Peggy James

• Member of The Balance's Financial Review Board
• CPA with over nine years of experience in accounting and finance, including corporate, nonprofit, and personal finance environments
• Has a background in nonprofit accounting

Peggy has experience in corporate and nonprofit accounting and finance, ranging from journal entries and bank reconciliations to management of a complex fiscal year-end close process with accruals and deferrals. She has developed budgets for large ($5 million) and small ($130K) programs.

She also taught students how to budget and track expenses when they find themselves responsible for managing money on their own for the first time. Peggy provided personal finance training to international students who participated in summer enrichment programs and were traveling in the U.S. while managing a stipend for their living expenses. Topics included creating a budget, managing expenses, paying with cash vs. debit card vs. credit card, and foreign currency transactions, among others.

Peggy has guided numerous people through financial management, explaining how much money is available and how to be good stewards of their financial resources. Whether colleagues or clients love spreadsheets as much as she does or their eyes glaze over at the sight of them, she enjoys working with both groups of people, helping them become more comfortable with their responsibilities and with what the numbers mean. Peggy has a passion for helping people learn more about how to allow money to work for them rather than being burdened by it.

Peggy James has a B.A. in government from the University of Virginia and a Master of Accounting with a concentration in Enterprise Risk Management from North Carolina State University.