If you are contemplating where to spend your career you must hear John Bly’s message. Midsize firms - local and regional firms, are awesome places to work and becoming a partner is often highly lucrative. John Bly is on a mission to spread the word that you should consider midsized firms for your career, and he will share his own experience as well as stories from other firm owners and partners on why they have chosen to work in and lead midsized firms. Part of Accountingfly Meet the Firms Week. Learning Objectives • Why work in a midsized firm from stories of partners who have loved this career path • Why it’s worth waiting to become a partner of a midsized firm • Why midsized firms are great places to work, including pay, balance and flexibility, being a leader in your community

1. Why Work In Midsized
Public Firms?
John Bly
CPA, CVA, CM&AA, CGMA
www.LBAHS.com

2. WHO AM I?
www.LBAHS.com
JOHN BLY
CPA, CVA, CM&AA, CGMA
Series 7 & 66 Licenses
Bryant University: 2001, BSBA Acct & CIS
University of Denver: 2002, MST
Price Waterhouse Cooper: 2002-2005
LBA Haynes Strand, PLLC: Founder & Co-Managing Partner
M&A Experience: Speaker & Author of “Cracking the Code”

3. LBA HAYNES STRAND, PLLC
Focused on $1-50M Entrepreneurial Businesses & Their Financial Needs
www.LBAHS.com
• Services
– Tax: Individual, Business, Estate
– Audit: Non-Public Companies
– Internal Audit
– Outsourced Accounting
– M&A
– Business Valuations
– Investment Banking
– Wealth Management
• Size
– 72 employees
• Locations
– Matthews, NC
– Mount Airy, NC
– Greensboro, NC

4. CPA FIRMS IN THE U.S.
www.LBAHS.com
• 44,000 in the United States
• 33,000 are sole practitioners
• Less than 500 have more than 60 employees

5. LIFE OF A MIDSIZED PARTNER
www.LBAHS.com
• Client-focused
• Decision-making Authority
• Entrepreneurial
• Business Development
• Compensation Range $250-550K
• Life/Work Balance Freedom

6. FLEXIBILITY
www.LBAHS.com
• Freedom
• Don’t have to move family
A lot of firms expect you to
move in order to work your
way up.
• No extensive travel

7. RELATIONSHIP W/ THE CLIENT
www.LBAHS.com
• Develop a real friendship
Trust, Loyalty, Referrals
• See the actual effects on the business
Growth
• Contact at early stage of career

8. Marketing & Business Development
www.LBAHS.com
• Gain a better grasp on how small
businesses run
• Opportunity to build from the ground up

9. SYSTEMS & PROCESSES
www.LBAHS.com
• Input
• Feedback
• Development

10. DEVELOP YOUR SKILLS
www.LBAHS.com
• Wider range of tasks available
• Work on Audit, Tax, & Accounting
• Bigger firms want you to stick to your expertise or
specific skill path
• Encouraged to work/see different fields
• Partner Contact

11. ACCESS
www.LBAHS.com
• Access to key decision makers at the firm
level
– Partners
– Managers
– Directors

12. Significantly Entrepreneurial
www.LBAHS.com