This survey and award program was designed to identify, recognize and honor the best places of employment in the accounting industry, benefiting the nation’s economy, its workforce and businesses. The Best Accounting Firms to Work for list is made up of a total of 100 companies, split into three groups: 50 small-sized companies (15-49 employees), 45 medium-sized companies (50-249 employees) and 5 large-sized companies (more than 250 employees). Windham Brannon has been named one of the Best Accounting Firms to Work for in the medium category.

To be considered for participation, companies had to fulfill the following eligibility requirements:

• Be a for-profit or not-for-profit business;
• Be a publicly or privately held business;
• Have a facility in the United States;
• Have at least 15 employees working in the United States;
• Must be in business a minimum of 1 year;
• Be an accounting firm.

Accounting firms from across the country entered the two-part survey process to determine the Best Accounting Firms to Work for. The first part consisted of evaluating each nominated firm’s workplace policies, practices, philosophy, systems and demographics. The second part consisted of an employee survey to measure the employee experience. The combined scores determined the top firms and the final ranking. Best Companies Group managed the overall registration, survey and analysis process and determined the final rankings.

For more information on the Best Accounting Firms to Work for program, visit www.BestAccountingFirmstoWorkfor.com.

Congratulations to Windham Brannon! On Friday, September 16, 2011, the Atlanta Business Chronicle named WB the 13th Best Place to Work in Atlanta!

Check it out! http://www2.bizjournals.com/atlanta/events/2011/best_places_to_work/

Effective Monday, August 8, 2011, our new address will be:

3630 Peachtree Road, NE
Suite 600
Atlanta, GA 30326

Phones:
404-898-2000 (main)
404-898-2010 (fax)

If you have any questions or would like more information about these changes, please call your Windham Brannon representative at 404-898-2000.

*Please note that Windham Brannon will be moving our servers to the new location on Friday, August 5, 2011. During this time our servers will be completely down, and we will not have access to our emails or phone calls. Please expect our servers to be completely up and running no later than Monday morning. We appreciate your business, and apologize for any inconvenience this may cause you.

Current Accounts
Georgia Society of CPAs
July/August 2011

Chris Rouse, a principal of Windham Brannon, was presented with the 2010-2011 Distinguished Member Award from the Georgia Society of CPAs. 

During the past year, Chris has been committed to his role as a technical reviewer for the Society’s Peer Review Committee.  He has spent numerous hours reviewing submitted work papers for every peer review report provided by team captains.   The GSCPA adminsters approximately 400 peer reviews and he provides oversight and expertise to make sure all of the reviews meet the required standards of the  AICPA Peer Review Program. 

As a technical reviewer, Chris not only reviews the incoming reports, but adds technical notes that address the needs of the particular review and help each team captain improve his or her performance by offering on-point responses to various scenarios.

Chris has been involved in many different areas of the Society including the Accounting Institute Task Force,  Audit Committee, Trial Board, Financial Institutions Task Force, Peer Review Executive Committee and GSCPA Council.  In 2008 he was recognized by the GSCPA as the Distinguished Section Chair for his leadership of the Assurance Services Section.  He has been a member of the Society since 1971.

Premium content from Atlanta Business Chronicle – by Doug DeLoach, Contributing Writer

In a rapidly evolving and increasingly competitive marketplace, CPA firms are employing niche marketing strategies to attract and retain clients and boost business activity. By following proven techniques, firms are creating specialty service areas and targeting specific industry groups, such as nonprofits, health care, technology and gaming, and learning how to more effectively and efficiently allocate resources to generate successful outcomes.

“We’re a very mature industry in a dynamic environment,” said David Kloess, president and CEO of Windham Brannon, a CPA firm with more than 150 employees that has been in metro Atlanta since 1957.

“We’re experiencing a lot of consolidation and business is very competitive; to find organic growth in the marketplace, you need specialization,” he said.

More clients and prospects are looking for a CPA firm that absolutely understands their world, Kloess said. Today’s CPA must be intimately familiar with the latest developments in specialized industries and capable of sharing best practices within that industry based on superior knowledge and credible experience.

“The days of being a generalist are over,” Kloess said.

Niche marketing is still “a fairly new concept to partners and CPA firms,” according to Cindy Stanton, chief marketing and business development officer at Gifford Hillegass & Ingwersen LLP (GH&I).

