Ryan E. Scharar, JD, CPA, MBA – 2019 40 Under 40 Honoree

Career Highlights:

Passing the CPA exam and starting my career with PricewaterhouseCoopers was a dream come true. Passing the bar exam and joining a downtown Fort Worth law firm was another dream come true.  In 2014 I started my law firm focused on tax planning and compliance and hired my first associate.  In 2015 my wife Bronwyn, who I met in law school, joined my firm practicing in the areas of estate planning and guardianship, and we purchased and restored a historic home as our office.   I enjoy working with dynamic and entrepreneurial minded small business owners daily helping them with a variety of legal, tax, tax and business needs.  Seeing my clients realize their business goals, and knowing I play a small part in that, is why I’m in this business.  I’ve worked with some amazing mentors and servant leaders, with my dad (also an Attorney-CPA) at the top of that list, and I get no greater joy than learning from him as I continue a family tradition as a dually licensed Attorney-CPA in private practice.

What are you doing to make a difference in the profession, your community, the world?

I’m active in leadership positions for professional organizations because I think it’s important to lead by example and to pay it forward to the next wave of graduates entering the profession.  Mentorship is crucial to career development and being a leader accessible to new graduates is a great place to start.  Beyond Fort Worth and indeed Texas, I have the privilege of travelling to Malawi in Sub-Saharan Africa for work.  During a recent visit, with the help of our local partners, I was able to organize a continuing education event and job networking fair for over 100 accounting students attending the University of Malawi.  I presented on the importance of ethics in the profession and had an opportunity to highlight US/International Reporting Standards similarities and differences.  We handed out lapel pins and fact cards donated by the FW Chapter – TXCPA and served a catered lunch attended by professors, business leaders, and a diverse set of sponsors and speakers.  I was honored to be included as a speaker, and my hope is that students were able to walk away with some new perspectives on the profession as well as have more knowledge about real internship and job opportunities. 

Favorite books/websites/speakers that you find influential:

Good to Great by Jim Collins; To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee; Africa’s Business Revolution: How to Succeed in the World’s Next Big Growth Market by Acha Leke; Epsilon Theory Newsletters by W. Ben Hunt, PhD; Wall Street Journal

What do you see yourself doing professionally in 10 years?
Managing a diversified financial services company focused on sophisticated financial planning, taxation, and international investing opportunities. 

What accounting conferences do you normally attend? 

• American Academy of Attorney-CPA’s – national and regional meetings; FW-TXCPA Tax Institute

What websites/magazines do you use to keep up on news of the accounting profession? 

• Accounting Today; Journal of Accountancy; CPA Practice Advisor; Bloomberg; IRS.gov

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See all of the “40 Under 40” honorees for 2019