Brian Kennedy’s interest in accounting started earlier than most — and at the age when most teenagers avoid paperwork, he was doing it for fun.

“When I was 17 or 18 and had that first high school job, (I) got my first paycheck and W-2, and prepared my own tax return that year,” Brian said. “I look back now and think that was a little weird — a 17-year-old preparing his own tax return.”

What began as an early curiosity about tax law has become a lifelong profession rooted in relationships, planning and helping local businesses succeed.

Voted Best Accountant in this year’s Readers’ Choice Awards, Brian is now the founder of J.B. Kennedy & Associates, LLC, CPAs, his road to business ownership paved by nearly two decades at one of Statesboro’s longtime accounting firms — Reddick, Riggs & Hunter (later Reddick, Riggs, Hunter & Kennedy).

“I was very fortunate to work under some really great, smart people,” Brian said. “Terrell T. Reddick, CPA, probably had the greatest influence on me professionally.”

After 18 years with the company, Brian decided he wanted to build a firm with a different philosophy and approach to serving clients, and in 2016, he launched J.B. Kennedy & Associates.

The timing, he said, worked out well for both business and family life.

“As our kids were getting old enough to be a little more independent, my wife, Sloan, who was also a professional accountant herself, was able to work in the firm full-time and helped get it off the ground,” Brian said. “She is a tremendous part of the firm.”

From the beginning, Brian wanted J.B. Kennedy & Associates to offer clients much more than a once-a-year experience.

“Our approach to working with clients is very, very different," he said. "We focus on the small business owner in a proactive, forward-planning approach.”

Rather than waiting to meet with clients during tax season, J.B Kennedy & Associates remain engaged throughout the year, helping business owners plan ahead and avoid surprises before deadlines arrive.

“Small business owners are kind of bad about not planning for their future self,” he said. “The day-to-day fires tend to capture their attention first.”

At the same time, Brian understands that many people walk into an accounting office feeling nervous or intimidated, particularly about the potential costs involved.

To make the process feel more approachable, the firm uses a straightforward monthly pricing structure for most of its business clients, rather than sending “a mystery bill, where you are never really sure how much the service will cost,” he said.

Those kinds of client-focused business practices reflect Brian’s commitment to transparency and accountability in his profession.

“Business is all about the relationships and trust that people put in you. Those relationships and that trust are what keeps me going,” he said, adding that many client relationships have grown into friendships over the years.

After learning local readers had voted him Best Accountant, Brian said his first reaction was a feeling of gratitude mixed with humility.

“I hope it’s true,” he said with a smile. “I mean, I hope clients are pleased with what we do.”

And he’s not just saying that. After decades of work in accounting and financial planning, the responsibility that comes with advising clients still weighs heavily on him — even in his sleep.

“CPA or financial services is messy, difficult and stressful work,” Brian said. “It’s hard to get it right 100% of the time, but we try hard.

“Some people have nightmares about falling,” he added. “I have nightmares about missing a tax deadline or missing an important tax law change that might affect our clients.”

Outside of the office, Brian and Sloan enjoy spending time with their three adult children and two grandbabies. Brian is an avid motorcyclist and enjoys outdoor activities with Sloan, and both are members of the Kiwanis Club of Statesboro, volunteering each year with the Kiwanis Ogeechee Fair.

It’s a small way to give back to the community they love so much.

“Statesboro is home. Full stop,” Brian said. “Sloan and I made the decision early in our lives that Statesboro would be where we plant our feet. We both grew up here. The career, or any job, was secondary.

“This is where our family is and where we wanted to raise our kids — and we did.”