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The Founding of Our Firm Editor’s note: This article, first in a five-part series, reviews the initial formation of what is now Parke, Guptill & Company, LLP. It is quite intriguing to take a look back 40 years ago to a firm that would one day be known as the “Automotive Accounting Specialists.”
The history of Parke Guptill & Company, LLP is a picture of industry dedication and leadership, framed by a firm devoted to serving the automobile dealership industry.
The firm’s original partners, Ralph Parke and Bill Guptill, met while attending California State University, Los Angeles as accounting majors. Both Ralph and Bill then worked for CPA firms and in industry (Ralph for a large real estate developer; Bill for a finance company, truck body manufacturer, and entertainment company).
Ralph and Bill maintained contact through the years. After continued discussions, they decided to form a partnership and opened the business’ doors in June 1964 as Parke, Guptill & Co. The firm began as primarily a data processing practice, focusing on NCR accounting and payroll work for real estate ventures and other business entities. Other services included tax return preparation and bookkeeping. Our facilities were located on Second Avenue in Covina.
The firm’s original personnel included partners Ralph Parke and Bill Guptill, along with staff Dorothy Murphy, Phyllis Healy and Betty Smith.
In 1965, the desire to serve clients with better equipment caused Parke, Guptill & Company to purchase a data processing business, along with its IBM equipment. The purchased business was represented by Stegall & Easley CPAs, with whom Parke, Guptill & Company would soon develop a closer relationship. The partners also made a choice in 1965 to become Certified Public Accountants.
In 1966, the opportunity to meet the two-year apprenticeship requirement for the CPA license arose. To accomplish this requirement, the partnership merged into another firm, Stegall & Easley CPAs. Ralph and Bill maintained their office in West Covina while working with Stegall & Easley. The two found that Jim Stegall’s practice had a few auto dealers as clients, gleaned from Jim’s years at LH Penny CPAs. LH Penny was a third-tier accounting firm, renowned for its auto dealership practice. Many smaller CPA firms spun-off over the years from LH Penny. This was Ralph and Bill’s introduction to auto dealer accounting, and they gained valuable experience in working with this industry.
Next month’s article takes a look at several critical strategic decisions that the partners made in focusing on serving auto dealerships. |
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40th Anniversary Celebration: Article #1: The Founding of Our Firm (below) Article #2: The Firm’s Decision to Focus on Auto Dealerships Article #3: A Pioneer Forges Its Way Article #4: Dealerships Flock to Parke, Guptill Article #5: Continuing to Meet Our Clients’ Needs |
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AUTOMOTIVE ACCOUNTING SPECIALISTS |