Jacobson Jarvis & Co (JJCo) is made up of a team of unique individuals who each bring their own special backgrounds and interests to the table. This series will highlight some of our awesome employees to give you a behind-the-scenes look at what makes JJCo. such a great place to work.
For this interview, we’re talking with Audit Senior Eric Simpson about working with small nonprofits, his remote position in California, how baseball and accounting might not be that different, and why Jacobson Jarvis is such a great company to work for.
When did you start working at Jacobson Jarvis?
October of 2021. I live in California right now and coach college baseball. That’s the reason why I moved down here, and JJCo has been pretty flexible with all of that.
What made you want to work at Jacobson Jarvis?
I’ve always liked working with nonprofits. How they impact the community and what they do in their communities. I especially like the smaller nonprofits as opposed to the bigger ones.
Jacobson Jarvis seems to have a decent mix of different types of nonprofits that I’ve never seen before. I’ve worked at a few other firms with someone who now works at JJCo and he told me he thought I’d really like it here, more than the other places we’ve both worked before.
I also appreciate the flexibility. They’re really flexible with me, schedule-wise, since I have baseball in the middle of the day. That was another reason I wanted to work with them. JJCo had the systems and processes in place to support a remote worker.
It sounds like they’re able to support other parts of you that make you who you are instead of just an Audit Senior.
Yeah, so far JJCo has been great.
So what’s your favorite part of your position as an Audit Senior?
Learning about all of the different nonprofits that we work with and how they make a difference or impact in the community. I really like being able to interact with the clients.
That is one of the downsides of being remote is that I don’t get to meet the clients face-to-face, it’s all through a computer screen. That’s what I like about the audits is going out to see the clients and their operations.
Also working with the team. I always like working with teams.
You mentioned before that you like the smaller nonprofit organizations, so that leads me to my next question: what types of nonprofits are your favorite to work with? Favorite causes?
Local community-based land and nature conservation. I used to live in Maui and perform audits in Maui for 2 years, and there was this great land conservation trust. That was probably the coolest audit ever because he was literally taking me places no one else could go on the island. It was just such a cool experience.
I like land and conservation causes. I used to sit on a board before I moved to Maui, it was for a nonprofit that supports one of the largest watersheds in the Seattle, Washington area.
You have a quote on your JJCo staff page: “If you fail to prepare, you’re prepared to fail.” How does that resonate with you in your industry working with nonprofit accounting?
That has to do more with my sports side I would say.
Do you see a crossover though?
Yeah, I would say so. Because in baseball you’re scouting the other team, and that’s kind of like your preparation. Or even preparing your body, getting a good night’s sleep, eating the right foods, going to the gym, right? All of that type of stuff is all part of preparation.
How does that go with accounting? Well, same thing. Especially for me, because I have to be prepared and plan all my weeks out. If I didn’t my life would be nuts. I could probably do a better job [at preparing], I think everyone could probably do a better job at preparing and planning. But I try my best.
Definitely, especially after the last two years. What do you think is so special about Jacobson Jarvis?
I like the inclusive culture that they’ve built with the people. And like you mentioned, they let people be who they are. They support you pursuing things in addition to accounting. It also doesn’t hurt that Matt [Cyr] really likes baseball.
My last question is: what are a couple of words you would use to describe the work culture at Jacobson Jarvis?
Two words to describe JJCo: Family and team. That’s also what makes Jacobson Jarvis so special. Even with me being so far away, they try to include me as much as they can.
Interested in joining the team at Jacobson Jarvis? We’re hiring! Check out our available positions today.
About Eric Simpson:
Eric joined Jacobson Jarvis in October of 2021. He received his accounting degree from Boise State University and has been in public accounting since 2011. He has experience in providing services in litigation and valuation support, tax, and audit. He played Division I baseball at Quinnipiac University in Connecticut and is the Volunteer Assistant Coach at California State University, San Bernardino.
