Joe is a Director based in the Richmond, VA office. He has over 35 years of experience in business valuation, public accounting, banking, and financial consulting services. He currently focuses his practice primarily on business valuation and litigation support services for the firm. As a valuation specialist, he has prepared valuation reports for a wide range of purposes, including strategic business planning; purchase and sale of businesses; business succession planning; gift, estate, and trust planning; valuations to support gift and estate tax returns; ESOP valuations; and other valuation consulting services.
He holds multiple professional credentials, including Certified Public Accountant (CPA), American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) Accredited in Business Valuation (ABV), AICPA’s Personal Financial Specialist (PFS), AICPA’s Certified in Financial Forensics (CFF), College for Financial Planning Certified Financial Planner (CFP®), and National Association of Certified Valuators & Analysts (NACVA) Certified Valuation Analyst (CVA).
We interviewed Joe to get to know him, outside of his profession, and we were surprised to learn that he played just about every type of brass instrument in school bands while attending Woodrow Wilson and Patrick Henry, and played in the Marching, Concert, Dance, Jazz, and Pep bands.
Where are you from and where did you grow up?
I grew up in the Raleigh Court neighborhood area of Roanoke, and went to Patrick Henry High School before deciding to go to Hampden-Sydney College. I double majored in Economics and Bible & Religion, and went to Williamsburg for a year with a local financial planning firm before settling in Richmond, eventually joining the bank, getting my Accounting Certificate from VCU, and then joining another small CPA firm in 1993 that was acquired by Goodman & Company (now Forvis) in 1999, when I joined Mitchell Wiggins. So with the acquisition in 2021, I have been with Brown Edwards for over 26 years.
My priority goal has always been spending time with my wife and three children. The children are out on their own now, but fortunately, they all work and live in the Richmond area. I also believe that it is very important to give back and to be active in one’s Community. I am heavily involved and serve in leadership positions in several community and professional organizations, including my Church, Scouting, Agecroft Association, SOR, VSCPA, and the Richmond Estate Planning Council. I also serve as a Judge each year in the Virginia Foundation for Independent Colleges’ Applied Ethics Bowl debate program.
What's the next place on your travel bucket list and what will you do there??
Linda and I are taking our family to Lake George next summer – although we can’t wait to get back to Italy again in the near future. St. Martin is also one of our favorite Caribbean Islands – where I scuba dive and Linda prefers snorkeling.
What's the last book you read or what is your favorite book/series you ever read and why?
My favorite has been the Harry Potter book series, because I loved reading and discussing the books with my children.
What is one food you can’t live without and why??
Most anything with chocolate, because life is better with chocolate!
If you knew you were going to be stranded on a deserted island, what three things would you bring with you?
A wilderness survival handbook, a flint & steel fire starter, and a machete.
Why did you choose a career in public accounting?
Following a successful career in banking (cut short by a merger with an NC bank), I was accepted to the W&M JD/MBA program. My friend who is a lawyer talked me into going into public accounting, which better matched my interest in financial matters. I really enjoy helping our clients by valuing all types of businesses and business interests, utilizing all of the various skills that I have acquired over my diverse professional career.
