the liberal arts platform, my friends and peers all took different directions professionally and we are able to help each other in our various areas of specialty. Attending a more technical school would put you in a group of peers that were more similar, whereas a diverse peer group helps to establish a broader network.

What extracurricular activities helped you develop professionally?

I developed most from experiences that placed me in a customer service situation. For me, I gained that experience most while being a fishing guide. Nothing prepared me for working with people and personalities better than being stuck in a boat or a river with someone all day long. You can learn a great deal about how to interact and understand different types of people in that kind of scenario.

Why do you make giving back to Furman a priority for you and your family?

My time at Furman helped me grow personally through the formation of many lasting relationships, and it helped me grow intellectually through a challenging academic curriculum. My wife, who also went to Furman, and I still stay in touch with many people from our collective Furman networks and we have benefited both socially and professionally from those connections. I enjoy giving back so the same learning environment, community, and culture continue for current and future students.

What are your priorities when it comes to Furman and your giving?

I would personally like to see the business department grow and become part of the required course of study for students, even if only through a personal finance course. Maybe that has already happened, but I think it is a good basic topic everyone should be exposed to, whether planning a career in business or not. Overall, I would like to see the University continue to be a top tier program with a focused faculty and close-knit student body.

What impact to you hope to make with your giving to Furman?

I hope a healthy community, including students, faculty, staff, and alumni, is supported to exist indefinitely. It is not just about the student body, but everyone involved past, present, and future.