CPA Success Stories

My Hopes and Expectations Were Exceeded

"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.

"Billings Increased 26%, collections 33% and profit 24%"

"Martin and I were both working at Cigna Healthcare, but missed the challenge and excitement of public accounting,” says Todd Raymond, CPA, describing how he and fellow CPA, Martin Henry, joined forces to buy their own accounting firm. “We talked about it for a year or so,” adds Martin, “and then started looking for a practice. In 2002, we acquired a firm and renamed it Henry, Raymond & Thompson. We were in business.”

Nelson Murri, CPA

I received my accounting degree in 1982 and six years later purchased the firm I had been working at since my college days. By the end of 2011, I was burned out and ready to give up. I'd had enough of employee problems. I'd had enough of too many hours of work. I just didn't see any end in sight, so the easiest thing to do was sell my practice and try something else.

Alan Braden, CPA

I have been practicing accounting in Owensboro, Kentucky for the past thirty years. I started out working for another partnership, before opening my own office in 1984. Then, about six years ago, I bought another practice, bringing my number of employees up to eight.

I followed it up with buying an additional practice in 2002, boosting the overall size by another fifty percent. With the extra stress and workload caused by the additional practice, I was overwhelmed with all the work, so after the 2003 tax season I called Sterling for their assistance.

My Billings Have Gone up an Average of 46% for 4 Years in a Row

I have owned my own practice since ‘92. While, like most practices we do some tax work, our main emphasis is on providing audits, financial statements, payroll services and consulting for our business clientele which is largely made up of financial institutions. It has grown to the point where I now have seven full-time employees and three part time and will add some temporary help during tax season.

Beth Symons, CPA

I had never intended to open my own CPA firm. Previously, I had been working at a small accounting practice where the owner was very abusive to the staff. Unwilling to continue, I submitted my notice in mid February 2004. But I didn’t want to strand the owner during tax season, so I offered to stay until May. He declined and I left two days later, at a time when most tax preparation firms had already hired extra help.

David Eck, CPA

I am now in control of my practice, setting goals and taking the steps necessary to reach them. Sterling knows exactly what it takes to build a successful accounting practice.

I’ve always been a goal-oriented person. After receiving my Masters in taxation for the University of Texas at Austin, I married my high school sweetheart and started working for one of the Big 8 (now down to the Final Four) accounting firms. Fifteen years later I opened my own practice in Amarillo, where I have been ever since.

James Sterrett, CPA

James M. Sterrett, was working as a small business consultant when he went back to school in 1986 and he got certified as a CPA in 1991.

My background was in marketing and sales, so my problem was not in getting clients, but in organizing around them to be able to provide the best service. As a business consultant and as a solo practitioner, I was sure there was some kind of workable overall system of running a business and sooner or later I would find it or codify it myself.

Jim Whittenburg, CPA

Two years ago, Jim Whittenburg knew things had to get better in his practice. "I was working all the time," he says, "but I was not making enough to support myself and my family the way I wanted to. I was spending sixty to seventy hours a week in the office but I wasn't making it. There had to be a way to make more from that much work. The office was so unorganized; I was losing things constantly."

Greg Simons, CPA

After six years of working in Big Four firms and another year in the Fortune 500, I opened my own accounting practice. Although I enjoyed my employment in the corporate world, I had always wanted to be an entrepreneur. Running my own practice was a challenge, though, particularly managing the staff. Some were not as productive as we required while others created disharmony in the practice. Since I disliked confrontations and issuing orders, the situation continued.