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SBA Case Study: Pender Newkirk & Company

Friday, 26 February 2010 19:43

MEDIUM BUSINESS CATEGORY

Company Name: Pender Newkirk & Company

Contact: Ranco Princip, Rafael Garcia and Lesley Lanford
Website: www.pnccpa.com
Number of Employees: 57
Certifications/Affiliations: AGN International; American Institute of Certified Public Accountants; Institute of Commercial Lending Advisors; Institute of Professionals in taxation; Financial Executives International; Public Company Accounting Oversight Board; Ranked # 48 on the Bowman’s Report’s Top 100 Public Company Accounting Firms; Florida Trend Magazine’s 100 Best Companies to Work for in Florida; Tampa Bay Business Journal’s Top 25 Accounting Firms; Greater Tampa Chamber of Commerce 2008 Small Business of the year Finalist.

Year Established: 1976
Industry: Accounting

Introduction: Pender Newkirk & Company is Tampa Bay's largest locally owned accounting and business consulting firm and has been serving Florida businesses since 1976. The company includes 11 partners and provides different services including audit and assurance, valuation, tax planning and preparation, estate and trust, small business advisory etc. The company is prominently involved in National Association of Accounting firms - AGN International, a worldwide association of separate and independent accounting and consulting firms. The company over the years has not only worked towards the growth as a firm but also on the economic development of Tampa Bay region.

Sustainable Practices and Initiatives (Planet)

A firm wide recycling program is implemented to recycle paper, plastic, cardboard, glass, aluminum, printer cartridges on a monthly basis. All the computers in the office are recycled. It uses AC timers to monitor efficient use. Use of energy efficient lighting helped the company save around 30% on power consumption. Further, it purchases only recycled paper for office use. In 2005, it implemented state-of-the art software programs that allowed the company to store files electronically, receive faxes via email, utilize electronic payroll and scan documents to share with co-workers rather than creating copies. For an accounting firm which is paper intensive, this transition greatly decreased paper waste.

Economic Impact (Profit)

The recent economic downturn and head to head competition from national companies resulted in decreased revenues for the company since last year. In an effort to sustain profitability the company has been focusing on offering newer service packages to its clients to meet their needs. The company annually re-invests in the business to keep up with the latest technology. Around 50% of the company’s profits were reinvested in the business in the year 2005 to go paperless. The company sends out surveys to gauge customer satisfaction. However, the top 25 clients that account for 40% of the business are met in person to receive feedback and discuss future business.

Community Commitment (People)

External: The company financially supports various charitable organizations. A firm wide volunteer day called “Day of Sharing” is held since last two years. On this day all the employees, in coordination with United Way of Tampa Bay donate one day of community service to variety of Tampa-area social agencies and non-profit organizations. In addition to this, the company participates in a number of community events throughout the year including The American Cancer Society, Relay for Life, Junior Achievements Bowl-A-Thon and The Humane Society’s Paws on Parade etc. It also conducts Christmas giving party in which money is donated to two or three charities and the whole staff with their families takes part in the Christmas event.

Internal: Pender Newkirk was chosen as one of the 100 Best Companies to work for in Florida. As a CPA firm in Tampa it successfully transitioned its management and ownership from its founders to succeeding generations.  The current Partner Group of Pender Newkirk is made up of all second or third generation partners; every existing partner started as an employee of PNC, some even as entry level staff. Currently the company employs 57 full-time and 4 part-time employees. All full-time employees are offered full health and dental insurance along with $150 paid towards dependant care. Based on the employee needs, the company provides two health care options, one being a high deductible plan which provides 100% coverage and another less expensive plan that provides 90% coverage. For the well being of its employees, a counseling service is available both online and over the phone for the employees to seek help regarding family problems, mental stress etc. The company pays for continuing education, membership fee for various organizations and also for CPA licenses for its employees. It has extensive training programs for all its employees to understand the accounting curriculum and the type of work they would be doing. Auditors in particular have orientation classes to understand accounting protocols. All the employees are based out of Tampa.

Standards: The Company adheres to tax practices standards issued by IRS. For public traded companies, it follows standards set by PCAOB (The Public Company Accounting Oversight Board). PCAOB is a private sector non-profit corporation created by Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, to oversee auditors of public companies in order to protect the interests of investors. The company also adheres to State practices to maintain licenses. This requires the company to maintain training records, attendance records and documents pertaining to quality. The company internally reviews the standards annually and once in every 3 years an outside party reviews company’s standards.