• Over 20 years of business experience for small to medium sized businesses.
• Extensive senior management expertise as Chief Financial Officer, Chief Financial Accountant, Assistant Treasurer.
• In-depth industry expertise in: Business Services, Recreation, Construction, Retail, Hospitality, Government.
• MBA, CPA.
• Certified QuickBooks® Pro Advisor.

Joanna Foster brings to her practice nearly 20 years of small business experience from positions such as Chief Financial Accountant, Assistant Treasurer, and Chief Financial Officer. Her corporate career took her from an international construction company to the nation’s largest outdoor recreation company and most recently a 200 acre resort. Through this she has had hands on experience with the construction, retail, hospitality, and recreation industries.

After obtaining an MBA in Accounting from Georgia State University, Joanna went with Arthur Young one of the “Big Eight” international accounting firms (now known as Ernst & Young.) While with Arthur Young, she audited governmental entities, real estate, retail, and hospitality industries as part of Arthur Young’s Entrepreneur Services Division. Upon leaving Arthur Young, Joanna began her career in the private sector with Polysius Corporation, an international construction company. As Chief Financial Accountant, Joanna managed the accounting department with responsibility for the monthly financial reporting with the complexity of foreign currencies.

Joanna relocated to Bryson City to begin working with the Nantahala Outdoor Center, Inc., one of the largest outdoor recreation companies in the nation. As Assistant Treasurer, her duties included all financial reporting in a diverse 17 profit/cost center environment. She had responsibility for year-end closing, stockholder statements, filing of federal consolidated income tax returns and income tax filings in three states. While there, Joanna implemented two enterprise-wide financial software conversions.

In 1997 the Nantahala Village, a nearby 200 acre resort suffered a devastating fire, destroying its main lodge. The General Partners of the “Village,” who had worked with Joanna for several years at the NOC, recruited her to become their Chief Financial Officer to meet the challenge of creating the financial systems needed to make the newly constructed Lodge operational.

In January of 2003, after five years with the Village, Joanna wanted to get back to the public accounting sector and she opened her own firm. She uses her extensive inside knowledge and understanding of the issues, difficulties and challenges of today’s competitive business environment to help make small businesses and owners more successful.

In the Bryson City area, Joanna loves running, mountain and road biking, backpacking, hiking and swimming. She lives with her husband and cats.

• Beta Alpa Psi, an honorary accounting fraternity, membership based on college grade point greater than 3.5 on a 4.0 grading scale
• Founding officer responsible for set up of the Nantahala Racing Club, a 501(c)(3) for the training and support of Olympic athletes
• Member American Institute of Certified Public Accountants
• Member North Carolina Association of Certified Public Accountants