11 2018 CPAmerica Advantage newsletter

News from Your Accounting Association

CPAmerica Advantage In an Instant, Everything Changes: How HPG's On a summer night this July, member firm Hughes Pittman & Gupton, LLP (HPG), experienced a fire at their offices in Raleigh, N.C. Although no one was hurt, the firm had to deal with the challenges of organizing and continuing on with “business as usual” in the aftermath.

We spoke to Kent Pitt man, leading partner, and Nikita Gowin, HR generalist, about the importance of having a disaster recovery plan for their firm.

We asked about the fire and how it started. Pittman said, “Our firm occupies the space on the second and third floors of a three-story building. The fire occurred on the first floor in another tenant’s space in the middle of the night. The source was an electrical fire having to do with a refrigerator. Our space did not burn, but being in the same building, smoke filtered up through our offices.

On a passing glance, the [office] looked fine, but the remediation has involved stripping out everything (except the sheetrock) from the office. In terms of components, essentially everything has been replaced and all of our content has been cleaned, including all the equipment that was taken off-site. More than 200 monitors were

November 2018 Member firm merger P. 1

shipped away for disassembly Member News P. 3 and cleaning and were then shipped back to us. It has been a From Member Services article P. 4 very extensive cleanup process which goes on today.” Gowin added, “Because our building does not have sprinklers, it has a doublewalled ceiling to help prevent fire from spreading. That, in some ways, saved us from having water damage.”

The HPG staff handled the office displacement in stride and the disaster recovery plan was a big part of this.

Gowin said, “We found out early on a Sunday morning that this had all occurred and we immediately put our From 2009 - CPAmerica member firm Hagen Kurth, Perman & Co., disaster recovery plan into action. P.S., let off some steam after tax Phone calls were made which basically season by touring the Seattle told what we [knew about the fire] and Mariners baseball stadium. informed people to not go to the office in the morning. We wanted to make sure that our people knew at least that much and that they were getting a touch from us. Really, it was first a shock and also a thought of [being able to get the things we needed] because of deadlines that were approaching. Because we were See Disaster Recovery, continued on page 2

Anglin Reichmann Snellgrove & Armstrong P.C., merges with Bloomer, Geri & Company As part of its long-term strategic growth plan, Anglin Reichmann Snellgrove & Armstrong P.C. (Anglin CPAs), has merged with Pensacola, Fla.-based firm Bloomer, Geri & Company. The combined firms will operate under the name Anglin Reichmann Armstrong.

consulted with Bloomer, Geri & Company on a transition plan.

This included research and recommendations for the firm to explore several potential sale or merger options. Ultimately, they determined that Anglin CPAs matched their transition goals the best.

The merger will provide service expansion opportunities in the Pensacola market while retaining the leadership and boutique tax consulting services that Bloomer, Geri & Company is known for. Anglin CPAs will maintain an office in Pensacola which will offer tax services and also services in audit and assurance, business solutions and IT solutions.

“Anglin offers the expanded services our clients were asking for. Their culture and fee structure are very similar to ours. We are also on the same page regarding transition of clients and my role in the upcoming years,” said Donna Bloomer, CPA, managing partner. “I am excited about the future for our team and clients in Pensacola.”

For the past four years, practice advisor Gary Adamson, CPA,

Bloomer will stay in her position as firm managing partner

Anglin CPAs, continued on page 2

CELEBRATING:

Disaster Recovery, continued from front page

getting different timetables from different sources, employees had to figure out if they had the resources to [complete their jobs]. We knew everyone had the capability through our system to work from anywhere with [nearly] any technology.”

For many employees, it was a matter of not having to travel to the office; however, they needed to rearrange their client and team interactions. Gowin said, “The fire did not really affect our team very much. We had to figure out things like how to get client information and our mail. The majority of the team just took it and ran with it. They already had the technology at home and we were able to keep gliding along. It took more effort getting our administrative team set up and get them in the right space with the right resources. Even today, much of the team has adapted very well. The fire did not affect our auditors because they are not in the building much in the first place. From my perspective, it has been a great learning experience.”

The first big hurdle was dealing with the logistics and how the firm was going to get everything in place to start running again. We asked Pittman about the recovery timetable. He said, “The morning of the fire, I was told [the recovery] would take two days. Two days later, I was told it would take another two weeks. Two weeks later, I was told it would take another four weeks. Roll that forward and we are still not back in the building.

