Alliance Membership Offers Connectivity for Tax Firm

David Walker, partner with GreerWalker, a full-service accounting firm serving middle market companies in the Carolinas, believes his business has “benefited 10-fold” from its investment in the Upstate SC Alliance.

Walker considers the Alliance a “go-to business partner” that helped his company assimilate quickly into the Upstate community when the Charlotte-headquartered firm opened an office in downtown Greenville in 2017.

That decision followed several years of business in the Greenville-Spartanburg-Anderson market and a guest spot hitting the links at The Cliffs at Mountain Park during the 2015 Investor Golf Tournament.

“Based on our experience in the last few years, I’d encourage anyone doing business in the Upstate to become an investor,” he says. “It gives you a broad perspective on the community and the economic development going on here.”

Walker says the Alliance “quarterbacked” crucial business connections from the moment he become involved, allowing GreerWalker to succeed in its earliest days in the Upstate.

“There’s more to an economic developer’s role than just bringing companies to this region,” he notes. The Alliance’s commitment to supporting the overall business community, providing contacts and connections, helping investors navigate transitions into the Upstate, and aiding them in building a strong presence in our region, he says, makes it invaluable.

The Investor Roundtable Club, wherein small groups of investors from different professions interact closely for several months, helped Walker more fully understand the Upstate business community. “We did a deep dive with those contacts,” he says, and GreerWalker’s relationships with other Upstate businesses were strengthened in the process.

In addition to linking him with existing Upstate businesses, Walker says his company’s investment in the Alliance gave GreerWalker access to others visiting our region for site selection purposes.

“The largest industry we serve is international manufacturing and distribution,” he notes. His company’s expertise in tax and accounting differences between the United States and those business prospects’ home countries has proved helpful to have on call as prospects are weighing business decisions.

Walker’s participation with the Upstate Global Competitiveness Council’s Global Leadership Working Group also provides him insight into the benefits and presence of international businesses within the Upstate community.

“We may see BMW and Michelin as we drive down the interstate, but often we don’t realize the many other companies directly and indirectly affected by such big names,” he adds.

Having become intricately connected to our region through the Upstate SC Alliance, David Walker and his company now see what he calls “the whole picture” – and believe it has made all the difference for their business.