Jeff Bolton's life is filled with new discoveries and great expectations. A 34-year-old Florida CPA, Jeff manages one of the state's fastest-growing accounting firms by constantly learning and staying in step with the nation's technology-oriented "new economy."

Already, Jeff has done more in his 12-year professional career than most CPAs dream about in a lifetime. Jeff and his partners have spent the last seven years growing Daszkal Bolton Manela Devlin & Co. (DBMD), a 50-person Boca Raton firm, into one of the most dynamic and progressive accounting and consulting organizations in the nation.

Jeff's secret? He and his partners believe in teamwork, sharing client service relationships, skill sets, financial and technical resources, vision, and management. Simply put, the partners take advantage of each individual's skills and knowledge for the good of each client. Unlike most CPA firms, DBMD considers itself a "business" whose product is professional services rather than simply dispensing technical advice. They are entrepreneurs first and CPAs second - to the benefit of their clients.

Humble Beginnings
This New Jersey native obtained his degree from American University in Washington, D.C., and stayed in the Capitol area working for Laventhal & Horwath as part of its Entrepreneurial Services Group. Jeff transferred to Florida to work for L&H's tax department and to take advantage of family support, pleasant weather and the state's uncharted business climate ripe for growth.

"Michael Daszkal and I saw the South Florida market offered a great opportunity for our entrepreneurial approach," Jeff says. "We set out to create a professional service firm with old fashioned values of integrity, stability, community involvement plus a high energy, 'new economy' focus."

From the start, the firm focused on providing something extra with every compliance engagement: a unique "quarterbacking" service. To DBMD, quarterbacking means taking a broad view of each client, assisting in areas such as finance, business, law, tax, accounting, technology, marketing, profit enhancement, expense reduction, and management, with selected outside advisors from other specialties adding their contributions. This quarterbacking approach has provided DBMD with natural opportunities to expand the firm with long-time "client service partners," and offer more services in house. This "new economy" orientation has been standard for DBMD long well before the trend began to emerge in the profession.

"Most CPAs are still trying to understand today's changing environment," says Jeff. "They use traditional models and have no vested interest in changing that mindset. In fact, most practitioners find our entrepreneurial orientation counter-intuitive. This discomfort often results in the lack of change or a move toward new services that are profit-motivated instead of client service-motivated. The inflexible traditional structure has driven many younger practitioners to careers outside public accounting. In addition, the partners at many traditional firms are using consolidators as exit strategies, further alienating young entrepreneurial associates. We see the 'new economy' as an opportunity rather than a burden. Looking to the world of technology and finance, we see no limits on our ability to continue growing and achieve our goals."

Taking the Lead for the Profession
DBMD's approach to client service has been extremely well received right from the start, as demonstrated by a high retention rate of clients and staff, and the firm's tremendous ongoing growth. "We want our clients to walk out the door knowing that they cannot do better anywhere else," says Jeff. "Instead of focusing on our own profitability, we focus on what is best for the client. This orientation is appreciated by the clients, and we are often rewarded subsequently with aspects of the client's business that further expand our relationship."

Jeff and his partners also feel strongly that the bottom line isn't everything in life. "Part of my focus is to lead a balanced life, and if you're focused, you can do that," he says. "I love the business and I work very hard, but not at the expense of my family, health or social life."

Jeff feels that younger CPAs who don't think the business of accounting is exciting are missing the boat. "We're meeting very few young leaders in the profession," he says. "That disappoints me. Our firm is always on the look out for first-generation leaders who have similar characteristics to our current members. Many of the best and brightest have left the profession or chosen different directions while in school."

He adds, "We've found very few business people in our generation who are experiencing the level of prosperity and potential for growth that the partners at DBMD are experiencing in this profession. Based on this fact and our pride in the profession, we are urging young business people to choose the profession for all the right reasons. Why keep our current prosperity and future profit potential a secret?"

So, where does Jeff think he'll be by the time he's 50? He and his partners hope to lead the profession in developing new business processes for the professional services firm through the use of today's technology.

"In order for increasingly scarce talent to be used effectively in a national model, there must be a highly defined decision tree that ensures the same depth of service for each client," he says. "This process will provide the consistent ability to identify client issues and direct them to the right source of intellectual capital within a firm as a means of effectively delivering a broad range of services to each client within a multi-disciplinary practice environment. Providing the client with a strong professional services curriculum will also allow management to focus on delivering consistent, high-quality service that meets the long-term needs of clients, as well as the firm and its associates."

Jeff welcomes questions and comments to jbolton@daszkalbolton.com