From his start as the first Berry graduate hired by Arthur Andersen to his current role as a global senior managing director with Ernst & Young Global, Jason Sweatt has built a distinguished career by tackling complex challenges and developing innovative solutions. Today, the CPA serves as EY's global tax technology quality leader, overseeing the governance of more than $1 billion in software and digital assets supporting tax operations around the world.
Building new capabilities has been a hallmark of Jason's career. At Arthur Andersen, he helped establish the Atlanta office's first tax outsourcing practice. At EY, he developed a U.S. approval and governance process for tax technology that proved so successful it was expanded globally. That process now governs thousands of technology tools across more than 150 countries, with Jason leading more than 200 managers and approvers responsible for maintaining quality and reducing risk.
During his time with Elliott Davis, he was chair of the tax committee as well as firmwide state and local taxes leader, creating the firm's first tax quality function. He also was the principal tax lead at Crosslin.
Jason has served in leadership and advisory roles with state CPA organizations in Georgia and South Carolina, the American Institute of CPAs, state government and business organizations. His professional honors include recognition among the South Carolina Association of CPAs' 100 influential people in accounting during the organization's first century, as well as its President's Award for service to the profession. He also has provided testimony for legislative bodies, including the South Carolina Senate.
Jason traces the foundation for his career to Berry, where practical accounting instruction taught him that succeeding in the profession requires judgment, ethics, creativity, technology skills and leadership ability in addition to skill in working with numbers. His four years working with the late Dan Biggers, director of Oak Hill and the Martha Berry Museum, gave him early experience in public speaking, project management and communicating with executives and donors.
"Berry literally changed my life, giving me the confidence, technical knowledge and life skills to go from being the first person in my family to graduate from college to a global executive for a Big 4 accounting firm," Jason reflected. Today, he remains deeply connected to the college as president of the Berry Alumni Council and a longtime member of the Planned Giving Council.
