JAMES B. YARD CPA CIA CISA

Jim serves as the practice leader for the firm’s Risk Advisory Department. Jim specializes in providing risk management, internal audit and internal control consulting services.

Jim serves as the practice leader for the firm’s Risk Advisory Services Department. Jim specializes in providing risk management, internal audit, Sarbanes-Oxley, business process optimization and internal control consulting services. In addition, he has directed numerous process and control improvement projects at several financial service companies. During the past 25 years, 19 of those in internal audit and risk management, Jim has directed the internal audit and governance aspects for several large public and private companies. In his current role, Jim is responsible for the delivery of internal audit and risk advisory services to several of Western Pennsylvania’s and Central Ohio’s largest public and private companies. In serving these organizations, he has provided services to clients in both a full internal audit outsource capacity, as well as in a co-source relationship. Jim’s client portfolio consists of a high concentration of financial service companies for which he was responsible for planning, coordinating and managing internal audits and delivering services in the areas of enterprise-wide risk assessment, 404 Sarbanes-Oxley support, business process improvement and compliance reviews. Jim also held a position in internal audit with a large publicly held specialty metals company.

Education

B.S. – Business Administration, Indiana University of Pennsylvania

Professional and Community Involvement

Member—American and Pennsylvania Institutes of Certified Public Accountants

Board Member—The Institute of Internal Auditors (The IIA), Pittsburgh Chapter

Past International Committee Member—The Institute of Internal Auditors

Member—The Information Systems Audit and Control Association (ISACA)

Chairman of the Executive Board—Junior Achievement of Western Pennsylvania
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Who is your role model? 
My father

What is the best advice you ever received?
Work hard. Nothing in life is given, it is earned.

If you could go back in time, what advice would you give to your college self?
Don’t be in such a rush to get into the real world. Enjoy every moment.

What was your first job?
I was a produce clerk for a local grocery store.

Do you have advice for young professionals?
Ask questions – you don’t know all of the answers. Don’t be afraid to seek the insight of those around you.

Our Thoughts On

FEATURED

Big Problem: Emerging Technology Client Unaware Of Sales Tax Requirements Upon Exit


Big Thinking: Perform Multi-jurisdictional Tax Exposure Analysis To Ensure Compliance

Shareholder TREVOR WARREN joined Schneider Downs in 2001 and has more than 20 years of experience in public accounting. He mainly focuses on audit, review and compilation engagements, and he services a diversified number of industries, from automotive to nonprofit. He also leads the firm’s Emerging Technology Services Group.
When one of the firm’s emerging technology clients was making plans to sell their business, Trevor and his team noticed that they were unaware of sales tax filing requirements. Knowing from experience how complex such requirements can be for emerging technology companies who sell products across multiple taxing jurisdictions, Trevor and his team understood that this missing piece would pose issues during due diligence and could negatively impact the client’s sale. To help ensure that the sale went smoothly, Trevor and his team suggested that the Schneider Downs state and local tax group perform a sales tax nexus study on the company. The group performed an analysis on both the client’s material revenue streams and the sales tax reporting requirements in the jurisdictions where they had customers. Then, Trevor and his team used that information to estimate the client’s total tax exposure, pinpoint the jurisdictions with significant exposure and help draft Voluntary Disclosure Agreements in those the jurisdictions. “We know that these requirements can be hard on early-stage companies when they have limited staff and revenue generation is a primary focus,” said Trevor. “By doing this analysis and going through the voluntary disclosure agreement process, we were able to get the company compliant with their sales tax filing requirements at a significantly reduced cost.” In addition, this process eliminated tax issues and exposure for the company upon exit. Schneider Downs provides Big Thinking and Personal Focus in delivering a variety of services for large and small businesses, both publicly and privately held, as well as nonprofit organizations, government entities and more. Through our commitment to thought leadership and knowledge management, we deliver the solutions our clients need with a personal commitment to service.

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