Cindy Ethridge, internal co-managing partner at GH&I, said the firm initially got into niche marketing around 2000. Some successes were recorded, notably in the nonprofit practice group, which Ethridge heads up. But it wasn’t until 2008, when Stanton came on board, that GH&I started seeing consistent and significant results.

Stanton took up the challenge by introducing segmentation processes within the company and coordinating industry-specific sponsorships and other activities. For the last several years GH&I has partnered with the Georgia Center for Nonprofits bizWatch in various endeavors, including the organization’s annual “Nonprofit Summit,” most recently held this past May at the Georgia World Congress CenterbizWatch .

One of the keys to successfully implementing a niche marketing strategy is to follow a formalized process.

Every partner in the firm must understand where the firm is presently and where the new strategy will lead them.

“The development of niches in a firm is culture-changing,” Stanton said. “It represents a transition from the ‘partner book of business’ silo concept to a ‘one firm concept’ where teams have responsibility for building revenue and profitability at the firm.”

Typically, firms will construct a business plan for each niche.

The plan defines the service and product offerings; describes the market, including its potential; and identifies the members of the team and the leader.

The upside to embracing niche marketing can be measured in various ways. It provides a firm with a means to differentiate itself from the competition and more effectively attract the type of customers best served by its partners.

“When it’s done well, a CPA firm can become the ‘go-to’ source for a specific industry or service, which means clients and the market will drive business to the firm,” Stanton said.

Another key benefit is the way in which the practice of niche marketing helps identify and groom future leaders within the firm.

“When partners and managers serve as niche team members, they take on specific roles, responsibilities and accountability for the niche, which helps strengthen the foundation upon which a career can advance,” Stanton said.

At Windham Brannon, Cheryl Yarbrough applies 30 years of experience in public practice to her role as head of the firm’s health care consulting group.

In this capacity Yarbrough works with independent physicians associations, outpatient surgical centers, hospitals and sole practitioners, among other industry professionals and groups.

While Yarbrough primarily concentrates on health-care practices and operations, seven partners devote approximately 80 percent of their time on other aspects in support of the group’s objectives, such as tax and auditing procedures.

Yarbrough keeps up with the vast and complex world of 21st century health care by serving on governmental affairs committees, sitting in on physicians groups’ meetings (“not to give advice; just to listen”), and speaking to various industry-related groups.

“You can have accounting knowledge and you can have tax knowledge, but you really need to know the industry itself or you won’t be successful,” Yarbrough said.

Basic steps for creating a niche group

•    Construct a business plan for each niche.
•    Define the niche’s service and product offerings.
•     Describe the market, including its potential for revenue and growth.
•     Identify partner members of the team and the group leader (with skills and certifications).
•     Identify resources and the investment required to implement the plan.
•     Include a summary of the comprehensive marketing plan for the niche.

Employers can use the new standard mileage rates to reimburse employees who use their personal automobiles for business purposes.  In addition, taxpayers can use the rates to calculate the deductible costs of operating an automobile.  Alternatively, they can use their actual costs but must maintain adequate records and be able to substantiate expenses.

The standard mileage rate for services to charitable organizations is set by law at 14 cents per mile and remains unchanged.

If you have any questions or would like more information about these changes, please call your Windham Brannon representative at 404-898-2000.

The amnesty program covers corporate and personal income taxes, sales and use taxes, and other state taxes as well as taxes collected by the state on behalf of counties and municipalities.

If you have any questions or would like more information on the Colorado tax amnesty program, please call your Windham Brannon representative at 404-898-2000.

David succeeds Charlie McGimsey, who will focus his efforts on developing the Firm’s litigation support practice area.  Charlie joined the firm in 1988 and has served as President and CEO for over 14 years.

“Windham Brannon has been a part of the Atlanta community for over 50 years, and I am honored and excited to lead the firm and continue to build its legacy,” said David. “I hope to live up to the tremendous precedent Charlie has set for our firm.”

David is a graduate of the University of Alabama.  Prior to joining Windham Brannon, he was an Audit Partner with BDO Seidman, LLP, working in both the Washington, DC and Atlanta offices.

David is also heavily involved in the community, having served as Treasurer for the Midtown Atlanta Rotary Club.  He has also served on the Professional Advisory Board for the Culverhouse School of Accountancy (University of Alabama), and as a member of the Board of Directors of the American Cancer Society’s Atlanta Chapter as well as Atlanta Urban Ministries.