"I already had a good practice," says Tom Codington, a CPA from North Carolina who had been an accountant for 24 years when he called up Sterling. "But I wanted it bigger, wanted it to make more money.

"The problem was I didn't know what was holding me back. I'd tried several other things and not had much of any success. So when I saw Sterling's ad in a magazine, I sent off for their video tape and talked to them over the phone, talked to various other CPAs and made my decision. Now I find myself frequently talking to other CPAs, recommending Sterling.

"Right away I had what they call a SPEEDO* where a consultant comes to the office to help implement the management technology. The thing I liked most was that they covered such a large area that they helped us in so many areas. And I especially liked their ideas in marketing."

The statistics tell the story:

"The year before I talked to Sterling we made $325,000 in billings; the first year I worked with them we made $375,000 and this year we'll probably do $420,000."

Especially important in Tom Codington's book is the way the staff works together:

"Not that we had a problem before, but now there's more overall team work from all of the staff, just more enthusiasm and everything.

"Overall I didn't feel we had a lot of problems, but in a lot of areas where we were doing well, Sterling was able to help us do better.

"What I say to other CPAs when I talk about Sterling is this: I was very very skeptical before I had Sterling come in. I was concerned about the fee and whether it would really be worth it and we could pay for it. In the end my hopes and expectations were exceeded."

Tom Codington, CPA 

*SPEEDO = Staff Production Enhancement and Establishment by the Debug Officer