We are not your typical accountants. At Upward Focus we pride ourselves on creative and innovative approaches to help you meet your business objectives. We have over 35 years of combined experience working with every size of company from Fortune 500 to sole-proprietors.
Jim Schulz, Partner, Upward Focus LLC
Jim Schulz has over 17 years of financial experience working with public accounting firms, Fortune 500 companies and small start-up companies. Jim graduated from Indiana University, Bloomington, in 1992 and worked for over seven years with Ernst & Young (E&Y). While working at E&Y, Jim supported a variety of clients specializing in manufacturing, financial services and transportation industries.
After leaving E&Y, Jim worked for 5 years in various financial and operational roles with Eli Lilly and Company including corporate Research and Development Reporting and the Global Oncology Platform Team. Jim left Eli Lilly to pursue an opportunity as the Director of Finance for Suros Surgical Systems. During his time at Suros, Jim implemented various operational and financial improvements for the company and assisted in the acquisition of Suros by Hologic, Inc.
As a partner of Upward Focus, Jim provides clients with advice focused on business planning, strategic forecasting and operational improvements. Jim has also prepared several financial budgets for submission to the NIH and the IEDC. In addition to his financial expertise, Jim has a significant amount of experience with various accounting systems including QuickBooks, SAP, MAS200 and Oracle.
Currently Jim is the Treasurer of Little Red Door Cancer Agency as well as Christ the Savior Lutheran Church.
Krista Schulz, Partner, Upward Focus LLC
Krista Schulz has over 18 years of accounting experience. After graduating from Ball State University in 1991, she started her career with Arthur Andersen and served clients in the financial, real estate and not-for-profit industries. As an audit manager she was responsible for reviewing all benefit plan audits performed in the local office.
After leaving Arthur Andersen in 2000, she began providing accounting services to small, start-up companies. For the last 10 years she has served clients in the construction, real estate and not-for-profit sectors. With her extensive knowledge of QuickBooks, Krista has been able to implement the system across all of her clients. After implementation she has provided training and ongoing support to ensure that each client’s accounting system is functional and meets their needs.
Krista has served as Treasurer of various PTO’s for over 6 years. In addition she has served in a variety of roles at Christ the Savior Lutheran Church. She is also actively involved in school district initiatives within Hamilton Southeastern Schools.