Meet TSCPA Chair: Geoffrey Stewart, CPA
To Geoffrey Stewart, CPA, relationships are the most important part of business. “When we started WSW in 2009, Bob, Trent and I knew that if we took care of people, everything else would take care of itself, and that is what drove every decision we made,” he says about WSW CPAs, the firm Stewart founded with Bob Whisenant and Trent Watrous. When asked about his most proud accomplishment over his career, Stewart replies that supporting his coworkers’ growth has made him most proud, even when they moved on from the firm. “There is no greater feeling than knowing you were a part of making someone better.”
Stewart cites Whisenant as one of his own major influences over the years, crediting his now-retired business partner with teaching him the importance of giving back to the profession and getting involved in TSCPA. Throughout his 30 years of TSCPA membership, Stewart has held a wide variety of volunteer positions. He has served on several TSCPA committees, the TSCPA Council and Board of Directors, and in multiple chapter leadership roles. Now, as he begins his term as 2022-23 TSCPA Board Chair, Stewart has yet another opportunity to focus on building relationships and giving back to the accounting profession, and he is encouraging his fellow TSCPA members to look for ways to give back, too: “I challenge you to find opportunities to give back to the profession that has created this wonderful life – whether your precious resource of time by participating in our Mentor Match program or by contributing to the Educational & Memorial Foundation to help fund scholarships for the next generation.”
A native of Montgomery, Alabama, Stewart describes his childhood as the “Leave it to Beaver” life. He discovered his talent for math at a young age, which he says led to his eventual interest in accounting. He was also exposed to the accounting profession early on in life at a seemingly unlikely place – a football game. “Growing up, I went to almost every Alabama football home game, and the normal crowd was my dad, my uncle and my uncle’s accountant,” he recalls. “I have always wondered if hearing them talk all those Saturdays started my interest. They were always discussing business.”
Stewart’s interest in the business world took him to Auburn University at Montgomery, where he graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree in finance. After graduating, he moved to Nashville, where he worked in both public and private accounting before founding WSW, which was acquired by Atlanta-based advisory firm Aprio, LLP in 2020. Stewart is now a managing member of Aprio’s Nashville office and provides advisory services to companies and high net-worth individuals. “My goal is to help businesses and business owners build wealth by providing sound business advice and planning,” Stewart says. He provides advisory services, such as tax, crisis management and financial analysis, to a variety of industries, including the dental, restaurant, real estate, and construction industries.
Stewart says the last two years of dealing with tax changes and delayed due dates have been the biggest challenge of his career thus far. “I think we are all just dealing with it and doing the best we can,” he says. But Stewart believes if CPAs maintain a forward-thinking mindset about the future and the role of technology in the profession, they will set the stage for the success of the next generation. “Bots and AI, blockchain – All of these will take over our routine, repeatable tasks,” he says. “The $1,000,000 question is, how will we adjust and use the time we save with automation? Will we change the way we lead and manage our teams and use the time wisely? Time is our most valuable asset, and today’s professional thinks about it differently than those of us who have been in the profession for 20-plus years.”
In his downtime, Stewart enjoys spending time with his wife, Deb, and their two rescued Italian greyhounds, Harley and PQ, especially at their home on Dale Hollow Lake. He also has a lifelong passion for music, particularly Broadway musicals, choral and traditional church music. When he is not working, Stewart also enjoys playing golf, reading and watching sports – including Alabama football, naturally.
This article was originally published in the July/August 2022 Tennessee CPA Journal.