Our Team

James H. Ruthven, CPA
Director of Accounting/District Manager

Jim has over 19 years experience working with Colorado special districts, both as a board member and as an administrator. He served as president of a metropolitan district for 7 years and has been a Colorado CPA for over 30 years. His background includes many years as a CFO in the resort and real estate industries, and as a Director of Finance in the Colorado public school system. Jim has served on the Board of Trustees of COLOTRUST, as well as the Board of Directors of the Gunnison Western Federal Credit Union. He is a member of the Colorado Society of CPAs and the American Institute of CPAs. Jim holds a BBA degree with a major in Accounting from the University of Iowa.

Steve Beck
District Manager/Accountant

Steve joined SDMS in 2018 as a District Manager with over 40 years of experience in special district, governmental and corporate accounting, auditing and management. He began practicing as a CPA in 1977 and also holds CGMA certification. His expertise is in governmental accounting and auditing, and he has served over 20 years as the Chief Accountant and Controller for large school and sanitation districts. He has also served as the Controller, Director of Finance and VP-CFO of various corporations and corporate groups during his career. As the District Manager/Controller for a large sanitation district, he was awarded the District of the Year award in 2004 by the Colorado Special District Association.

Steve has earned BS degrees from Louisiana State University in Environmental Health (Microbiology, Chemistry and Animal Science) and Accounting/Business Law and an Executive MBA from Centenary College of Louisiana. He did his PhD work in Organizational Performance and Change Adaptation and Implementation at Colorado State University.

 

Accounting Group Personnel

Our accounting group also includes the following professionals;
Diana Garcia
Cyndi Walter