It will probably take around three and a half months.”

Gowin went on, “The first day after the fire, we were not allowed back into the building because the carbon monoxide levels were too high, so it took a couple of days before people could go back in. Even then, everything looked clean, but if you rubbed your finger on something, it came back black. At first we were told there were special teams that would go in and clean every surface.

What ended up adjusting our timetable was having the building’s insurance [company] come in and [determine] that cleaning was not enough and that things were going to need to be replaced.”

HPG learned quite a bit from this whole ordeal. Pittman said that “going through this process, a disaster recovery plan should probably include some minimal physical equipment [portion regarding printers, scanners, etc.] and office space. We did a lot of scrambling trying to figure this out. As a one-office CPA firm, we had no other place to do anything. If you have multiple offices, you can shift back and forth, but we didn’t have that luxury.”

This is part 2 of the 411 Meetings article from the Oct. 2018 Advantage issue. To read part 1, go to: https://tinyurl.com/y82h9vz6

... We have also led a blood drive the last three years that includes reaching out to the bank and other businesses in our building and local chamber. The firm tries to do two or three events each year.”

It is evident that Swink feels that the idea of transparency is important for a firm. He mentioned that “It strengthens that sense of unity and teamwork. When people are aware of what is going on, it makes them feel like they are more a part of the team, more a part of the firm family.”

The firm has steadily been conducting the 411 meetings for years, so there must be benefits that have come about. We asked Swink to elaborate and he said, “The obvious [benefit] is the strengthening of our team, but the 411s also enhance the interpersonal development between all the team members. As owners and members of the executive team, when we share information, we then sometimes get feedback which is valuable to us. It empowers our people when they feel like they know what is going on. I want to add that it is Kim Russo (Director of HR and Firm Administrator at the firm) that has been running these 411 meetings for the last several years. Kim was instrumental in getting them off the ground and does a great job of putting together the agenda for each meeting.”

Whether it is getting employees involved in personnel searches, finding out what people think about new company software, or sharing prospect updates, the 411 meetings help leverage the connections of the people who work at the firm. Looking to the future, we wondered how Swink sees the 411 meetings evolving. He said, “I do not think we are looking at a radical change. They tend to evolve based upon what is going on with the firm and the people in the firm. The evolution and big impact of these meetings is that they really do a lot to strengthen the future leaders of the firm through encouraging an environment of openness and transparency. It empowers the entire team through seeing how this sharing benefits us all. We will, at times, ask one of our younger people to present on a short topic. This is great experience for them because they are presenting among friends.”

Swink finished by saying, “The big concept is the strengthening of the team and sharing of our vision and plans. As business owners, we tend to share at the top level, while in fact, the entire team likes to know not only the big items, but also … the little things that are going on at the firm. This allows for everyone to feel more connected to the organization.”

Anglin CPAs, continued from front page through the business transition. She anticipates retiring with the option of a part-time consulting position within the next five to 10 years. Owner and Operations Executive Manager, Jeanette Geri, will likely retire earlier than Bloomer while Steve Schickel, CPA, will remain a partner based in Pensacola.

Gowin added, “One thing that I have realized, our disaster recovery plan had a portion that dealt with contacting our vendors, but we did not have an actual list of all our vendors and their contacts. It took a couple of days to gather the business team and reach out to our [couriers, food and beverage vendors, postal carriers and shippers],

The Pensacola area is an emerging growth market, according to Anglin CPAs Managing Partner, Gary Anglin. “We see many opportunities for a presence in Pensacola, in particular expanding our services in government contracting,” he said. “We also respect the depth of tax consulting and knowledge that Bloomer, Geri & Company have developed among their professionals, specifically estate and gift tax consulting. We are looking forward to learning from each other.”

This was part one of two of the Disaster Recovery article.

Part two will be printed in the next Advantage newsletter.

For more information, visit: www.anglincpa.com

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CELEBRATING:

Member News Harper & Pearson Company, P.C. announce Haim promotion to principal Donna Haim, a CPA at Houston, Texasbased , with more than 14 years in public accounting and client service experience, has been promoted to principal. Haim’s areas of focus include: high DONNA HAIM net worth individuals, corporations, partnerships, and tax exempt organizations. Haim works with a variety of individuals and businesses providing assistance with tax planning and compliance.

