CPA gives employees $1K in cash each to give away
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Jen is a burnt-orange-bleeding Longhorn! After growing up in the small town of Lytle, just south of San Antonio, she decided to attend one of the largest universities in the US…a far-cry from her high school graduating class of 86 students. She received two bachelors’ degrees in Business Honors and Accounting from the University of Texas at Austin, as well as her Masters in Professional Accounting. Michael was just two years ahead of her at UT and was her teaching assistant (TA) for her first tax course. They had no idea they would be partners 13 years later.
Upon completion of a college internship with KPMG’s Dallas office, Jen accepted a full-time offer with KPMG, but realized South Texas is where she was meant to be and chose to start her career at the Big Four Firm’s San Antonio office. An opportunity to work for one of the largest companies in San Antonio presented itself early on in Jen’s career and she made the switch to industry and spent five years at Tesoro in the income tax department learning the ins and outs of oil and gas. After having several mentors leave Tesoro, Jen longed for the type of career development and challenging work that public accounting provides. So, in 2011 she joined her former Longhorn TA at Slattery|Perkins and survived her first busy season in half a decade with a two-month-old, 17-month-old, and a 3-year-old at home. Such a rock star!
Since joining the firm, Jen has become the go-to for both Oil and Gas clients in the office as well as those clients looking for true concierge-level support. Jen has loved seeing the firm quadruple in size since she first started and all the wonderful relationships that have come with that growth – great clients and an amazing team that includes not only SPR employees but their families as well!
When she’s not at the office, she is experiencing life with her über-supportive husband, James, and three children, Jameson, Mackenzie and Hudson. If it’s the weekend, Sea World, the Zoo, a museum, or a splash pad are probably on the Ramirez itinerary along with volleyball, basketball, and baseball games with some gymnastics and dance thrown in for good measure. Each summer, the whole extended family heads to Leakey, TX for a week of fun on the Frio River and, of course, a few trips to enjoy the Texas Gulf Coast. If she can steal a moment or two to herself, Jen loves to get lost in a good book by John Sandford or Michael Connelly – for an entire weekend if she gets the chance! Jen has quite a sense of humor, and Super Troopers and Office Space are among her favorite flicks as well as the classic action flicks from the late 80s and 90s and, of course, The Accountant. She also keeps up with a few TV shows, including House of Cards and Game of Thrones, but her guiltiest pleasure (and one shared by a few unnamed coworkers) is The Vampire Diaries.
Her favorite thing about working at SPR is her smart, hard-working, and super fun co-workers, who she describes as some of her favorite people. A close second on her list is the fridge stocked with Big Red. It’s a Texas thing…
Michael put the “P” in S|P. His primary areas of focus include counseling owners and executives of closely held businesses and other high net worth individuals on their personal financial issues, including estate planning, wealth transfer, and income tax planning techniques. He also plays the role of a virtual CFO for many of his clients. His favorite thing about S|P is the people. He considers his team his extended family, and that makes all his hard work so much easier.
In his pre-partner days, Michael worked in the tax consulting group at Ernst & Young after earning his BBA and MPA (Masters in Professional Accounting) at the UT Austin Red McCombs School of Business. While in school, Michael received two endowed scholarships, received the Federation of Schools of Accountancy Award in recognition of superior academic achievement, leadership, and professionalism in post-baccalaureate accounting education, and was consistently on the Dean’s List. He also earned the “Top Ten Award” from the Texas State Board of Public Accountancy for scoring one of the top ten cumulative scores in the State of Texas on the CPA exam.
These days, when he is not partner-ing, he enjoys spending time with his family – especially in the great outdoors. He loves to water-ski and reminisces about his days on the UT Water-Ski Team in college. He also loves to snow-ski, and one of his all-time favorite vacation spots is the slopes in Whistler, British Columbia. He can’t wait until his two sons get a little older so that they can take birthday “man-trips” together – all three of them were born on the same day!
It is no surprise that Michael loves action. Besides his parents, Jack Bauer and Jason Bourne are his heroes, and Top Gun is his favorite movie. When he was little, he even dreamed of being a fighter pilot. However, he is a born accountant. When asked what his biggest pet-peeve is, he responded with, “Single sub-points, messy spreadsheets…” Yep… He definitely found his calling….
