Accounting firm SingerLewak LLP recently promoted longtime staff member Jim Pitrat to be the third managing partner in its more than 50 year history. Pitrat, who joined SingerLewak in 1997 and previously served as leader of the assurance and advisory practice, ascended to the firm’s top position this month. He replaced David Krajanowski who was the managing partner for nearly 12 years, a limit set by the firm’s executive committee. Krajanowski remains with the firm in its Orange County office. SingerLewak serves multiple industries with tax, business management, advisory and other services to business and individual clients throughout Southern California and the San Francisco and Silicon Valley areas. As managing partner, Pitrat will head up operations for the firm’s six California offices, including Woodland Hills. SingerLewak employs 48 accountants and support staff in the greater San Fernando Valley region. Pitrat says his goals for the firm are to maintain its focus on serving clients, while establishing itself as a leader in every geographic area it serves and building out specialty offerings. “We want to become trusted professionals to our clients, their go-to people, if you will — the advisors they trust the most,” Pitrat said. SingerLewak’s corporate culture is to groom future leaders early to demonstrate that there are advancement opportunities and the firm accepts fresh viewpoints, Krajanowski said. “It takes away unknowns so the younger talent can say, ‘This is where I fit in,’” he added. During his tenure as managing partner Krajanowski oversaw the expansion of SingerLewak into the San Fernando Valley and Northern California. The firm added enterprise risk services, a state and local tax practice and beefed up its litigation and valuation support among other changes. Krajanowski also put into place the succession process that led to Pitrat’s succession as managing partner. That included setting the limit at 12 years so no generation of worker would be passed over and new talent would be available for the organization. That type of planning is not always in place at accounting firms. One survey of 500 firms done by the American Institute of CPAs found that while 62 percent of the recipients recognized the importance of succession planning, 81 percent of the firms did not have a written plan in place. “The results confirmed that given the number of baby-boomer CPAs who will retire in the next 10 years, the shortage of management staff and the likely buyers’ market for firms that will evolve, it is critical that practitioners begin succession planning now in order to secure their firms’ future,” the study concluded. At SingerLewak, potential leaders initially are sought through the hiring process and are developed through various training and leadership opportunities, Pitrat said. The firm also is able to retain employees longer than other firms by demonstrating a commitment to retired partners, he said. Pitrat said he hopes to grow SingerLewak either through expansion into other states or through acquisitions. “We want to grow, but we want that growth to make sense,” Pitrat said. “If a geographic area is key to one of our niches, then it is an opportunity for us, and we would entertain expansion.” The firm is actively working on a plan to identify and begin discussions with firms about possible mergers, Pitrat said. It also would be willing to listen to any offers of being an acquisition target. Regardless, he added, any deal would have to benefit SingerLewak clients and partners and be a good cultural fit for both companies, he said. CPA on Mission to Lift Economy A lot of people complain about the economy but don’t take action to improve it. Gary Barnbaum, an accountant with a practice in Woodland Hills, is speaking out for change as he pursues a noble — though very idealistic — mission to get people back to work. He calls his mission the “Add 3 Percent Movement” and is encouraging U.S. employers, especially those with 100 or more employees, to increase their workforce by 3 percent, a move he says would significantly decrease the nation’s unemployment rate. Barnbaum kicked off his social campaign in June by creating a website (www.add3percentmovement.org) that features a video about the “Add 3 Percent Movement.” The website has drawn nearly 3,000 hits as of early July, but as of July 16, no companies were listed on the website as participants — either as “joiners” or “refusers.” Barnbaum says if companies participated in the movement the result would be positive economic change: the unemployed would get back to work and corporate leaders would be viewed as good corporate citizens. “We seem to have a more selfish society than a social one that wants to do things for each other,” he said. The CPA says he is working to market the movement to a larger audience and is considering hosting public speaking engagements on the issue of unemployment and the economy. His hope is that the movement will gain traction over time and companies will begin to participate. “Most of these companies are sitting on enormous amounts of cash. Without dipping into reserves or going into the red they could do it. They can afford it,” Barnbaum said. Staff Reporter Mark R. Madler can be reached at (818) 316-3126 or by e-mail at [email protected].