2019 VIRGINIA CFO AWARDS SMALL PRIVATE COMPANY CYNTHIA JOYCE, CPA, Agili, Richmond


She promotes the firm as its clients’ personal CFO


of her heart make her a positive force.” To ensure Agili stays abreast of best


practices and industry developments, Joyce regularly consults with the CFOs of 20 peer firms around the country that are part of Group 2020. “If I come up with a challenge, I use them as a sounding board. It’s a safe space, an area of trust,” she says. “We work as each other’s mentors even though we are competitors.” As part of her duties, Joyce develops


Cynthia Joyce suggested the fi rm’s current name to emphasize its nimbleness in serving clients.


by Joan Tupponce T


here are never enough hours in the day for Cindy Joyce. Finding time for all the


projects she wants to take on is her big- gest challenge, says Agili’s CFO and chief operating officer. “I am a pleaser, so I want to make sure everyone is happy.” Joyce joined the financial planning


and investment firm, then called JoycePayne Partners, in 2005 after working for Union Pacific. She works alongside her husband,


Michael, who is president of Agili. “It doesn’t work for all married couples, but it works for us,” she says. During the past 14 years, she’s made


major contributions that have changed not only the company’s name but also its customer focus. Joyce suggested adopting the name


Agili — derived from agility — because she wanted “the company to be nimble for all of our clients,” she says.


82 | AUGUST 2019 In celebration of the firm’s 25th anni-


versary, she advocated focusing on the concept of serving Agili’s clients as their personal CFO. “We do personalized and custom-


ized planning,” she says. “The firm has always done that, but not from a marketing standpoint. When we started thinking about what we do for each cli- ent, it became apparent this is what we really do. Our clients are busy people, so they totally understand and appreciate us being their personal CFO.” Joyce enjoys handling the variety of


projects that fall under her purview. Her responsibilities range from lease nego- tiation to making sure the company is financially successful. “Every day is a full plate, but it’s never the same,” she says. Joyce is focused on “operational


excellence,” says Sydney Petty of SFP Consulting in Richmond. “The breadth of her business experience and the depth


the theme and agenda for the annual retreat for the firm’s 24 employees in Rich- mond and Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. She also confirms the speakers and organizes team-building exercises for the retreat, which sets the tone for the upcoming year and focuses the team on specific goals. “I love it,” she says of the planning


process. “We always have a surprise event that no one knows about but me. We’ve done everything from an escape room to a scavenger hunt. It’s a team-building event.” One of her proudest achievements


is the creation of an internal annual employee survey that encourages honest feedback. “We get a third party to read the results of the survey,” she says. “Our clients are happy because we have a fantastic team. I can’t be naïve or complacent about that. I always have to be listening to and learning from our team.” Joyce also leads a group focused on


internal process improvement, which she credits with substantially increasing the efficiency of client services. She became interested in accounting


in high school. “I was good with numbers and I always liked math. It came naturally,” says Joyce, a University of Denver alumna who holds an MBA from Drexel Univer- sity in Philadelphia. Outside of work, the mother of three


has been involved with Greater Rich- mond SCAN (Stop Child Abuse Now) for the past 21 years.


Photo by Caroline Martin


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