Jenna Burns, center, is photographed after receiving the Rising Phoenix Award during the May 4 commencement ceremony at Cumberland University in Tennessee. Also pictured are Cumberland President Paul Stumb, left, and Josh Woodward, a member of the Cumberland University Alumni Association Board of Directors. (Photo Provided)

MARIETTA — Jenna Burns, tax principal at Perry and Associates CPAs, recently received the Rising Phoenix Award from her alma mater, Cumberland University.

Burns, who graduated in 2014 with a bachelor’s degree in accounting and business management, was presented with the honor at the school’s recent commencement.

The Rising Phoenix Award is granted annually to an alumnus who is 35 or younger and displays outstanding leadership qualities, has had exceptional achievements early in their professional career and dedicated themselves to public service and volunteer activities.

“I am honored to have been presented with his award,” Burns said in a release from the company. “The foundation of what has helped me to grow in my career over the years came from my time at Cumberland University.”

Burns has been in public accounting since 2012 when she started her career at

Terry Horne CPA and Associates. Since 2015, she has been part of the Perry and Associates team and serves as tax principal as well as overseeing the client accounting services team in their Marietta office. Burns and her team provide tax and consulting services to nonprofit and for-profit organizations, including tax preparation and planning, software consultation and conversions, financial statement preparation and other accounting services.

Burns is an active member of several professional organizations such as the West Virginia Association of CPAs and the National Association of Valuators and Analysts. She also serves on the board of directors at the Castle, a property curated to preserve the history of Marietta and the Mid-Ohio Valley.

Perry and Associates CPAs is a regional firm with six offices in the Lower Ohio Valley serving Ohio, West Virginia and portions of Maryland.