It takes a special kind of person to compare his job to a high school field trip and enjoy it. Such is the case for 1997 masters of accounting graduate Travis Nielsen, whose consulting firm has him on the road every dayyellow school bus not included.
After seven years in public accounting, Nielsen and Marriott School classmate Gordy Jacobsen created The Cadence Group in 2004, filling a consulting void at a time when new legislation was changing the industry.
“When Sarbanes-Oxley came out there was a huge demand for people with that type of experience,” Nielsen says. He notes that especially in the Salt Lake area, companies were struggling to implement the new legislation, which dictated top management must individually certify the accuracy of financial information and also strengthened punishment against inaccurate reporting.
The Cadence Group now has ten employees and has played a role in four of the last five large IPOs in Utah, including Omniture, Ancestry.com, Skullcandy, and Black Diamond. Nielsen’s role at the firm is to oversee the financial advisory and accounting services practices. Any given day he is hitting the pavement to meet with clients and work with their finance and accounting departments. In fact, the company has yet to fully move into their office space because of the demanding road requirements, which Nielsen says are his favorite part of the job.
“The variety of people I meet and interact with is what I enjoy most,” he says. “I can go from working with a gold company one day to a tech startup the next day.”
And it turns out more than just his clients are pleased with his work. Nielsen was recently recognized in Utah Business Magazine’s 40 Under 40 list, which highlights outstanding young professionals throughout the state for their business and community accomplishments.
Nielsen also takes time to use his passion and skills for accounting to help the community. Through a previous job he was introduced to the Special Olympics Utah and sat on the board of directors for a number of years. He is now a member of the finance committee, where he works to write policies and create budgets.
“Special Olympics is a wonderful organization—there is a great feeling at these events—and I enjoy helping where I can,” he says.
Nielsen also hits the road to share his expertise in the act that started it all—Sarbanes-Oxley. As a guest lecturer for the SEC Institute, he travels the country teaching compliance seminars to Fortune 500 companies.
For someone whose job has him constantly on the go, Nielsen enjoys spending time at home and has lived within the same square mile in Cottonwood Heights, Utah, for nearly his entire life. He and his wife, Lisa, have three children and enjoy outdoor activities such as skiing and hiking.
