Forty Under 40: Joshua Sykes

Joshua Sykes understands that sometimes you have to walk away from a goal. He also understands that temporarily doing so does not keep you from reaching it.

Sykes graduated from the University of Arkansas at Fort Smith in 2008 with a degree in graphic design. A few years into that career, he realized it just was not enough. While working in the field, he returned to school, earning a bachelor’s degree in accounting in 2013.

He started his career at First National Bank of Fort Smith as a staff accountant in 2014.

Sykes set for himself the difficult goal of becoming a certified public accountant. While he passed three of the 

four necessary tests to become one, he was struggling. He was suffering from migraines and even ended up in 

the emergency room with stroke-like symptoms. He decided to take a step back.

“I had to say to myself, ‘I might not achieve this goal,’” Sykes said.

However, the setback was only temporary, as he would eventually earn both his certified management accountant and CPA certifications.

Now, he is a supervisor at a $2.1 billion bank and has continued to improve different areas such as budget, forecasting, annual reporting, accounts payable, and accounts receivable. Sykes revamped the accounts payable process to ensure more accurate tracking and to provide efficiencies for staff. He was the accounting lead for a complex bank merger in 2022 and was an integral part of its success. He was also the accounting lead on several implementations over the past several years.

Sykes is a graduate of Leadership Fort Smith and serves as the director of finance on the executive board for Fort Kids Children’s Museum.