30th Anniverary
This month, we celebrate the 30th anniversary of the firm! Reaching this milestone has gotten me thinking about how well the firm we have created is aligned with my original vision and what has changed in these years. While I was a partner in a successful local CPA firm, I knew I wanted to serve clients in a different way and with a different focus. It was not an easy step to take at age 36 (as my wife Ellen will confirm) with our oldest of three children getting ready to start college soon. But I had a clear vision of what I thought clients needed.
Looking back at the letter I sent to clients on December 1, 1994, I wanted a firm focused on serving individuals and families with advice in the areas of financial planning, tax, and investments. Building on my CPA background, we wanted to make sure that tax planning and compliance were part of the services we offered. It was very important to provide “cutting edge strategies” and real thought leadership in the profession. We wanted to provide fee-only, objective advice to our clients. We wanted to use the latest technology to provide these services. I also wanted our staff to feel like they were part of an extended family and make sure our clients felt that too.
I think we have accomplished most of this, in spite of a dramatically changing environment. Personal financial information is certainly more available now than it was in 1994. You can get answers to any finance questions very quickly on the internet (yes, that was before Al Gore invented the internet) via your cell phone (which was still attached to my car in 1994). But the value of our services continues to be the personal connection with our clients. There is certainly more competition now as so many people provide some form of personal financial advice. The wealth that has been created over these past 30 years is significant, and our clients' lives have grown much more complex as a result.
When I started the firm, Chris was 12 years old and I don’t think he planned to be in our profession or my partner in the firm! As an engineering major at Bucknell, we were quite surprised when he told us he switched his major to accounting….without asking us. Starting his career at an international CPA firm was a great way for him to get broad experience, meet his future wife, and also realize that he wanted to help clients in the areas that we do.
An important element for me when I began to shift my focus from tax to broader financial planning issues in the mid-1980s was I knew that I needed to become a leader in the field. I went to my first AICPA Personal Financial Planning conference in 1987 and quickly became friends with the real pioneers in the CPA Financial Planning profession. I wanted to grow and share that knowledge and experience with others and get involved in our fast-growing profession at the local and national levels. That has led to a very fulfilling 40-year “career” as a volunteer leader in the profession and relationships with some of my best professional and personal friends!
My goal was to have a “family atmosphere” among our employees. While everyone feels like family, some actually are! Our staff, many of whom have been with us from close to the start of the firm, is at the center of what we do. We are all focused on serving our clients, continuing to develop our skills, and working together. While we have times that are very busy in the firm (like April 15th), working together, we get through these deadlines and find time to celebrate afterward. As we grow the firm, our hope is to continue to maintain this atmosphere to better serve our clients.
Our clients are at the center of what we do and what really gets us up in the morning. We are driven by helping them to be successful, reaching their financial goals, and addressing all of their planning issues. Our goal is to form deep relationships with them and to really understand how we can help them and their families. We thank YOU for the confidence you have placed in us! Whether you have just started working with us or you have been with us for a significant part of this journey, we value our relationship. We look forward to continuing to serve you for the next 30 years!
- Lyle K Benson Jr., CPA, PFS, CFP, AEP
The views expressed represent the opinions of L.K. Benson & Company and are subject to change. These views are not intended as a forecast, a guarantee of future results, investment recommendation, or an offer to buy or sell any securities. The information provided is of a general nature and should not be construed as investment advice or to provide any investment, tax, financial or legal advice or service to any person.