Hill, Barth and King LLC - Working Together Sets Us Apart

Allegretti is quoted throughout the book and is featured in the Chapter dealing with Vision – Reality in the Future.  “Chris Allegretti has invested many hours and years learning how to develop a vision for his firm and helping his co-owners achieve that vision”, says author Waugh.

HBK Principal Barry Holes says, “Chris learned to build a cohesive vision for his partner group by interacting with many other leaders. He did not limit his vision to his own or that of his partners. Allegretti challenged himself to find a bigger vision by opening himself up to other great leaders”. Holes concludes, “Over the last few years, a testament to Chris’s leadership skills is how frequently he receives calls from other CEOs to discuss issues with him.”

After graduating from Edinboro University, Allegretti began his career at Hill, Barth, & King, LLC (HBK). Thanks to strong role models, he moved up the rankings quickly, becoming a Principal/owner in nine years. But Chris’s rise to the top wasn’t a cakewalk. He learned early in his career to establish goals and to pay close attention to practice development.

HBK Principal and COO Phil Wilson says, “Chris’s passion for leading is client centric, believing that attracting and retaining great people will lead to attracting great clients. Chris’s focus on clients is exemplified by establishing the firm’s Gold Client Service Program, which emphasizes cross-servicing, not selling. This deepening of the relationship is beneficial to both parties.  Chris has driven a culture change at HBK. Everyone is cognizant of the need to bring value to the client through application of firm resources. Teamwork is essential to achieving this goal. He expects client-service personnel to proactively address client issues and bring solutions to the point of solving a problem even before the client has recognized that they have a challenge. By doing so, we create opportunity.”

Allegretti is a community and professional leader through his involvement with the board of Edinboro University. He spearheaded his firm’s entrée into financial services with HBK Sorce Financial, which has become one of the top 10 CPA firms with assets under management in the United States.

To purchase a copy of the book, you may go to the American Institute of Public Accounting Firm’s web address:  www.cpa2biz.com/LAF

Leading an Accounting Firm has 17 chapters segmented into 5 critical sections utilizing the pyramid’s structure as a visual. In the base of the pyramid are 5 foundation chapters related to leading self. The next tier contains 4 chapters related to leading staff (others), and tier 3 holds 3 chapters related to strategy. Common management subjects are covered in 2 chapters related to systems, and the pinnacle chapter relates to creating synergy among the various tiers of building blocks of leadership.

In writing this book, Waugh interviewed nearly 100 leaders in the accounting profession, including over 40 interviews with CEOs of well-led firms of all sizes and types. In addition, leaders from the AICPA, various accounting alliances and several industry consultants add their points of view.  Many of the leaders interviewed have led their businesses from startup to being in the top 100 largest accounting firms in the United States within their lifetime.  That is an amazing feat, considering there are nearly 50,000 accounting firms in the United States alone. Many of the leaders are present or former CEOs of notable firms who’ve been named as best of the best by the INSIDE Public Accounting newsletter, or their firms have been named as the best place to work by Fortune magazine.

HBK ranks as the 82nd largest public accounting firm in the nation.  HBK has over 280 professional and support staff members who serve clients in 11 offices located throughout Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Florida.

###