Articles by Chuck

Our market area is eastern and central Pennsylvania, with commercial clients based in Harrisburg and as far away as West Chester, Wilkes-Barre, State College, Altoona, and York. We have individual clients living in twenty states and commercial clients with operations in as many as ten states.

We offer a host of non-recurring consulting services representing 35% to 40% of our total revenue. Among those services, the most popular ones with clients in the last two or three years are business valuations, forensic accounting, litigation support, strategic planning, business succession planning, and performance-based compensation packages.

Our primary services are valued-added in that they help our clients achieve goals, improve profits, and solve problems. For some issues, we are the only go-to person for the client, and we plug them into another part of our business network for the answer/help that they need. We are routinely in our commercial account offices three times a year—after six or seven months, after nine or ten months, and after fiscal year-end. At those times, we make sure we are all on the same page regarding taxable income and book income without making formal financial statements. We challenge numbers, challenge what the client is doing in their business, and see if the company is going according to plan. We do tax planning, look for changes in corporate or personal goals, and render what business (not only financial and tax) advice we can.

There are several reasons why we have had success at this work. We tune into clients’ goals and listen to the clients about their problems and issues. Several members of our staff have business experience outside of public accounting. We have additional certifications in business valuations and forensic accounting—this kind of work is fun.

We do financial statements and tax returns of all types, which, for the most part, are viewed by clients as commodities and are price sensitive. We consider and describe financial statements and tax returns as byproducts of our primary services. Unlike most firms our size, we do not do write-up work, bookkeeping/accounting services, or payroll services.

The pandemic has been a nightmare for everybody worldwide, and indeed for nearly all businesses—large and small. Many of the small businesses are wondering if there is a light at the end of the tunnel. Or is that, perhaps, just a burning ember that has not yet self-extinguished?

Well, let me confirm that there is a light at the end of the tunnel, and you can recover. You might, understandably, wonder what my credentials for arriving at such a conclusion are. The basis for my conclusion is that I have survived at least four such ordeals during my business and personal life:

1. The Cuban missile crisis in 1962 when President Kennedy was threatening the Soviet Union with armed nuclear rockets.
2. The Susquehanna river flood of 1972 wreaked havoc on communities and businesses in central and eastern Mid-Atlantic states.
3. The meltdown at Three Mile Island (TMI) in 1979 threatened to leave much of the Mid-Atlantic states uninhabitable for 35 or more years.
4. The attacks and destruction of the World Trade Center in 2001 left millions of persons concerned about the potential for a third world war.

Your business and ours can bounce back from the Coronavirus—use the light at the end of the tunnel. Kern and Company, PC, CPAs can be a big help to you in doing that. Stay tuned to future blogs as we explore the services that we provide and the support gained by clients who turn to our firm for assistance pursuing goals and facing challenges.

When I started Kern and Company, about 40 years ago, I did so from ground zero, meaning that I did so without having any clients! I did not get started by purchasing an already existing CPA firm. I also knew that I would be competing with quite a few local CPA firms that were run by CPAs with more tax experience than I had. So, the question I had to ask myself was, “What do I offer that most, if not all, of my competitors lacked?” The answer was and is plenty of business experience outside of public accounting. 

I served on the management consulting staff of a major accounting firm serving businesses, large and small, and many different lines of products and services. I worked in and helped manage manufacturing companies, companies in retail sales, and companies in wholesale sales. I also felt competent to teach and instruct business owners, having taught at the college level as a graduate assistant at Penn State University Park and at Penn state’s Harrisburg Campus, where I also served as the head of the Accounting Department. And, of course, I am the CEO of Kern and Company, PC, a closely held company.

My partner and Chief Operating Officer (COO) at Kern and Company has experience outside of public accounting and more than 20 years at Kern and Company, PC. Our other senior management executive had extensive prior experience in the financing industry.

We really are business advisors!