2018 Year in Review / 2019 Outlook

BY Dave Farnsworth, CPA

As we close out 2018 and we look forward to 2019, it becomes a great time to reflect on the successes of the past year and anticipate with excitement leading the way through 2019. Personally, I’m humbled and blessed to be part of the MHCS family. I continually am amazed at what our team accomplishes. We’ve all heard it, the greatest asset of any organization is its people and that is an absolute truth at MHCS.

The success of MHCS is attributed to our culture defined by our values. In 2018, McGowen Hurst Clark Smith won several awards, including #1 Top Workplace in Iowa by The Des Moines Register in the small employer category and Best Accounting Firm to Work For by Accounting Today, a national publication. These recognitions are based solely on employee feedback administered by third parties, which makes these honors extra special. Our people are truly living our values in the areas of respect, teamwork, family, and fun, which has created a great culture in which I love being a part of.

When you have a great group of people who are talented and driven, they want something more than just work. They want purpose. They want to know they are making a difference in this world. One of the ways we do this is giving back to our communities in which we live, work and play. Team members gave of their time, talents, and treasures throughout the year to multiple Iowa organizations, but emphasized our Month of Service in September in partnership with the Iowa Society of CPA’s. Our team served meals at Bethel Mission’s Hope Café and the Winterset Senior Center. We participated in Read to Succeed, a day of action through United Way, by reading to 3rd graders at DM Public Schools and were readers/testers for Winterset Elementary. In addition, we collected donations for various items for school children in Marshalltown, Ronald McDonald House Charities of Central Iowa, Children & Families of Iowa and Hope Ministries’ Bethel Mission.

In fitting MHCS style, we decided to have a little competition with our fellow team members to benefit DMARC Food Pantry. The first annual Iowa vs. Iowa State Spare Change Challenge was born. Money jars for both schools were put in our offices and the school jar with the most funds was featured at our annual Iowa/Iowa State luncheon as the decorations for the room. Iowa State’s jar raised the most funds as our seminar room was filled with cardinal and gold and Iowa was victorious on the football field, but DMARC was the real winner! In total, team members contributed over 150 volunteer hours in the month of September.

In continuing that competitive spirit, MHCS participated in the 3rd annual Des Moines Corporate Games. The corporate games is a company based competition with 25 sports and competitions for 2 months in the summer that enables and supports teamwork, company pride and corporate wellness. As defending champions, we were determined to seize the cup in 2018 and we didn’t disappoint. It was an entire MHCS team effort with gold medals awarded to the team and individuals in several events. It was a great way to build relationships outside of the office while staying active and bringing home the gold was icing on the cake.

At MHCS, we also took time to celebrate our people throughout 2018 with their accomplishments and blessings. We congratulated several team members who became certified public accountants and certified fraud examiner. We had several team members exceed expectations and promote within the firm to new positions. We welcomed a new audit partner, Wendy Moran, to our partner group during 2018. We also welcomed several new team members to the MHCS family, including new employees, their spouses and children. With these additions, we expanded to the 1st floor in our building in West Des Moines. Family has always been a key value for our firm, which is why we welcome not just the employee to the firm, but their entire family is now a part of our family.

The year also brought new opportunities and new relationships with clients and people in our community. New tax legislation was passed in early 2018, representing the most significant tax reform this nation has seen since 1986. With issues in understanding how the legislation was going to impact our clients, our team members were up to the challenge and seized the opportunity. We significantly increased our speaking engagements to inform our clients and business communities of the sweeping changes. We provided thought leadership on difficult topics to display the talented expertise we have working at MHCS. We increased our social media presence and launched our company YouTube channel. We continued to be innovative in 2018, implementing new technologies to help improve the client experience and become more efficient in our processes so that we can continue to focus on our clients’ needs. With this increase in shared knowledge with our communities, we have deepened our relationships with our clients and have been able to forge new relationships for years to come.

As we look to 2019 and beyond, we are excited for all the opportunities to continue to make MHCS the firm of choice for our team, clients and communities. We are excited to be launching our new brand, which includes our new website, offering online payment for clients, and opening an online corporate store. We will provide a dynamic, collaborative and inclusive firm that provides clear opportunities for personal growth for our team. We will be implementing new initiatives, that include a Year of Impact and Year of Wellness to compliment the Year of Service efforts.

Most importantly, we are looking forward to the upcoming tax and audit season to see so many clients and friends of MHCS. We will continue to stay ahead of the new tax laws and educate our clients on the impact to their businesses and personal situations. We will strengthen our partnerships with our clients and our network to allow us to serve as hands-on advisors and connectors, helping our clients solve challenges and capitalize on opportunities. As a firm, we will be innovative, change-ready and forward-looking. Throughout 2019, MHCS will lead the way for our clients, team and communities throughout Iowa.

Dave Farnsworth, CPA | Managing Partner
DFarnsworth@MHCScpa.com