Move Forward!
Tom Luken, CPA, President email | bio
January 2012
Similar to our state motto, our firm mantra is "Move Forward." While the economy and marketplace continue to present challenges and obstacles, it is our ongoing objective to help our clients achieve their current and long-term financial goals. 2011 was a year full of achievements at Kolb+Co. Collectively, these achievements have better equipped our talented team of professionals to provide timely, quality and efficient service to our clients in furthering these goals.
In January, we implemented "lean" in our business tax return process to improve efficiencies and the cost-effectiveness of our tax compliance services. This exercise streamlined the tax return preparation process by reducing the duplication of efforts between our clients' staffs and the Kolb+Co. audit and tax teams. We leveraged workflow software to keep projects moving smoothly throughout our internal systems, and we added an element of "green" by introducing paperless steps into the process. The success of this initiative has encouraged us to extend lean to our audit, individual tax return and business development processes in 2012.
Our national and global capabilities expanded in 2011 through the merger of IGAF Worldwide, Polaris International and Fidunion. This new global association of independent accounting firms, IGAF Polaris, has member firms in 89 countries on all continents around the world. Kolb+Co. has been a long-standing, active member of IGAF Worldwide, and we are excited that this merger will provide our clients with access to "local" experts who can answer questions, provide advice and deliver quality and timely service on a personalized basis.
In recognizing that the barriers to international trade for private businesses are shrinking at an accelerating pace, Kolb+Co. held its first international business seminar in June. IGAF Polaris partners from three member firms in Europe joined Mark Sobczak, Kolb+Co. Auditing and Accounting Shareholder, on a panel facilitated by John Kielich, Managing Director of Kolb+Co. M&A Advisers, for an insightful discussion on doing business in Europe. Dale Elliott, former CEO of Snap-on, kicked off the program with a keynote presentation on the cultural nuances of doing business in Europe. Mark your calendars as we plan to hold our second international seminar on May 8, 2012. Doing business in Canada and Mexico will be the topic of the 2012 seminar.
In spring, we unveiled our redesigned website, www.KolbCo.com. The website is built to provide resources to our clients, prospects, prospective employees and business colleagues. It offers a repository of articles from our monthly newsletter, the Adviser; tax informational resources; whitepapers; technology training course information and registration; and information and registration for our educational seminars. We hope that you find this information helpful.
Now in its second year, our Volunteer FORCE (Focus on Raising Community Engagement) program continued to provide community volunteer and outreach opportunities for our employees, their families and friends of the firm. Our group participated in, or coordinated activities with, the Waukesha County Historical Society and Museum, Food Pantry of Waukesha County, Brookfield Rehabilitation & Specialty Care, UPAF, Milwaukee Rescue Mission, Milwaukee County Parks, Children's Hospital of Wisconsin, Ronald McDonald House, United Way and the Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Milwaukee.
In May, we held our second annual, firm-wide Volunteer FORCE Action Day. The firm closed for a half-day to allow all employees to volunteer at the YMCA Phantom Lake Camp. Kolb+Co. employees raked leaves, cleared trails, trimmed trees, cleaned out fire pits, moved bunk beds out of storage and into cabins, and assembled a large mailing for the camp. In total, we were able to donate over 300 hours of work to the camp. Christina Rye, Summer Camp Director, said "It's amazing to walk through the camp and see the results of all of your hard work. We are very grateful that you came out for your volunteer day. It's fantastic that you give back to the community the way you do." I'm very proud of what our team accomplished in 2011 and look forward to our Volunteer FORCE activities in 2012.
An annual highlight for our employees and shareholders is being honored with local and national awards. In 2011 we received the Accounting Today's national "Best Accounting Firms to Work For" award, the MMAC's "Alfred P. Sloan Award for Business Excellence and Flexibility," the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel's "Top Workplace Award," and Waukesha County Business Alliance's "2011 Top 10 Businesses of the Year Award." We are committed as a firm to maintaining a workplace culture that supports both employee career achievement as well as Kolb+Co. client service objectives.
As we look forward to the next 12 months, we know that our good fortune of this past year has not come by accident but rather from the loyalty of our clients, the hard work and dedication of our employees and the extraordinary support of our business colleagues. Please join me as we "Move Forward" and toast the successes that await all of us in 2012! Cheers!