Russ is a CPA with over 22 distinguished years of accounting, auditing and information systems experience. He has spent the last ten years working with a who’s-who list of Virginia-based start-ups and large companies consulting extensively as both a fractional CFO and Controller. Prior to moving to Virginia, Russ tracked countless miles from his start in Silicon Valley to Washington, D.C. leading both small and large companies in their Sarbanes-Oxley compliance efforts. Before joining the private sector, Russ worked and lived in the European theater as a Budget Director with the DOD. Additionally, he is a former University accounting and finance instructor whose Masters studies in Information Systems focused on relational database design.
In recent years, Russ’ work has been focused on startups and firms in the Insurance industry looking to build their foundational accounting & reporting infrastructure. In that time, he has led GL/System conversion projects for three large insurance interests; a complete software conversion (from QBO to Applied) for a mid-size retail agency in aggressive M&A mode, a full Great Plains cutover/upgrade for America’s oldest mutual society and full conversion (from Sage to Netsuite) for an RVA-based Insurance company. He brings a unique set of skills in both information systems design and implementation trouble-shooting that is all rooted in a deep understanding of accounting principles and controls procedures. His experiences with systems migration and conversion all demanded a high attention to detail and an aggressive adherence to strict regulatory and legal requirements.