About Horrigan & Company CPA’s, P.C.
The Initial Vision…
In 1995, when George Horrigan founded Horrigan & Company, CPA’s he envisioned a “one stop shopping” CPA firm where both individuals and businesses could obtain the complete range of services that they need, but so often can not afford from larger CPA firms. Having had his own CPA firm in the past and having also worked for a large, international CPA firm, George observed that many individuals and small to medium sized businesses did not obtain the services that they so desperately need, because they just could not afford the fees of larger CPA firms. So George set out to create a CPA firm that provided the same services as large, international CPA firms provide, but a reasonable cost. The objective was to help people start and grow businesses, obtain the maximum benefits from their businesses and manage their financial resources throughout their lives.
The Vision Becomes Reality…
The initial services that were offered were Personal Tax Preparation, Business Tax Preparation and various Accounting Services. Thereafter, additional value-added services offerings were added on a year-by-year basis.
One such service offering was the addition of QuickBooks® and Peachtree® systems consulting. George felt that small and medium sized businesses needed experts to support them with their accounting software. Besides the features and functionality of a financial application, one of the missing ingredients was the lack of accounting knowledge by many small and medium sized business owners. “We added consultants that knew accounting, knew QuickBooks® and Peachtree®, and who also had solid people skills. These consultants could go into a business, install, configure, implement, train, support, consult on and then conduct monthly, quarterly and year-end analyses of the businesses’ books.
This approach was a huge benefit for our clients. Our clients got started on the right path from the start, they were taught what they needed to know about accounting and we would simply build on this knowledge over time”, says George. Since then, other higher end accounting systems have been added as supported accounting software, and a number of employees at Horrigan & Company CPA’s have become Certified QuickBooks ProAdvisors®.
In the mid 1990’s additional personal financial planning, investment planning, retirement planning, estate planning, insurance planning, senior care planning, education planning, Section 529 planning and budgeting services were added to the firm because clients were continually asking for help in managing their financial resources. In addition to already being a Certified Public Accountant (CPA), George also became a Certified Financial Planner (CFP), obtained the AICPA’s financial planning certification, CPA/PFS (Personal Financial Specialist) and became a Registered Investment Advisor (RIA).
The Vision Grows…
Next, because business owners were regularly asking for assistance with various business issues, Entity Planning (the form of business under which you operate your business, e.g., S-Corporation, C-Corporation, LLC…), Business Financial Planning, Business Retirement Planning, Business Insurance Planning, Compensation Planning, Fringe Benefit Planning (by the way, there are 75 Fringe Benefits that you can run through a business), Long Term (Strategic) Planning, loan acquisition assistance for bank loans and SBA loans, Incentive Compensation Planning and Succession Planning were added as services in the mid 1990’s.
In 1996 Business Valuation services were added to the firm’s offerings. George became a Certified Valuation Analyst (CVA) and business valuation services were offered in the following areas: buying or selling a business, divorce situations, family limited partnership (FLP’s), estate planning, buy-sell agreements, ESOP plans and various other situations. A second Certified Valuation Analyst (CVA) joined the firm in 2000.
Lastly, in the late 1990’s, Business Planning and Consulting were added as a service that Horrigan & Company, CPA’s provides. These Business Planning and Consulting services have evolved to become a unique service named Structure of Success™, which is designed to allow a business to, as George puts it, “take the business to the next level”. These services allow businesses to grow larger, grow faster, to be more profitable and yet make the business easier to operate. George has observed that “is ideal for business owners who want to solve real world problems and take their business where they want it to go”. These services show clients how to develop a Vision for their business, identify the business’ Critical Success Factors, create a comprehensive and living Strategic Plan for the business and then provide for the Implementation of and execution of the business’ Strategic Plan.
Additional business planning services that have been added include, Monthly meetings to review a business’ Strategic Plan and its implementation to make sure that the business is keeping on target, Individual Coaching and Peer Group Coaching for business owners and/or their managers to ensure that the business is staying the course and a service that provides an objective assessment of where your business is currently at to determine if your business is on the right road (an Operational Assessment®).
The Vision for the Future…
“We have a very solid team in place with which provide services to allow our clients to live the type of life that they have only before dreamed about in the past”, says George. “I’m very proud of our team, and who we are as a CPA firm.” In summary, this vision has allowed Horrigan & Company, CPA’s to create the service offerings and obtain the skilled personnel to allow individuals, businesses and business owners to achieve their goals in life.
