Family First

From the Nov. 2007 Issue

Ryan McCowan pretty much always knew he would be an accountant. From his memories
as a little boy helping out in the hardware store his grandpa had started in
1935, and continuing to work there through high school, it was always Ryan’s
job to help manage the books. So with an apparently incurable case of write-up-itis
in his blood, when Ryan finally headed to college at the University of Kentucky,
an Accounting major was a foregone conclusion. After graduating in 1993, he
chose to return to his hometown of London, Kentucky, about 75 miles south of
Lexington.

After working for an established CPA practice for a few years, Ryan partnered
with another local CPA, Steve Greene, to found Greene & McCowan, CPAs (www.gmccpa.com).
The practice, now in its ninth year, has a total staff of five that includes
two payroll clerks and an accounting clerk, in addition to the principals. Although
small in number, the firm has a fairly large client base, specializing in providing
accounting, planning and tax services to S-Corps,
contractors, banks and individuals. The firm’s most notable strength,
however, is in its payroll services, which include about 60 payroll runs that
result in more than 150,000 paychecks and pay deposits per year. In all, Greene
& McCowan, CPAs services more than 400 individual clients and nearly 200
business entities, nonprofits and trusts.

“Advances in technology have made it possible for us to provide a lot
more services to our clients, far more than what a small firm could have done
even 10 years ago,” according to Ryan, who received his CITP credential
from the AICPA, noting his professional technological capabilities. With Ryan
leading the practice’s technological charge, the firm has been near the
forefront in implementing tools that Ryan sees as productivity enhancing. Every
workstation in the office has dual monitors, the practice uses an integrated
professional accounting and tax system from a single vendor, and clients have
access to secure Internet portals for retrieving tax documents and collaborating
on payroll tasks. And Ryan’s programmer brother Kyle helped developed
a bridge to import client data into their payroll system.

All
of Ryan’s bookkeeping clients use a hosted (a.k.a. web-based) accounting
system that shares data with the professional system, allowing staff at the
firm to always be in control and better service clients. Even though the practice
is located in a generally rural area, it received an outstanding score of 430
on the Productivity Survey, a free online tool that helps public accounting
firms identify strengths and weaknesses in their technology usage. Any practice
can take it at www.cpatechadvisor.com/productivity.

This remote access capability has enabled the practice to serve clients in
four states, and to develop a core client base of several franchisees of the
world’s largest burger joint. In all, these franchises have more than
65 locations, but technology has allowed Ryan’s practice to provide accounting
and tax services to them.

With such success on the technology front, it would be easy to imagine Ryan
as a working stiff focused only on his practice. And technology is a personal
hobby of his, too, from his pocket-sized OQO 02 mobile computer, to programs
that help people be more productive. “I just really love anything that’s
technology-related and like to talk with other people and other professionals
about how these things can help them.”

But labeling Ryan as a working stiff only focused on his practice is about
as far from the truth as you can get. This past tax season, everyone in the
office was out the door by 5:00, including the firm’s partners Ryan and
Steve. “It was really the smoothest tax season yet, but that’s the
result of how we’ve used technology to make us more productive,”
he said. “When I was with a larger CPA firm, we could be in the office
until 8:00 or 9:00 during tax season, and that just doesn’t allow you
to spend enough time with your family.”

Sometimes things can get a little backed up, but remote access lets him work
from home if he has to. “It’s a huge advantage and change in personal
life to be able to do that — there just isn’t any real reason to
be in the office that late anymore.” In addition to accessing files online,
he just had his phone system set up so that he can answer his office phone from
home … if he wants to. “I can also use caller ID to decide whether
I want to answer it.”

Ryan and his family live on an acre located on the farm of his wife Amy’s
family, so when he turns off his laptop, there are always plenty of things to
do. And since both of them grew up in London, there are usually plenty of other
family members around, too. Whether working outside, swimming in the pool with
his twin daughters Whitney and Ashley, or going to nearby Laurel Lake with family
and friends, the McCowans love to spend time together, sometimes with a little
healthy competition. This proud father even thinks he sees competitive swimmers
in his daughters. They also take occasional road trips to Orlando and other
fun places, and will be heading to Hawaii in November, where Ryan will be speaking
at a conference. The subject: Paperless payroll and how to manage a tech savvy
firm.

While football isn’t as big for Kentucky alums as basketball is, Ryan
has been cheering on UK’s football team, which is in the midst of its
most successful season in years. He also tries to attend basketball games at
Rupp Arena in Lexington. Ryan is also active at the Corinth Baptist Church in
London and is one of the coordinators of the local AWANA program, which provides
Bible-based training for children, youth and teens. He is also treasurer of
the local Gideon’s camp and participates in placing bibles in area hotels.

To Ryan, his accounting practice is certainly an important part of his life,
but it is not the central focus. That would be his family and faith. And his
interest in technology and other productivity-enhancing tactics at work, while
he enjoys them as a hobby, also helps him in another way. “For me, technology
has meant being able to do the other things I love, especially spending time
with my family.”

Technology