Meet Brown Edwards Partner, Rob Adams
Rob joined the BE team in 2018 as part of the acquisition of local Charleston, WV firm, Gibbons and Kawash. He currently serves as the Firm’s Central region Assurance department coordinator and is a member of both the Firm’s Accounting and Audit Committee and the Firm's Peer Review team.
He has extensive experience in financial reporting, accounting, internal control, auditing, review, compilation, and agreed-upon procedures professional services for closely-held businesses including real estate, hospitality, manufacturing, retail, wholesale, media, mineral, and an extensive concentration in various nonprofit organizations and state & local government entities.
Rob is active in the AICPA’s Governmental Audit Quality Center and the Government Finance Officers Association and his experience also includes reporting under International Financial Reporting Standards and conducting audits in accordance with Government Auditing Standards and the Uniform Guidance or the Single Audit.
He earned his Bachelor’s degree from West Virginia Wesleyan College and is a licensed CPA and a Chartered Global Management Accountant (CGMA). He is a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) and the West Virginia Society of Certified Public Accountants (WVSCPA).
We interviewed Rob to really get to know him, outside of his profession, and we were surprised to learn that he was recruited to play college basketball and when he was a kid, he dreamed of being a professional Ninja!
Where are you from and where did you grow up?
I have been a lifelong resident of West Virginia. I was born in Clarksburg and grew up in the mighty metropolis of Lost Creek.
What are some of your hobbies?
I enjoy a wide variety of hobbies including golf, biking, hikes and long walks, volleyball, shooting, playing music, traveling, and finding the next new excursion adventure. Of course, I enjoy doing all of these things with my wife and other family members.
What do you consider your best quality or trait?
I believe my best qualities are my loyalty, compassion, dependability, and patience. These traits have served me well, both professionally and personally.
What is the best advice you ever received and from who?
Advice from the Bible and family members ring in my head on a daily basis. However, one piece of advice, which I've received more than once from different walks of life, is to surround myself with people who are "better" than me to help bring out my best and serve as a daily inspiration.
If you could be a superhero what would be your superpower?
Of course I'd like to fly and time travel but my ideal superpower would be a forever young and fit fictional superhero called Wiseman (and I don't mean fellow Partner, Mark Wiseman). As Wiseman, I would be able to correctly answer questions and solve problems faster than a speeding bullet!
What is your favorite food?
There are way too many to list here but if you twist my arm, I'll choose a perfectly prepared, slightly-medium sirloin, filet mignon, ribeye, or T-bone of sufficient weight.
What famous figure (living or dead) would you most like to meet and why?
There are many Biblical figures and family members come to mind and I don't have just one answer to this question. So again, if you twist my arm, I'll say I'd like to meet my paternal grandfather, who died when I was an infant.
What do you think is your biggest contribution to the Brown Edwards team?
I am a positive, dependable leader who empowers other professionals, maintains Firm vision, and works to meet the needs of others in the Firm and our clients on a daily basis.
