Time With The Boss - Jerry Townsend, UHY LLP

Jerry Townsend
UHY LLP

Website: www.UHY-us.com

Industry: accounting and consulting

Education: University of Missouri

Family: married with one son

What is your mission?
To help our clients and associates reach their potential.

What was your first job?
When I was 16, I worked as a dishwasher for Bonanza. I was so good at washing dishes that they made sure to pay me!

What was your worst job?
The summer after my freshman year, I worked for a temp agency and was placed in a chlorine factory filling chlorine bottles all day.

What led you to your industry?
My dad owned a barbershop, and I’ve always been interested in the entrepreneurial spirit of owning your own business. With his influence and advice, I found that accounting is the language of business. I took my first accounting class in college and stuck with it.

What was the smartest thing your company did in the past year?
Advancing and enhancing our capabilities in cybersecurity.

Who is your industry role model?
Wayne Grace, the managing partner of UHY through 2004. His influence from an entrepreneurial and cultural standpoint, and the way he served his clients and employees, still resonates today. Larry Porschen, the managing partner before me, has been my mentor for the past 30 years.

How do you try to differentiate your business from others in your industry?
It’s how we approach the service side of our business. At the highest levels of our firm, principals and partners participate in delivering that service. Maintaining senior leadership involvement gives us greater perspective to deliver the best results to clients.

What’s the hottest trend in your industry, and are you going to jump on board?
Cybersecurity. We’ve been increasing our resources locally and nationally in order to offer a sophisticated set of services to address this risk. It’s no longer “if” but “when” a breach may happen – we’re being proactive.

What’s the hardest part of your job?
Finding the time to mentor, address our business initiatives and give back to the community. It’s challenging to give each one of these their due attention.

What’s the best part?
Our culture is focused on retention and showing people a path forward. Being able to watch our associates, who often start from college, develop both personally and professionally is rewarding.

What best advice would you share with new entrepreneurs?
Pay attention to details. Entrepreneurs can get caught up in the primary operations of the day-to-day and lose focus on financial details.

What’s your favorite place in St. Louis?
Busch Stadium. It is unique to St. Louis, especially during playoff time. The energy is exceptional.

What book is on your nightstand?
“The MODERN Sales System” by Carl Henry, recommended by a former colleague.

What has made you successful in your industry and in St. Louis?
Persistence is a personality trait that has served me well. Personal goals of success and results don’t always go along the timetable that you want them to; being persistent serves well in making all of this happen.

What do you like to do in your free time?
Spend as much time with my family as possible. We like to travel when we all get a break.