Leadership

Richard Bhola, CPA, FCCA

Member - Assurance and Advisory

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Richard Bhola serves as a member in the Assurance and Advisory Services Group for Scott and Company LLC. He has over twenty-three years in the accounting profession, including working for two Big 4 accounting firms. Richard’s expertise covers many industries, such as manufacturing, banking, and insurance, and he leads various engagements. His responsibilities include the planning and financial reporting on audit and other engagements, as well as supervising associates and staff accountants throughout the engagement term. Richard has extensive experience in both IFRS and US GAAP reporting.

Richard is licensed to practice as a certified public accountant in South Carolina, North Carolina, and California. Richard obtained his Chartered Certified Accountant designation from the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA) in the United Kingdom. The ACCA is evaluated as equivalent to a Bachelors Degree in Accounting by International Education Research Foundation, Inc.

Richard is a current member and has the designation of Fellow Member of Association of Chartered Certified Accountant (FCCA). FCCA status is the highest achievement awarded to the ACCA members after 5 years of continuous membership and Continuous Professional Development compliance. FCCA status represents a member’s extensive experience and long-term commitment to professionalism and ethics.

Richard has been a fellow of the Association since 2009.  Richard is a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants and the South Carolina Association of Certified Public Accountants. He currently serves on the Board of the South Carolina Chamber of Commerce and the Small Business Committee.

Sandy Cooper, CPA

Member - Tax and Advisory

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Sandy Cooper, CPA serves as Member, Tax and Advisory Services for Scott and Company LLC.  A native of Chapin, SC, Sandy has more than 20 years of experience dealing with corporate and partnership taxation issues, with particularly in-depth expertise serving auto dealerships, law firms, insurance agencies and non-profit entities, as well as individual clients.

Sandy served as firm principal at Lowrance Cooper and Company from 2005 until 2013, when she assisted in the firm’s merger into Scott and Company LLC.

Sandy holds her CPA certification in South Carolina and is an active member of both the South Carolina Association of Certified Public Accountants (SCACPA) and the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA).  She is active on the Board of The Nurturing Center and a member of First Presbyterian Church, Columbia.

Riley Creech, CPA, CGMA

Member - Assurance, Tax, and Advisory

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Riley Creech, a member in Scott and Company’s Assurance, Tax, and Advisory Services practice  has 22 years of experience providing these services for firm clientele.  Her experience includes working on engagements in the manufacturing, hospitality, and automotive industries, both public and nonpublic financial institutions, nonprofit organizations, and employee benefit plans, among others.

Riley also provides extensive tax services to individuals, partnerships, corporations, nonprofit organizations, and employee benefit plans.

Riley earned her Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration – Accounting from the University of South Carolina.

An active member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants and the South Carolina Association of Certified Public Accountants, Riley is licensed to practice as a Certified Public Accountant in the State of South Carolina.

Riley is a sustainer in the Junior League of Columbia and is a member of First Presbyterian Church, Columbia.

Bill Pouncey, CPA, CGMA

Member - Assurance, Tax and Advisory

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Bill Pouncey serves as a member in the Assurance, Tax, and Advisory Services practice for Scott and Company LLC.  Bill has over 35 years of experience providing assurance and advisory services for firm clientele, including engagements in various industries, including manufacturing, wholesaling, construction contractors, financial services, multi-family housing, nonprofit organizations, and employee benefit plans.

Bill also provides extensive tax and advisory services to individuals, partnerships, corporations, nonprofit organizations, and employee benefit plans.

Bill earned his Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration – Accounting from the University of South Carolina.

An active member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants and the South Carolina Association of Certified Public Accountants, Bill is licensed to practice as a Certified Public Accountant in the State of South Carolina.

Bill served as president of the Central Chapter of the South Carolina Association of Certified Public Accountants and has also served as treasurer for several educational entities.

John Price Jr., CPA

Managing Member - Tax and Advisory

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John Price, CPA serves as the firm’s Managing Member. John’s primary responsibility is to oversee the strategic direction and management of the firm; he also works to develop the firm’s practice. In addition, John is a Member in the firm’s Tax and Advisory Services, where he specializes in small and large business corporate income taxation, nonprofit taxation, and tax research. John also has experience with the multi-state area and individual taxation.

