BKD grows by leaps, bounds, mergers

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When June blossoms this year, so will Baird Kurtz & Dobson as it merges with Olive LLP to become the eighth largest CPA and consulting firm in the country.|ret||ret||tab|

Since BKD was founded as an accounting business in 1923, it has merged with about 80 other firms. The thinking behind the series of mergers can be traced in part to the firm's first managing partner, Hearld Ambler, who retired in 1986. Merging with similar companies provides more opportunities for employees, Ambler said. With such opportunities, an employee is less prone to take his carefully crafted and company-trained talents elsewhere, he added. |ret||ret||tab|

Ambler, first as administrative partner in 1971, then managing partner in 1976, said his job was partially focused on developing people. "You've got to find the right talented people, do a little screening, so that you don't keep the people who aren't what you want. Then you work and listen so that you have their interest at heart and provide the opportunities they are looking for."|ret||ret||tab|

That's where mergers come in, the first in 1969. "The firm needed to get more substance. We needed to concentrate our efforts on how we ... broaden our sphere and provide opportunity," Ambler said.|ret||ret||tab|

BKD now boasts nearly 1,000 employees, including 130 partners or principals, according to Jennifer Ailor, director of communications. Once it merges with Olive LLP, the 18th largest CPA firm in the nation, it will acquire 500 new employees, including nearly 70 new partners. Annual revenues are expected to exceed $200 million once the companies merge, which increases BKD's income by 61 percent. It will have offices in 11 Midwestern states.|ret||ret||tab|

Founded in Kansas City and Joplin by three CPAs William Baird, Wade Kurtz and Claire Dobson the company grew slowly until the late 60s and early 70s, Ambler recalled. The first merger experiment in the early 50s, with a Colorado firm, didn't work out, he said. |ret||ret||tab|

Ambler, who had worked for BKD in Joplin starting in 1948 when the Springfield office also opened, came here two years later. He said Dobson was the visionary for the company "the one who ran the whole thing. Baird was simply a tax man." Kurtz died before Ambler joined the company. |ret||ret||tab|

"Dobson was pushing the firm to get going and after the ceasing of fire of World War II, some of the men came back and he had some manpower to do some things." |ret||ret||tab|

The company concentrated only on accounting services then, he said. "We did about anything whatever came in the door. Originally we did auditing and tax work and didn't try to specialize or help firms in a special industry." |ret||ret||tab|

In the mid-'50s, Dobson had a stroke, and the momentum ceased until 1967 when, at Ambler's urging, BKD joined The American Group, a national association of CPA firms. . |ret||ret||tab|

"I thought we needed to be able to talk to other people and through them we got some ideas," Ambler said. " The whole industry started changing. We got into the banking field (today serving 500 financial institutions).There were (others) who did hotel/motel services." |ret||ret||tab|

The company's first merger was really a quasi-merger in Fort Smith, Ark., where BKD bought out a deceased member's partnership. His brother, also a partner, decided to stay and merge with BKD bringing 10 new employees with him. "It was a big step," Ambler said. Along the way to further expansion, "We made a few relatively substantial mergers. The St. Louis office was one we didn't have and it was a pretty good size. Then we had the merger with Bowling Green, Ky., and a Wichita firm. But they wouldn't be (considered) large today."|ret||ret||tab|

Why would firms want to merge? "They lack the leadership," Ambler said. "They're good at taking care of their clients' work, but not good at managing their own business." He found his biggest challenge was keeping partners from jumping ship and working together. As with professionals such as doctors, or lawyers, ego is an issue, Ambler said. "(They) All consider themselves very capable and talented people. It really gets down to a tough thing to say who's going to run it, because they all want to run it and they get themselves into problems.|ret||ret||tab|

"BKD (now) is like a corporate organization. There's a management committee people who just spend their time in management. The managing partner is elected by the committee who is elected by the partners." That setup leaves the accountants to do accounting.|ret||ret||tab|

With its own management problems solved, BKD could concentrate on its industry, Ambler said. Its big client break came "in the 70s and 80s (when) we got involved with health organizations to a great extent. Their demands continued to broaden and we kept adding different types of services. There are RNs on the staff now." |ret||ret||tab|

BKD's main job was to help the hospitals learn how to work with Medicare. "We helped doctors with their charges. Cox (Health Systems) is a big account. In the early days when Cox was much smaller and we were much smaller we did all their books for them. As they grew that ceased, then we did their auditing work. We went into many of the problems of Medicare and Medicaid and became counselors about how they would do their billing and what they would do to divide up the institution in such a way as to satisfy Medicare." |ret||ret||tab|

The man who followed him as managing partner, James O. Glauser "was the expert" in the health care field.|ret||ret||tab|

Ambler described the current managing partner, William E. Fingland Jr., as a "dynamic mover" who in a short period of time when he was in Tulsa "developed a substantial following in the health care field." |ret||ret||tab|

BKD now serves 2,800 health care organizations throughout the country, which makes up 32 percent of its work. Other services include tax, 23 percent, assurance, 34 percent, and out-sourcing, 11 percent. |ret||ret||tab|

BKD started working in the computer area in the 60s, Ambler said, "but it really wasn't working too well." The customers "were not seeing the need to spend that kind of money for the development of those systems ... but now everybody understands the need for it," and BKD serves that industry niche as well. It also provides business valuation, human resources consulting, ISO 9000 implementation, litigation support, fraud prevention and business planning. |ret||ret||tab|

Ranked among the top 10 CPA firms in the nation, according to Public Accounting Report, BKD specializes in serving family-owned and middle-market clients, Ailor said. Clients also include large, publicly traded entities, government entities, not-for-profits, and individuals. BKD counts 20 clients registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission.|ret||ret||tab|

The merger with Olive LLC will complement the services BKD already provides. It has two corporate finance and investment advisory subsidiaries. BKD also has three wholly owned subsidiaries. BKD Financial LLC assists companies with corporate finance services, including mergers, acquisitions, sales management buyouts, employee stock ownership programs, financing and initial public offerings. BKD Investment Advisors LLC provides investment management services including financial planning, asset management, portfolio management consulting and investment advisory services for qualified business plans. BKD Foundations provides BKD communities with financial support and a commitment of time. |ret||ret||tab|

BKD is a member of Moores Rowland International, the 10th largest group of independent accounting firms in the world. |ret||ret||tab|

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