MESSAGE FROM THE CHAIR
GRATITUDE! My heart is humbled and grateful to serve as your 2022-2023 chair. I want to thank our outgoing chair, James Moody, for his years of service and leadership out of our virtual world and back to in-person meetings and events. James’ leadership made that transition both productive and successful. As immediate past-chair, James will continue to serve in various roles and on several committees. I also want to thank Jeannine and her outstanding team. The ASCPA team works tirelessly to educate us, advocate for us, and engage us in ways that enhance the profession in Alabama and nationally. I want to share my gratitude to the Board for all of their teamwork and dedication to the profession. And finally, a heaping helping of appreciation is shared with you – our members. You, your firms, your organizations, your teams, and your families give so much to serve the public interest, your clients, and many other stakeholders with high quality and integrity. You inspire all of us on the board to serve with that same passion. We thank you for being the most trusted advisors in the most trusted profession. That reputation is built on, earned through, and maintained by your service. It’s because of you that this tag line is true – America Counts on CPAs… Alabama Counts on CPAs! 6
ASCPA Connections
I’ll introduce myself to those of you with whom I haven’t had the pleasure to meet. I was born and raised in Enterprise, Alabama. My maternal grand-parents were farmers from the metropolis of Black, Alabama. My paternal grand-parents served in the military and law-enforcement. My parents were a civil-servant at Fort Rucker and a policeman in Enterprise and Ozark. In fact, law enforcement and service run deep in my family with an older brother and nephew who are also law enforcement officers. My twin brother and I graduated from Enterprise High School, and I was blessed to earn academic and athletic scholarships to Troy University (the artist formerly known as Troy State University). After graduating with my undergrad and Masters from TROY, I worked with PricewaterhouseCoopers in Atlanta for almost a dozen years. In 2005, I was blessed with the opportunity to return home to Enterprise as a partner with Carr, Riggs, & Ingram, LLC – where I’m now a partner in our Corporate office. In that role, I focus on all of the services the firm offers in terms of process, process improvement, quality, training, and client service. I am the very, very proud father of two amazing daughters – I promise there’s no dad brag in that comment, really. PJ is an incoming Junior at TROY University and working to earn her degree in Multimedia. Maddi is an incoming Junior at Spanish Fort High; her passions are dance and cheer. Both
of them are kind enough to join me at – read “put up with” – TROY and Enterprise football games. I enjoy football, physical fitness, faith, and family time. Education is at the core of our profession, the ASCPA, and this issue of Connections. I told myself when I passed the CPA Exam in 1995 that I wasn’t going to study again. WRONG! As I look back with much more clarity, I’m so happy that my youthful pining was incorrect. I’ve heard at least one well-known speaker say that change is one of the profession’s super-powers. At the heart of that change is continuous learning and education. In fact, the older I get, the more important continuous learning and education seem. Learning is all around us. Our colleges and universities work so diligently to prepare their students, who become our candidates, teammates, and (hopefully) partners and leaders. Our clients are learning new skills and technologies to advance their teams and businesses. Our stakeholders such as clients, customers, regulators, financial institutions, investors, etc. count on us to be well-informed regarding every financial topic including, but not limited to taxes, auditing, personal finance, systems and processes, cybersecurity, supply chain, and government programs. How do we stay informed, relevant, and ready to serve those stakeholder needs? The answer is Professional Education!
Jon with daughters PJ (left) and Maddi (right) before a Troy football game.
