Jenna Kerwood, CMI

Bio

Jenna is a partner in Armanino’s Tax practice. With 30 years of experience, Jenna provides real estate and personal property tax services for clients throughout the United States. She has expertise in all aspects of property tax, including valuation, negotiation, research, planning, compliance and administration. Her specialty is managing large outsourced engagements for clients in the telecommunications, renewable energy, retail and manufacturing industries.

Prior to joining Armanino, Jenna was a partner at Brown Smith Wallace, where she served as the Property Tax Services practice leader. Jenna also has 10 years of Big Four experience, beginning at Arthur Andersen and transitioning to PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC). Prior to joining Andersen, Jenna was a property tax manager at Premcor, a multimillion-dollar oil and gas retailer and refiner, and worked as an assessor in Texas.

Q&A

Job security is what attracted me to public accounting, but the reason I stayed in public accounting is because of the variety of opportunities, professional culture and the incredible work relationships that I have built throughout my career.

Specifically, being able to help multiple clients in different industries in a way that’s impactful is a gratifying experience that allows me to continue to grow professionally and provide more value to a greater number of clients.

I was a member of the first-ever women’s soccer team at University of Missouri – Columbia (Mizzou). It was an incredible opportunity to champion diversity in a small way, and the leadership and teamwork I learned on the field is something I’ve been able to carry over into my career.

I consider myself to be someone who works well under pressure; I think most clearly when I have a deadline I’m working toward. In public accounting, deadlines are imminent, which works well for me. As for my style, I am approachable and transparent with my clients and colleagues. I live by the Golden Rule and try to manage and tackle conflict immediately.

My mother. My mom did not have the opportunity to attend college, but she still managed to work her way up the corporate ladder at a major airline and ultimately became one of the highest-paid women at the company with a sales territory spanning 33 states.

Relationships and your network are the biggest keys to your success. Always treat people how you want to be treated. Your reputation follows you throughout your entire career, so it’s important to ensure that you are interacting with the people around you in a positive and helpful manner.

I really enjoy listening to our clients’ issues and problems and figuring out how to solve them.

Because property tax is administered at the local level, it is a huge administrative burden. It’s so rewarding to be able to streamline the work effort, build in the appropriate checks and balances and minimize our clients’ tax burden along the way.

Jenna Kerwood, CMI

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Q&A