2024 Trusted Advisers: Patrice Ann Moore

Patrice Ann Moore is like an interpreter: she fluently speaks and helps others understand a language that many business owners struggle with – accounting.

Moore provides everything from basic bookkeeping services to advanced business and estate planning advice for both large and small clients, as well as for public entities in the community.

“Many business owners typically don’t start a new business with the core financial knowledge base that is needed to run one. Balancing a bank account, paying employees (and employment taxes) or paying sales taxes are often a foreign language for new small-business owners,” she says. “I believe it’s my role to help clients from startup to sale, providing education beyond typical CPA-level services.”

An educational background is evident in her approach to clients.

“My specific approach with clients is to help them understand what they are experiencing happens to us all,” Moore says. “We discuss planning for everything from the cost of day care to the cost of college, and yes, even how to pay for a funeral. My overall background in education has given me the ability to communicate the knowledge I’ve obtained through the years to help my clients regardless of business size, personal stature or their age and place in life.”

She also takes pains to assure her clients she is there for them for the long haul.

“I strive to let my clients grow knowing there’s nothing they do that cannot be fixed. This empowers them to try and develop better decisions,” she says. “My goal is for all my clients to try, learn and grow, and by doing this helps their businesses grow, too.”

Attorney Evelyn Gwin Mangan praises Moore for her dedication to staying current on the technicalities and trends in her industry.

“She is known throughout the legal, accounting and business communities as one of a handful of accountants with the expertise to handle complex trust and estate tax issues and also to advise small businesses, and she freely shares that knowledge with other professionals as well as her clients,” says Mangan.

Moore uses her skills in ways that help the community, as well.

“I have always had a passion for volunteering at the community level. I’ve found that many community organizations need someone at the board level who is comfortable working with numbers.” she says, which has led to her being named treasurer of numerous organizations.

She and her husband volunteer whenever and wherever possible – schools, church, community groups – and they passed on that helper mentality to their children.

“Our family made volunteering a family event and I’m very proud to say my girls, now adults, are actively volunteering in their communities,” she says. “That’s the best legacy anyone could give.”