James Moore, CPA

James Moore & Company: Putting People First

Before you even open the door to James Moore & Company’s Ocala office, you’ll feel at home. The neatly kept building sits on a quaint, bricklined street in the vibrant historic downtown area. That feeling is reinforced when you step into the comfortable lobby, where a smiling face greets you and offers a cup of coffee or bottle of water. It’s an atmosphere of hospitality echoed at every James Moore location throughout Florida. And it’s one of the many ways they reinforce what matters most to the firm—people. “It makes me think of the Theodore

Roosevelt quote, ‘People don’t know how much you know until they know how much you care,’” said Russell Lindsay, a partner at the Ocala location. “We get to know our clients and what makes them tick and what their goals are. From there we have a solid understanding of where they are trying to go. And that gives us the foundation to develop an advisory plan to help guide them to reach and accomplish their goals.” The James Moore team is well known for attentive, timely and professional service. Working with them means working with a firm whose mission is to provide the highest quality accounting and consulting services—some of which might surprise you. In addition to the tax, accounting and audit offerings you generally find at CPA firms, James Moore also provides consulting and outsourced services in human resources, information technology, data analytics, process improvement, transition planning, CFO services… the list goes on.

The firm works to achieve the best results for its clients by sticking to its core values of respect, integrity and technical excellence. But these values alone don’t ensure success. Every team member is committed to establishing solid, lasting relationships with their clients. It’s the best way to build trust and truly educate them on their financial picture and the options available to them. And an educated client is a confident and empowered client.

This relationship-centric philosophy is part of what intrigued Lindsay when he began talking to James Moore last year about possibly joining forces. The owner of Canopy 360 Tax & Accounting for many years, he wanted to expand its services with a firm that shared their beliefs in caring about people.

He quickly realized that James Moore believed in the same team approach that puts people first. James Moore managing partner Suzanne Forbes also saw the similarities and was intrigued at how Russell’s team approached client service and communication.

“It was really when we were looking at ways to communicate with clients more often and serve them even better,” said Suzanne. “When Russell talked to me about Canopy 360’s relationship managers, I realized we both wanted to serve our clients in the same way. I saw that he approached client service with a team, and that’s how we do it as well.”

Today, Ocala is the newest of James Moore’s five Florida locations (the other four offices are in Gainesville, Daytona Beach, Tallahassee and DeLand). In addition to Russell, two other James Moore partners

Russell Lindsay

work at the Ocala office: Kevin Golden, and John VanDuzer (who also serves as partnerin-charge there).

“Seeing all of the amazing things going on in the Ocala Community, from a bustling economy and vibrant culture, I was really excited to lead the effort to integrate our Ocala office with the rest of the firm,” said John. “I also have a number of clients in and around the Ocala area. Being nearby gives me better opportunities to understand and connect with them.”

The firm’s current reach and abilities are a far cry from its humble beginnings in 1964, when it was founded by James F. “Jim” Moore. An accounting professor at the University of Florida at the time, he began his new venture with a fellow instructor and one secretary. Over the ensuing decades, the sole proprietorship has grown to a full-service regional firm employing nearly 300 people and serving its clients in a more holistic and far-reaching way.

Despite so much change over the years, however, the firm has never forgotten its founder’s emphasis on serving people. One of Jim Moore’s favorite sayings was, “Service is the sole purpose of our existence.” It’s a phrase included on their website, brochures, internal communications and more, and a few employees today still remember him uttering those words.

“At James Moore, we live out service every day when our clients bring us their goals, challenges and questions,” John explained. “We’re able to provide solutions either by helping them directly or connecting them with someone in our vast network who can.” John VanDuzer

That said, the firm’s commitment to people doesn’t stop at clients. James Moore is known as a top-notch employer with a solid belief in work-life balance—and the initiatives to back it up. The firm offers multiple career path options and flexible work schedules that blend with team members’ lives outside the office. It also boasts an accommodating remote-work policy, allowing employees to be based where it suits them best.

What’s most apparent, however, is the sense of fun encouraged. It’s not unheard of for teammates to hold spontaneous chair races or even hear a motorized scooter zooming down the hall. Their annual JMCOlympics field day-style competition and their Festivus celebration (complete with comical grievances and “feats of strength”) give coworkers a chance to blow off steam and enjoy some silliness.

Even on a normal day without such events, the camaraderie is palpable; these peoKevin Golden

ple simply enjoy being at James Moore. So it’s no surprise Accounting Today has named the firm one of the nation’s Best Accounting Firms to Work For five times in the last seven years (an achievement capped by the firm’s selection in 2020 as the best accounting firm in the entire nation for women).

All of this enhances a key James Moore tenet: their commitment to the uncommon. Whether you’re talking level of expertise and experience, breadth of services offered or the uniqueness of the employees and their interests, it’s pointedly clear that this isn’t just any CPA firm.

Now James Moore is embarking on a new era. In January, the firm unveiled its rebrand—an entirely updated look that includes a new logo, brighter colors and an emphasis on the many aspects that make them so unique. It’s all designed to better showcase the firm’s personality as mold breakers and problem solvers.

Yet as the saying goes… the more things change, the more they stay the same. And what has remained the same at James Moore is their core value of holding people at the heart of what they do. Nurturing their client relationships is of paramount importance to the firm, because it’s through those relationships that trust is built—and good things happen.

“Our clients desire guidance and advice. And they want it from a trusted resource for all things financial,” said Russell. “That’s why our approach puts people first, to get to know our clients and earn their trust.

“Our goal is to become that trusted resource for them. That’s how we get results.”