Forty Under 40: Patrick Curry, 32

Patrick Curry is a master in a field most loathe: tax.
A self-described numbers guy, Curry landed a job in the tax department at Deloitte & Touche after earning a degree in accounting from Colorado State University in 2001. During his first year in practice, he earned his master’s from the University of Denver.
With giant accounting firms comes an enormous workload. In 2005, he was pulling 70- to 80-hour weeks with D&T, often coming home at 2 a.m. Then he got a call from Blake Hanby, CEO of WACO, whom Curry had met on previous trips to Northwest Arkansas.
“I really did want change,” he said. “I’m not a slacker or anything, but I don’t put in 80-hour weeks anymore.”
He counts his greatest achievements to date as passing the CPA exam and “the little things along the way.” That includes development of a nationally recognized good faith calculator that went live in January.
Curry’s been instrumental in honing automation as WACO has grown through acquisition. But he’s quick to point out how much of the legwork is carried out by his team.
Matt Kendall, COO, said Curry has strong business and analytical sense and has been a major help in the company’s acquisitions.
“I never want to be complacent,” Curry said. “I’m always fiddling with stuff to see how we can make it better.”