We often hear from clients that their prior accountant ‘ghosted’ them frequently. At Blumer CPAs, we aren’t ghosts. Instead we pursue being Transparent. Visible. Accountable. 

Transparent: easy to perceive or detect

We pursue being transparent at Blumer CPAS. We do a lot of special projects for our clients. We state our main objective upfront so everyone, from team to client, knows our position and mindset when moving to discuss next steps. No one should have to wonder what the plan is or feel like it is being kept a secret.

Our transparency can also be seen in simple email communications. We have a firm policy of replying to client emails within 24 hours. We may not have all of the answers yet but the client feels cared for and knows we are working on a full response. Effective collaboration requires transparency.

Visible: able to be seen

We pursue being visible at Blumer CPAs. In a virtual firm, visibility can be a challenge. To combat the tendency to become invisible, we have developed consistent daily/weekly communication habits (both client-facing and team-facing). For example, clients who don’t have weekly standup meetings with our team receive a weekly ‘check-in email’ from us which provides a connection and a means to communicate. This action makes them feel cared for and hopefully, makes us a valued consultant.

Internally as a team, we utilize our chat rooms daily to update our team on projects, reports, meetings, etc. This practice ensures we keep the work seen, solve problems faster, and build a sense of community.

Accountable: (of a person, organization, or institution) required or expected to justify actions or decisions; responsible

We pursue being accountable at Blumer CPAs.  Being accountable helps get things accomplished! We’ve all tried to be accountable to ourselves which can prove difficult. It is even better to be accountable to others. It motivates us to have a prepared response for our work, our actions, and our goals.

For example, my role at Blumer CPAs focuses on project management.  As a result, I get to gather weekly with each team member who directly serves clients. We are able to talk through planning the week, project challenges, celebrate wins and propose solutions. These weekly ‘PM huddles’ have proved so valuable to brainstorm next steps and connect one-on-one as a team.

Who are you going to call?

If you’ve been ghosted by your accountant, give Blumer CPAs a call and experience a firm that pursues being Transparent. Visible. Accountable.

Stephanie serves as Blumer’s Sr. Project Manager and Team Advisor, where she collaborates closely with our technical team to drive excellence and provide comprehensive training. With over 15 years at Blumer, she exemplifies leadership through transparency, maintaining an open calendar and clear work prioritization that keeps her visible and accessible to the entire team. Stephanie’s commitment to accountability and her hands-on approach make her an invaluable cornerstone of our organization.

The Blumer Team’s Core Values are what we believe in.  They’re what drive our work. 

Today we, as a team, want to take a few minutes to break down each of the 5 core values that we have adopted. 

Commitment leads to Loyalty

People who are committed to the success of the team/company/goal, will do what needs to be done to find that success and are respectful, honest & loyal to those team members and company who are working towards the same success/goals. – Jenny Andrejack, Customer Ally

Jason and Julie define commitment as “really embracing your job description and title”.  Commitment is doing your job in the community that you are part of and being passionate about it.  When you do this over time, it leads to a heart’s desire to be loyal to the mission.  Loyalty is “giving or showing firm and constant support or allegiance to a person or institution.”  It’s putting the greater good ahead of your personal feelings because you know it’s what’s best for everyone.  Commitment leads to Loyalty is doing your job so that the whole firm benefits. 

Collaboration leads to Strength

Collaboration Leads to Strength means that when team members work together, their combined efforts and diverse perspectives can lead to better results than if they worked alone. Collaboration allows for pooling of ideas, sharing of knowledge and expertise, and effective communication which ultimately strengthens the team’s performance.

One example of collaboration on our team was when I suggested rearranging the timing of a client’s cash projections from Thursday to Monday. We worked together as a team, and after sharing our thoughts, we agreed to propose the idea to the client. This collaboration made us stronger as a team, and we were able to provide the client with a more useful cash projection. This is just one example but collaboration is shown in almost every interaction we have. Our entire team works together to provide “white glove” service to clients, and our collaborative efforts make this possible.  – Giselle Liotta, Customer Ally

Confidence leads to Initiative

As Jason likes to say “We are going to blow crap up.” Knowing that we can try things but the failure that may come at the end is not the end, but it’s a learning opportunity for next time. Like Thomas Edison said “I never once failed at making a light bulb. I just found out 99 ways not to make one.” We as humans cannot grow without failing. People always look at the success stories of Jeff Bezos, Warren Buffett, Mark Zuckerberg, etc., and say how good they have it, but they do not see the failures and struggles they had to go through to get to this point. The confidence is knowing that failure is ok, because it leads us to our end goal, allows me to have the initiative to try new things. There have been many times I’ve failed, but there have been many time I’ve succeeded. The initiative allowed me to better myself and the team. – Vlad Ungureanu, Accounting Specialist and Tech Specialist

Humility leads to Consideration

My favorite core value! Although we’re not always humble about our professional skills & knowledge (there’s a reason you’re paying for our services after all!) we are humble as people. We know that both our clients & fellow team members’ time is extremely valuable to them and that they deserve to be treated with respect and attentiveness. This drives us to put a great deal of care and thought into: the way we communicate with our clients and each other, the scheduling of our work to match each others calendars and client needs, and always taking that little extra time to ensure that our clients understand what we’re doing and why, regardless of their background in finance or lack thereof. We are NOT your typical accounting firm that leaves you in the dark and sends reports that only the company Controller understands. –Nicholas Greene, Customer Accounting Analyst

Honesty leads to Integrity

The more honest we are, the more trusted we become, and clients feel they can rely on us. I see it all of the time when people admit their mistakes and ask for help.  We correct and update processes and ultimately we grow from mistakes.– Pandora Saunders, Customer Ally

In summary, all of our core values are interconnected.  We are all committed to Blumer and the jobs/processes/goals as well as the successes of the businesses we serve. To do so, we must collaborate – which makes us a stronger team; we must be honest with each other, our team and clients rely on that integrity; and all of those lead to the confidence each team member has to take the initiative on many different tasks.

To learn more about the why behind our Core Values, check out part 1 of this blog series. 

Are you looking for a committed team to serve you?  Check out What We Do.