John began the profession in September 1988 and has over thirty-two years of experience in individual and corporate income taxation.  He served five years with an international accounting firm and eight years as a manager with a Southeastern regional accounting firm.

John graduated from Clemson University, receiving a Bachelor of Science degree in Accounting and a Master’s degree in Professional Accountancy.

He is a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (“AICPA”) and the South Carolina Association of Certified Public Accountants (“SCACPA”), and is licensed to practice as a Certified Public Accountant in the States of South Carolina and North Carolina.

Outside of work, John serves as a high school football official and has for many years.  He also serves as a deacon and in the audio, visual, lights (AVL) ministry at his home church, Northside Baptist Church in Lexington, SC.

Michael Slapnik, CPA

Member - Assurance and Advisory

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Michael Slapnik, CPA serves as Member, Assurance and Advisory Services for Scott and Company LLC.  Michael graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration with an emphasis in Accounting from the University of South Carolina. His auditing and accounting experience began in 1998, and he was licensed as a CPA in the State of South Carolina in September 2001.  Since that time he has assisted professionals and business owners within all areas of assurance and advisory services.

Michael’s areas of concentration are commercial, governmental, nonprofit, and employee benefit plan audits, and he has performed internal control audits under Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act.  He also has experience in healthcare, real estate, technology, manufacturing, banking, services, colleges and universities, non-profit audits, long-term care providers, and various others.  Michael has also spent a significant amount of time performing consulting engagements such as assisting entities prepare their financial statements and related footnote disclosures, fraud related consulting, and performing sub-recipient monitoring procedures.

Michael is a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (“AICPA”) and the South Carolina Association of Certified Public Accountants (“SCACPA”) and is certified to practice in South Carolina.  He currently serves on the Board of Directors for the South Carolina Cancer Alliance.  He previously served on the board of directors as president of the Palmetto Chapter of the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (“JDRF”).  Michael was also chairman of the Friends of the Accounting Department (“FAD”) board at the University of South Carolina (“USC”).  He also participated in the USC mentoring program and served as treasurer for the Capital Senior Center for three years.

Bill West, CPA

Member - Tax and Advisory

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William “Bill” West, CPA serves as Member, Tax and Advisory Services for Scott and Company LLC, where he specializes in taxation of middle-market and large corporations and in South Carolina income tax credits and incentives. He has 34 years of experience helping clients. He has served clients in the public utility, manufacturing, auto dealership and insurance industries, along with a host of service businesses.

Bill has over nineteen years of experience with “Big 4” accounting firms.  He served seventeen years with Deloitte, including six years as a firm director.

Bill graduated Cum Laude from the Honors College at the University of Georgia where he received a Bachelor of Business Administration degree in Accounting and a Master’s degree in Accountancy with a focus in Taxation.  He is a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (“AICPA”) and the South Carolina Association of Certified Public Accountants (“SCACPA”), and is licensed to practice as a certified public accountant in the State of South Carolina.

Bill spends his time away from work pursuing a number of endeavors: he is involved in public service, he is Co-Author of the BNA South Carolina Corporate Income Tax Portfolio (Handel, West & West), and he previously served as a board member of a number of organizations, including Junior Achievement, Friends of the Richland County Public Library, and the American Red Cross.  He currently serves on the Board of the Palmetto Health Cancer Alliance.

Terri Wilson, CPA

Member - Assurance and Advisory

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Terri Wilson began her career in the public accounting profession in 2012 and joined Scott and Company in 2018. She serves as a director and is an integral part of the assurance and advisory services practice. As a director, Terri assumes responsibility for the overall quality of each audit engagement to which she is assigned and sets an appropriate example throughout all stages of the engagement for the other engagement team members to follow.

At least annually, Terri performs inspection/review procedures on the firm’s quality control system to determine if quality within the firm policy and procedures are appropriate and operating effectively. As the team captain, she is responsible for determining the scope of the inspection/review, developing the inspection/review procedures, and performing the inspection/review.

Terri approaches her work with a positive attitude and a strong work ethic. She exhibits superior technical competence, managerial abilities, and is skilled in resolving accounting issues and problem-solving.

Terri earned a Bachelor of Science degree from Presbyterian College and a Master of Accountancy degree from the University of South Carolina. She is a Certified Public Accountant licensed to practice in South Carolina and is a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants and the South Carolina Association of Certified Public Accountants.