Frazier & Deeter adds transaction advisory partner

Atlanta, Ga.-based ,a nationally ranked public accounting and advisory firm, announced that Tim Koch has joined the firm as a partner who will be leading the firm’s Transaction Advisory Practice.

Koch was most recently a partner at a top 25 CPA firm, where he was a lead transaction advisory partner focused on middle market buy-side and sell-side transactions for private equity and corporate clients. Koch has participated in transactions that have had TIM KOCH enterprise values ranging from millions to over one billion dollars.

Many of his transactions have involved companies with cross-border operations.

Koch has significant senior executive experience, including being the CFO and executive committee member for a large privately held business.

Koch has a bachelor's from Western Michigan University and is a graduate of the University of Chicago’s Advanced Business Advisor Program. He is a licensed CPA in the state of North Carolina and a member of the Association for Corporate Growth.

Alabama member firm Aldridge Borden & Company announces seven promotions

The partners of recently announced that Corey Savoie was named a partner of the firm.

Savoie began his career with Aldridge Borden in 2006 and has been instrumental in growing the firm’s OneSource Department.

Additionally, Tracy Cleckler has been promoted to audit principal; Amanda Hines to audit manager; Joe Mills to OneSource manager; Jay Fain to IT senior; Lindsey Oswalt to tax senior and Holly Lord to OneSource onboarder.

McGowen, Hurst, Clark & Smith, P.C. promotes Wendy Moran to partner Member firm

, recently announced the promotion of Wendy Moran, CPA, from director to partner overseeing assurance within the company. She will continue to work from the firm’s West Des Moines office location.

Moran graduated from Iowa State University with WENDY MORAN her bachelor's and master’s in accounting. She joined the firm in 2015 and is among a group of eight partners at the firm. She will continue to specialize in audits, reviews, agreed-upon procedures and consulting engagements related to financial statements and controls. The firm works with over 5,300 clients that are among several different industries including transportation, non-profit, distribution and contractors that Moran will focus her time.

Schaus honored with the 2018 Women to Watch Award

The Colorado Society of Certified Public Accountants, in collaboration with the AICPA, honored Leslie Schaus of

LESLIE SCHAUS

, with the 2018 Women to Watch Award. Schaus was recognized as a Leader of Note for her leadership and notable contributions to the accounting profession, dedication to improving the workplace and mentorship of others.

Servodio honored by the Girl Scouts of the Jersey Shore

Kelly Servodio, credentialing coordinator at CG Healthcare Solutions, LLC (an affilliate of ), was recognized as a Phenomenal Woman Under 40 by the Girl Scouts of the Jersey Shore at a special event in Point Pleasant, N.J. As one of the Phenom’s in Monmouth and Ocean counties, this award recognizes 11 exceptional women who go above and beyond in business growth, professional excellence and community service.

With almost 10 years’ experience in the medical industry, Servodio manages credentialing for all of CG Healthcare Solutions, LLC’s client medical practices.

She graduated from Felician University with a dual bachelor’s in English and psychology.

Thomas Howell Ferguson P.A. CPAs promotes Stephen Andrews and Brandon Mott to director (THF), headquartered in Tallahassee, Fla., congratulates Stephen Andrews on his promotion to director in the Tax Services Department and Brandon Mott on his promotion to director in the Assurance Services Department.

Andrews received his bachelor’s and master’s in accounting from Florida State University and recently received the “Golden A.C.E. Award” for the Top 20 Under 40 in the finance category from the Tallahassee Network of Young Professionals.

Mott received his bachelor’s in accounting from Carson-Newman College. Both are CPAs and members of the AICPA and the Florida Institute of Certified Public Accountants (FICPA).

Gollob Morgan Peddy announces promotions and designation

, a Tyler, Texas-based member firm, announced the continued growth of their firm with the following staff promotions.

GMP promoted Gregory Parker, CPA, to tax manager. He graduated from University of Texas at Tyler and received his CPA certification in 2014. The firm also promoted Taylor L. Mathews, CPA, to accounting specialist in the Oil and Gas Department. He graduated from Baylor University with a degree in finance. Kasey Harlinski, CPA, was promoted to audit supervisor. Harlinski graduated summa cum laude from LeTourneau University and received her CPA certification in 2017.

