Jim's Life

Jim is an Atlanta native and after High School attended Georgia Tech where he obtained his Bachelor of Industrial Engineering degree. After a short stint in the Army, he began his career in a management development program at Southern Bell. After deciding to change careers, Jim attended Georgia State University and received his Master’s in Public Accountancy degree while working as a Management and Budget Analyst for DeKalb County, Georgia. When he graduated from Georgia State in 1975 he joined Haskins and Sells and remained there until May of 1978 when he left to found Tarpley & Underwood along with Harvey Tarpley.

In 1996 he started Tarpley & Underwood Financial Advisors, a Registered Investment Advisory firm. After becoming the managing shareholder of Tarpley & Underwood in 1999, he led both firms until they were merged into Windham Brannon, P.C. and Windham Brannon Financial Group in 2011. He then served as a principal in both Windham Brannon firms. As of December 31, 2013, Jim retired from Windham Brannon and in 2014 he established Underwood Advisors, LLC, a planning practice devoted to providing holistic estate and financial planning services to a select number of high net worth families and family offices.

Jim currently spends a significant amount of his time working in the areas of estate and financial planning, wealth management, individual tax planning and related estate and trust administration areas. Prior to the formation of Underwood Advisors, he also spent a significant amount of time in individual, trust and estate tax compliance roles. Jim is currently a member of the DeKalb and Atlanta Estate Planning Councils and is a past president of the Atlanta Estate Planning Council. He is a trustee and past president of the Georgia Federal Tax Conference. Jim is a past president of the Georgia Society of CPAs and continues to serve on its Leadership Council.  

He has previously worked in the GSCPA as chairman of its Membership, Budget, Insurance and Estate and Gift Tax Committees and still serves as a trustee of the GSCPA Insurance Trust. He has had numerous other involvements at the state and chapter level. He is a past recipient of the Society’s Public Service award. Jim co-authored and taught a fiduciary accounting workshop for other CPAs and has made numerous presentations on other estate and tax planning topics to various sized groups.

Jim has had extensive community involvement throughout his career. As a young alumnus, he served on the Committee of Twenty, a committee of young Alumni appointed by the Georgia Tech Board of Trustees and during that time had involvement in the development of the Advanced Technology Development Center and the related Venture Capital Conference. He has served as a Commissioner of the Decatur Housing Authority, a member of the Georgia State University School of Accountancy Advisory Council, a member of the Finance Committee at Providence Christian Academy, a member of the Georgia State University Planned Giving Advisory Council, chairman of the Stewardship Team at North Point Community Church, a member of the Georgia Council on Planned Giving, and chaired the Planned Gifts Committee of the DeKalb Medical Center Foundation for the first seven years of its existence as well as numerous other civic activities. He is currently a member of the Board of Directors of the Caldwell & Orkin Market Opportunity Fund, the Chairman of the Gwinnett County Retirement Plans Management Committee and serves as an elder and member of the Personnel Team at North Point Community Church. Jim is a Charter member of Kingdom Advisors and was the 2010 recipient of their Practice Management Award, which is awarded to one person each year who best implements biblical wisdom into their lives and practices. Jim and his wife, Kay, have three married children and three grandchildren and live in Lilburn

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