I took over as managing partner of Brown Smith Wallace on January 1, 2016, after leading the firm’s audit practice for 10 years. We have three offices in the St. Louis area and a total head count of 280 and growing.

We serve private companies with traditional audit, accounting and tax services and provide many of the St. Louis area’s...

“We don’t have a choice on whether we do social media, the question is how well we do it.”
- Erik Qualman

Like it or not, social media has become a mainstay on the professional landscape. The good news is social tools such as the firm’s website, Twitter feed, blog, Facebook page and...

“Why do I need succession planning?
I’m very alert. I’m very vibrant. I have no intention to retire.”
- Sheldon Adelson

Yes, it is a bit daunting to be sharing the latest succession planning news with such an illustrious group of planners. For starters, you totally understand...

The greatest strength of the internet is also its greatest weakness. Sitting at a keyboard, you can quickly access vast and valuable resources which are available at your fingertips. However, unless you are very careful, malware may tag along for the ride. Consider this scenario:

You are at work perusing email and...

I’ve practiced public accounting for over 30 years. I was a tax partner in a regional firm before launching my own boutique tax practice in Santa Fe, N.M. a few years ago.

Tax season is when I have the most contact with my clients. I love learning about what they’re doing and helping them find the best solutions to their concerns. We...

What do tax season and cupcakes have in common? Not much according to my life experience! Over the course of my 33 years in our firm, I’ve raised three kids and they always knew that Mommy didn’t make cupcakes from January 1 to April 15. But cupcakes were a priority once the last return was filed.

Now my children are grown and I’m the...

Workload compression: unfortunately, it’s a new reality in today’s firms. In this issue of Feature Focus, we are going to take a closer look at workload compression. We will start by highlighting key insights to help you gauge how your firm stacks up. Then offer proven strategies you and your colleagues can put to work in keeping it...

My dad was a shoe salesman and entrepreneur. He taught my brothers and me how to sell shoes. I financed college selling shoes. My brothers did too. Then, unlike our dad, we became CPAs. Selling shoes taught us many things. We learned about problem solving and adapting to trends. Most importantly, we learned that it’s not really about shoes at...