RALEIGH - Imagine having a boss who actually wants you to work fewer hours so you can spend more time with your family.
Now imagine a boss who attributes a business' success to that philosophy.
Welcome to Hughes Pittman & Gupton, a Raleigh accounting firm that prides itself on helping employees create an acceptable balance between their jobs and their lives outside of work. The theory is simple: Happy employees will do a better job, resulting in happy clients who keep coming back for more.
"Family is important to us," says Dan Hughes, who founded the firm with Kent Pittman back in 1983.
Fellow partner Tim Gupton, who joined the company in 1992, estimates that accountants at the firm work 10 percent to 20 percent fewer billable hours than at a typical large firm. That may cost the firm on the top line, but it helps retain employees - which offers its own financial advantages: fewer costs to cover training and turnover.
Other retention strategies include allowing employees to work flexible schedules, keeping travel to a minimum and organizing company-wide social events. The firm's philosophy has paid off so far.
"They've actually done a remarkable job of keeping a stable team together," says Jeff Clark, a managing partner at Durham-based venture capital outfit The Aurora Funds, which has used Hughes Pittman & Gupton's services for a decade. "We like and trust the people."
With 34 certified public accountants and a total employee roster of 57 in the Triangle, Hughes Pittman & Gupton is the largest accounting firm headquartered in the Raleigh-Durham market. The firm expects to post revenue in the range of $6 million to $8 million this year.
Revenue consistently has grown at a rate of 15 percent to 20 percent over the past few years, and the partners expect the top line will continue to swell with the addition of employees. Hughes Pittman & Gupton hopes to grow to 75 people over the next three years.
The firm provides a number of services to businesses, including accounting, auditing, taxes, and wealth management. The vast majority of clients come to the company as referrals.
"They look under the hood, and they're the ones who tell you if there's a problem," says Steve Long, a shareholder at the law firm Maupin Taylor, which has Hughes Pittman & Gupton audit its retirement plan. "We've been very pleased with their work."
While it started out serving owner-managed small businesses, Hughes Pittman & Gupton has expanded its scope over the years to include work for startups and middle market companies with revenue between $25 million to $200 million.
"We're more than your daddy's CPA firm," says Gupton.
The partners also like to tout the company's membership in CPAmerica, a network of independent CPA and consulting firms that helps small outfits such as Hughes Pittman & Gupton offer a national reach of services to their clients.
Over the years, others have taken equity stakes to the point that five partners have ownership positions in addition to the name partners. They are Mark Livingston, Lawrence Hamilton, Beth Traynham, Peter Adams and Brooks Malone. In addition to their business relationship, Gupton also is Hughes' brother-in-law.
As the company has expanded, Hughes and Pittman have been faced with a choice that eventually confronts almost all successful small business owners. Should they continue to concentrate on their specialty - in this case, accounting - or should they devote their time and energy to administration?
While they still oversee the overall management of the firm, Hughes and Pittman elected to hire others to handle as many of the administrative duties as possible. That has worked, they say, because they've been careful to hire good people who fit in with the company's culture.