She is a member of the AICPA and TSCPA. GMP also announced that William Courington has received the Chartered Financial Analyst® (CFA®) designation.

The CFA charter is the most recognized investment credential in the world, representing a tradition of upholding the highest standards of education and integrity in the investment profession.

Andrew Steel selected member of Leadership North Carolina (LNC)

, a N.C.-based CPA and accounting firm, announced that Andrew Steel, CPA, tax manager, has been selected as a member of Leadership North Carolina Class XXVI. Each year, LNC selects committed individuals interested in learning more about their state and connecting with fellow leaders. Through innovative programming, LNC teaches these engaged citizens about the challenges and opportunities facing North Carolina and offers tools to turn their knowledge into action for the benefit of the state.

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From Member Services: Growing Your Firm and Developing Staff With CPAmerica Events B y t he t i me you read this article, the 2018 CPAmerica Tax Conference may already be underway.

From t he open i ng keynote presentation by Nina Olson (National Taxpayer Advocate to D'Yãn Davis Director of the IRS), to exploring the Member Services mysteries of new Section 199a deductions, the record-breaking number of tax conference attendees are certain to walk away with enhanced technical expertise as well as having developed new and meaningful professional relationships.

Attendance at CPAmerica meetings and events inspires participants to jump-start their career with new ideas and cuttingedge techniques. Member networking opportunities such as the welcome reception or evening social events, ensure that attendees' personal and professional development extends to every facet of the event. Whether it is over coffee at a morning break or during an in-depth discussion at a member sharing session, attendees can make essential connections with peers and member experts throughout the country.

Since CPAmerica events are memberdriven services, each meeting is designed with relevant and timely content to provide your team with the opportunity to break away from the daily grind and hone their skills. As explained in Stephen Covey’s book, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People , professionals need to take time out from

production to “Sharpen the Saw” (habit #7) so that they are more effective and efficient when returning to the office. This is more important today than ever, given the speed with which technology is advancing and changing the face of today’s modern accounting firm.

The goal of technology has always been to make the job of an accountant a little bit easier, and that goal has extended higher with advancements in artificial intelligence (AI) and robotics that allow CPAs to transfer much of their repetitive tasks and processes to AI. This progression requires that practitioners stay up to date with technological trends and accounting software, as well as necessitates that team members not only have a familiarity with technology, but also the ability to learn new processes quickly and successfully.

The fast pace of this change can be daunting for leadership as they determine who should attend events in the coming year. Not only does CPAmerica recognize the increased pace of change within accounting firms, we also strive to provide each participant with the right content to further their career and strengthen their firm.

As members plan for 2019 CPE and meeting attendance, we encourage everyone to visit the CPAmerica website (www.cpamerica. org) and view the dates and locations of next year’s events. Reaching the next level in your career could be just a conference away.

Pa r t icipa nts ca n address pract ice management issues at the Leading Partners Retreat and Firm Administrators Roundtable (meeting in Kapolei, Hawaii in 2019); they can learn the best ways to grow and develop a firm at the Next Generation Meeting, New Partners Group, or New Leading Partners Meeting; or catch up on technical skills at either the Tax, A&A, or

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News from Your Accounting Association

CPAmerica Advantage Tucson, Arizona was the site of the 2018 Leading Partners Retreat how to overcome them in order to enable was the setting for the 2018 CPAmerica Leading Partners Retreat (LPR) this September. Trends in the accounting industry and leading change were themes at the forefront of the meeting. More than 160 CPAmerica managing partners and executive team leaders met, shared best practices and listened to industry leaders as they planned and learned techniques to successfully develop and advance their A year of planning for the annual event, led by co-chairs John Cournan of , and Mark Dreher of , made for a concentrated agenda that explored longstanding partner-related topics.

Current trends and opportunities dealing

way.

Later on, members saw Vicki Flier Hudson of spoke about one of the most important components of leadership being selfawareness and with emotional intelligence,

an ever changing business landscape with changes in tax law and regulation; technology; and even generational learned the traps in active inertia and

roadmap covering all parts of a successful M&A. Lakecia Foster of the AICPA gave the members an update on the profession and on the last day, Tom Hood of the , how to get ahead and stay ahead.

relationship with others, bring teams together, mentor high-potentials, and grow your business.

