As a community leader, Stevens Pierce & Associates, CPAs is a leading-edge, full-service accounting firm with the advantage of big firm experience and creative professional staff who are your advocates that offer personal attention with timely, confidential and effective results for our widely diversified clients. We would like you to meet our staff:     Ruth S. Pierce, CPA, CVA, FCPA      Ruth Stevens Pierce, CPA, CVA, FCPA is President and CEO of Stevens Pierce & Associates, CPAs. An industry pro with more than two and a half decades of experience in accounting, Ruth is known by her peers, clients and staff as an exceptional talent. Her unique management style fosters creative business solutions and client focused service.      Ruth has extensive practical experience in areas of agricultural, construction, pensions, investments, estate and small business services, including tax, accounting and management advisory services.  In addition, she has worked in the area of litigation support with an emphasis in employment, business and divorce settlements.  She has experience in preparing business valuations, serving as a facilitator of strategic planning sessions, designing incentive compensation plans and a wide range of business consulting.   She has also been involved in conservator ship and guardian roles.  Ruth is currently involved with the Southern Idaho Economic Development Organization, the Twin Falls Rotary Club and Business Plus III (economic development organization).  She is the recipient of the first annual Magic Valley Business Woman of the Year award, and received the 2007 Chamber of Commerce Lifetime Achiement award.      Prior to founding Stevens Pierce & Associates, Ruth was a senior partner at Cooper Norman & Co. She earned a Bachelor of Science in Accounting at the University of Idaho. ruth@twinfallscpa.com             Tara Grover Office Manager Our Office Manager, Tara Grover, plays a vital role in the Stevens Pierce & Associates office. Her close attention to detail and wonderful ability to build lasting relationships with clients, fellow staff, and members in the community make her a great asset to our firm. A graduate of the Twin Falls Chamber of Commerce Leadership program, Tara puts her talents to good use as she keeps our office running by keeping on top of all the projects that come in, delegating client work to the appropriate associate. She also handles client billing, using all her employment experience in the financial area.   Tara is always ready to help answer any questions that might arise from the clients and associates, and does a great job to keep the morale level of the office high. She aims to keep the office running smoothly, and keeps track of the office’s effectiveness by creating and processing weekly and monthly statistics. In her time outside of the office, Tara loves spending quality time with her family, she enjoys activities such as camping, roller skating, watching movies, or driving her classic 71 VW Bug. tara@twinfallscpa.com   Jill Trowell Marketing Director Certified QuickBooks Pro Advisor Jill provides valuable practice development.  She is very creative and handles all marketing and advertising needs for our firm.  Jill is also a Certified QuickBooks Pro Advisor with Intuit.  She has implemented a quarterly QuickBooks users group, the QuickBooks Café.  She has many years of experience with the QuickBooks suite of software and integrated softwares.  She also has experience in general ledger accounting, including payroll, accounts receivable and accounts payable. Jill is currently past-president of the Board of Directors for Historic Downtown Twin Falls.  She is a graduate of Twin Falls Chamber of Commerce Leadership program, which she also served as co-chair for.  Jill also served as co-chair for Magic Valley Student Leadership.  She has also been involved in the Twin Falls Chamber of Commerce Ambassadors, Kiwans, Rotary, and the Magic Valley Home Builders Association.  Prior to joining Stevens Pierce & Associates, Jill was the bookkeeper for Floral Art in Idaho Falls.  Jill earned an Associates Degree in Floral Design and Management at Ricks College.   She enjoys spending quality time with her two boys.  She also likes to read and especially loves to go camping. jill@twinfallscpa.com    Nola Tolk Certified QuickBooks Pro Advisor Staff Accountant Nola is a great addition to our firm.  She has an eye for detail and can pull all of the pieces together to reveal the bigger picture of your business.  Nola is very valuable in her understanding and work on financial statements.  She is also Certified QuickBooks Pro Advisor with Intuit.  Nola received an Associates of Applied Science in Accounting and Bookkeeping in May of 2005 and an Associates of Arts in General Business in December of 2005.  She is currently working on her Bachelors degree in Accounting and will be pursuing her CPA certification following that.    Nola enjoys spending time with her family, fishing trips, and coaching her daughters softball teams. nola@twinfallscpa.com    Lori A. Ream Staff Accountant After receiving her bachelor degree in biology, Lori decided to switch gears and study business.  She received a Master of Business Administration with honors, and will graduate with a Master of Taxation in the summer of 2007.  She will sit for the CPA exam in 2007. Lori’s professional career began in Arizona where she managed restaurants, worked in an orthopedic durable medical equipment company, and studied patients in the Sleep Center at Mayo Hospital.  Over the years she developed her medical and business knowledge while pursuing her education.  Her wide spectrum of experience, as well as her ability to work with a variety of people and situations makes her a valuable member of the Stevens Pierce family. As Staff Accountant at Stevens Pierce & Associates, CPAs, Lori enjoys putting her education and business skills to practice.  Her main focus is tax accounting, and she looks forward to expanding her knowledge to include business valuations and forensic accounting. lori@twinfallscpa.com    Pat Kaster Receptionist With over 32 years of administrative experience, Pat Kaster fits the bill of “Director of Lasting Impressions” to a T. Her friendly greeting and sunny smile are an inviting welcome to the front office of Stevens Pierce and Associates, CPAs. She’s always ready to help in answering clients’ questions, or directing them to the right associate. As a part of her continued education, this Magic Valley native has built her career in Twin Falls by much hard work as well as various administrative classes from the College of Southern Idaho. These courses, along with Pat’s naturally upbeat and active personality, make her presence at the front desk virtually indispensable. Pat loves spending time with her children and grandchildren, especially attending their sporting events and activities. She also enjoys reading and gardening in her spare time, and calls swimming (especially with her family) her “first love.” pat@twinfallscpa.com    Tina Downs Bookkeeper Tina Downs has twenty-five years of bookkeeping, payroll, and administrative experience. She graduated from Link’s School of Business in 1981 with degrees in Accounting and Legal Secretary. Her first job was with the Caldwell Chamber of Commerce. Tina has worked for Stevens Pierce & Associates since 2002 as their bookkeeper. Tina was born in Twin Falls, but grew up on a farm in Notus, Idaho. She and her husband, Terry, lived in Parma, Idaho, and operated the family dairy until 1997, when the family sold the dairy and Terry and Tina moved to Twin Falls.    Tina has worked for many companies as a bookkeeper including a trolley on a federal grant, a bus company, a trucking company, restaurants, a music store, dairies, a church, realtors, a surgery center, and many more.   Tina enjoys spending time with her family and is active in her church. She has three children, two of which are students at CSI. She enjoys working in her yard, spending time with her friends, horseback riding, and walking. tina@twinfallscpa.com