My Final Practical Accountant “Editor’s Note”

As of the February/March issue of Practical Accountant, my position as editor-in-chief was eliminated. I had worked on the magazine since it was acquired in the early nineties by Faulkner & Gray, a predecessor of the current owner (Source Media), and for well over a decade, I have been lucky enough to be its editor-in-chief.

It was a long and happy run, but I didn’t get a chance to say thank you to the many people who made Practical Accountant into a magazine that I was extremely proud of leading. These individuals include the many CPAs, marketers, vendors, consultants, profession leaders, firm administrators, and technologists who willingly contributed and shared their expertise and insight. It also, of course, includes those at SourceMedia (and the prior owners of Practical Accountant) whether in production, circulation, operations, and sales that helped put out the magazine. Most of all, I want to thank all the editors and reporters who worked with me, and in particular, Jeff Stimpson. In the last few years Jeff and I did most of the articles and departments, and Jeff did an absolutely marvelous job.

As editor-chief, I saw the magazine championing small to medium size firms, acting as an information filter, and identifying and analyzing trends that would help firms grow and prosper. Jeff and I often used regional firms as role models and highlighted innovations wherever we saw them. There was a particular emphasis on business development, and in that regard we owe a tremendous debt to the members of the Association for Accounting Marketing and firm associations like the Leading Edge Alliance for their support and assistance. During my tenure as editor-in-chief and with my WebCPA columns, I attempted to be a positive force, and other than government leaders, the AICPA leadership, and those who I considered unethical, limit my criticism.

I wrote this last “editor’s note” primarily to thank those who contributed to Practical Accountant and created a substantial body of work that I think will stand the test of time. I am also writing it so I can have closure, on my terms, of that chapter in my life.

G-d Bless!