Sean Taylor, Smith + Howard (North Fulton Business Radio, Episode 532)
On this episode of North Fulton Business Radio, Sean Taylor, Managing Partner of Smith + Howard, joined host John Ray to discuss his award-winning firm’s growth and culture. Sean discussed the firm’s recognition as “Best of the Best” by Inside Public Accounting, how the firm’s culture contributes to employee retention and talent acquisition, expansion beyond traditional accounting services, and much more.
North Fulton Business Radio is broadcast from the North Fulton studio of Business RadioX® inside Renasant Bank in Alpharetta.
Smith + Howard
While many advisors say clients are their priority, Smith and Howard lives and breathes a promise of personal, responsive client service.
They hire smart, engaging professionals who find motivation and satisfaction in learning about their clients’ businesses, challenges, and goals. From that vantage point, they are positioned to provide key strategic advice and national-firm services that enable our clients to move their mission forward.
Service is such an important part of the Smith and Howard culture that if they are not serving clients, they’ll often be found serving in other ways. Many of them plant roots deep in their communities and find value and satisfaction in serving others where they live. When the needs expand beyond their neighborhoods, they can also be found on nonprofit boards or joining service projects that broaden their reach and impact.
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Sean Taylor, Managing Partner, Smith + Howard
Sean drives the vision, innovation, and growth of the firm, and was named a Most Admired CEO by the Atlanta Business Chronicle in 2020 in recognition of his leadership.
Sean Taylor became managing partner of Smith and Howard in January 2019 after 25 years of leadership progression in the Assurance practice. He joined the firm as an intern and was ultimately named partner in charge of the Assurance practice in 2010, a role he held for nearly a decade.
A recognized and respected leader, Sean presents to many for-profit and nonprofit businesses, lenders, and other professional service providers. He has both served on and moderated numerous workshop and conference panels, as well as presented to local and national audiences on various topics.
Sean is an active participant and advocate at Smith and Howard for our mentoring program, personally mentoring many of our professional and administrative staff through career progression and advancement.
Sean is actively involved as a multi-year member of various committees at Dunwoody United Methodist Church (DUMC), including finance, staff parish relations, leadership roundtable, missions and evangelism. He also had led strategic planning initiatives as well as capital campaigns for the church. Additionally, Sean served seven years on the Council on Finance and Administration at the North Georgia Conference of the United Methodist Church, including time as the vice chair and chair.
Sean is currently a member of the Board of Trustees for Wesleyan School, serving actively on the finance and investment committees, and is also a member of the finance committee for the Community Foundation for Greater Atlanta.
In 2012, Sean co-founded FoodStock, an annual food packaging event in Dunwoody, Georgia, where over 1,000 community members pack 300,000 meals in one day for children in school feeding programs around the globe. This is the largest single-day food packaging event of its kind in Georgia and, to date, this event and other food packaging events in the Dunwoody community associated with FoodStock have packaged over 3.6 million meals.
Additionally, Sean serves as a mentor to 13 young men through a group he founded called Fit 4 Life, discussing various aspects of faith and life for these 13 young men.
Sean graduated from the University of Georgia with a Bachelor of Business Administration in Accounting.
Affiliations: American Institute of Certified Public Accountants Georgia Society of Certified Public Accountants (Leadership Academy Inaugural Member) Wesleyan School (Board of Trustees) Dunwoody United Methodist Church Awards Georgia Society of Certified Public Accountants’ Public Service Award (2020) Atlanta Business Chronicle Most Admired CEOs (2020).
Questions and Topics in this Interview:
- Inside Public Accounting “Best of the Best”
- New Areas in which the firm is growing
- #1 issue CPA profession is facing
- Let’s talk about where you are innovating
- What are you most excited about at Smith + Howard
- How do you live your values
- What is the culture like at Smith + Howard
- Where do you see the firm 5 years from now
North Fulton Business Radio is hosted by John Ray and broadcast and produced from the North Fulton studio of Business RadioX® inside Renasant Bank in Alpharetta. You can find the full archive of shows by following this link. The show is available on all the major podcast apps, including Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google, Amazon, iHeart Radio, Stitcher, TuneIn, and others.
Renasant Bank has humble roots, starting in 1904 as a $100,000 bank in a Lee County, Mississippi, bakery. Since then, Renasant has grown to become one of the Southeast’s strongest financial institutions with over $13 billion in assets and more than 190 banking, lending, wealth management and financial services offices in Mississippi, Alabama, Tennessee, Georgia and Florida. All of Renasant’s success stems from each of their banker’s commitment to investing in their communities as a way of better understanding the people they serve. At Renasant Bank, they understand you because they work and live alongside you every day.
Special thanks to A&S Culinary Concepts for their support of this edition of North Fulton Business Radio. A&S Culinary Concepts, based in Johns Creek, is an award-winning culinary studio, celebrated for corporate catering, corporate team building, Big Green Egg Boot Camps, and private group events. They also provide oven-ready, cooked-from-scratch meals to go they call “Let Us Cook for You.” To see their menus and events, go to their website or call 678-336-9196.