Mike Platt of had a presentation titled Setting the Course for Success: A 360 degree Review of Past, Present and Future Trends, Best Practices and Winning Ideas from the CPAmerica and IPA Financial & Operational Surveys. Platt’s session touched on the past, present and future of the profession.

leadership were only a few of the topics covered at the four-day conference.

Rik Nemanick of LLC, opened the meeting with a talk on Leading Change. Nemanick relayed his

Events Special Issue Fall 2018

Terry Putney of presenting in two parts; including M&A trends, how to make your readiness, how to admit new partners and a few must haves in your ownership alternative deal structures, how to value niches, HR consultants, and a seven-step

The LPR special event took place at Old Tucson’s Main Gate with a dinner and show

Gate to an old west cowboy welcome with guns a blarin’! Members watched an exciting stunt show and enjoyed a Wild West dinner program at the Grand Palace Hotel and Saloon.

Finally, planning was started for the 2019 LPR taking place next year in Kapolei, Hawaii, at the Four Seasons Resort Oahu at Ko Olina in September. CPAmerica looks forward to seeing you there.

Leading Partners, Firm Administrators gather in Tucson in 2018 1) Brian Malthouse (VonLehman CPA & Advisory Firm) holds court at the special event at LPR 2) Mark Perry (HCWA) and Art Winstead (DMJ & Co., PLLC) at the LPR in September 3) Blake Isobe (N&K CPAs, Inc.), right, gets involved with some serious member sharing 4) Sam Catanese (Catanese Group) and Alan Deichler (President of CPAmerica) relax at the special event 5) Michael Platt (The Platt Consulting Group, LLC) was one of the 2018 speakers 6) Sylvia Vargas (GYL Decauwer LLP); Debbie Weidner (Wallace, Plese + Dreher, L.L.P.); Tina Moore (Pease & Associates, Inc.); and Lori Zahm (Frankel Zacharia, LLC) look to the night skies

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More 2018 LPR/FAR images Jeremy Sperring (Frazier & Deeter, LLC) and Hank Wolfson (Gray, Gray & Gray, LLP) making connections at LPR

Keith Alexander, (front) partner with Hughes, Snell & Co., P.A., at one of the FAR sessions

CPAmerica Director of Member Services D’Yãn Davis (right) was always at the ready to attend to members’ questions at the event

CPAmerica’s annual Leading Partners Retreat is the

can only be done with the direction and cooperation of our members and ensures that attendees are able to continue to of having the expertise and perspective of the co-chairs during the planning process is crucial. and they represent CPAmerica’s memberLeading Partners Retreat taking place in Kapolei, Hawaii (at the 2019 Co-Chair Four Seasons Resort Oahu Greg Denning at Ko Olina) will see cochairs Jackie Cardello ( ) and Greg Denning ( PC) help make this all come together as the 2018 Co-Chair event happens on September 24-27.

John Cournan CPAmerica would also like to thank our outgoing co-chairs for 2018, Mark Dreher ( ) and John Cournan ( ) for their outstanding work in setting up the retreat in planning calls and welcoming attendees to the event was greatly appreciated by CPAmerica.

The 2018 Firm Administrators Roundtable – designed to enhance leadership skills needed to Firm Administrators Roundtable

Cardello, Denning are the 2019 co-chairs for the Leading Partners Retreat

2019 Co-Chair Jackie Cardello

CPAmerica’s Firm Administrators Roundtable

from industry speakers such as: Rik Nemanick Vicki Flier Hudson (Highroad Global Services, Inc.) spoke on growing Mike Platt (INSIDE Public Accounting) covered the and a Best of the topic of Best session; and Deann Ballard ( ) and James Rinn ( ) led a FAR Book Club on “Leaders Eat Last.” Speaker topics and member sharing content and discussions continued with Patty Kautz management best practices; Paul Leroue ( spoke on transformational leadership and on building a powerful brand; and Tom Hood (Maryland Association of CPAs, Inc.) went over CPA Firm: How to Get Ahead and Stay Ahead.

104 N. Main St.

Firm administrators act to make sure that the met and that partners and their work seamlessly. member sharing sessions that assisted the group

2018 Co-Chair Mark Dreher

leadership skills crucial for

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