Purk expands senior management team with Doug Pleus, CPA, Pleus & Company, LLC; Terry Knox, CPA, Dwyer Costello and Knox P.C.; Holly Breuer, CPA, and Candice Carter
St. Louis (February 16, 2021) – Purk & Associates, P.C., the leading, woman-owned St. Louis-based accounting, and management advisory firm, announced today that Pleus & Company, LLC; and Dwyer Costello and Knox P.C. have merged with them.
Doug Pleus, CPA, former owner of Pleus & Company, and Terry Knox, CPA, former partner at Dwyer Costello and Knox, join the firm’s senior management team.
“I’ve known Doug and Terry for years, and I have great admiration for their talents and the accounting firms they founded. When we started talking separately about merging firms, it was because each firm had unique strengths, similar core values, and strong client relationships. It all came together at the end of 2020 to merge their firms with Purk” said Jennah Purk, CPA, President and Co-Founding Shareholder, Purk & Associates.
Also, Purk hired Holly Breuer, CPA, as a Principal and Chief Operating Officer, and Candice Carter as a Director.
“I have known and worked with Holly and Candice for more than two decades. We are fortunate to have such talented, dedicated and energetic professionals join our team,” added Purk.
Because of the mergers and addition of talent, Purk & Associates estimates that 2021 revenue is on track to be $5 million, nearly $2 million more than 2020 revenues.
The firm has enhanced and expanded its tax, audit, accounting, and wealth management expertise for the following service lines:
- Department of Labor specific to Labor Unions
- ERISA Audits
- Healthcare
- Not-for-Profit
- Tax-Centric Investment Management
- Valuation and Calculation Services
The new senior management members include:
- Holly Breuer: Breuer works with privately held businesses and their owners consulting on topics ranging from day-to-day operations to complex business structures and regulatory issues. She is Accredited in Business Valuation (ABV) by the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, which allows her to work directly with clients to value their businesses.
- Candice Carter: Carter specializes in bookkeeping, controllership, payroll, IRS and Department of Revenue representation, tax return preparation and planning for businesses and individuals. In her role, Carter is responsible for new business development and client engagement for the controllership and tax division. Candice brings more than 20 years of accounting and tax experience.
- Terry Knox, CPA: Knox will work with the firm’s Audit department, performing audits, reviews and comps for a variety of clients including local unions, employee benefit plans, not-for-profits, and partnerships. Prior to joining Purk & Associates, Knox was a partner at Dwyer Costello and Knox where he was a majority owner since 1985.
- Doug Pleus, CPA: Pleus will focus on taxation for small business services, and individual tax and consulting services. He works with small and medium-sized businesses in a variety of industries, including healthcare, manufacturing and distribution, real estate, technology, and service businesses.
About Purk & Associates, P.C.
Founded in 2009, Purk & Associates, P.C., headquartered in St. Louis, is the leading, woman-owned, independent accounting and management advisory firm that delivers a full range of tax, accounting, audit, wealth management and consulting services, by providing high-touch attention to clients’ needs. The firm’s mission – Achieve More—allows Purk & Associates to focus on helping their clients achieve their personal and professional financial goals. To learn more, please visit www.purkpc.com.
St. Louis (Feb. 15, 2021) – Lakenan Insurance Group, a leading multi-faceted independent insurance broker that is part of the Sunstar Insurance nationwide network, recently announced that Dave Lamb joined as the National Property Director.
“Dave is a well-known and highly regarded leader in the property insurance industry. He has extensive experience working with multiple types of properties throughout the country, and he possess the business acumen to help his clients succeed,” said Jason Spore, Lakenan Insurance Group Executive Vice President.
ST. LOUIS – The pandemic has drastically changed how students “attend” school, whether they are in-person, remote, or in a hybrid combination. Unfortunately, for some students and families, it is now even harder to access the education they are legally entitled to.
Jan. 25, 2021 (St. Louis) – The Association of Corporate Counsel – St. Louis Chapter (ACC STL), the pre-eminent professional development organization serving in-house counsel, recently elected its 2021 officers and board of directors.
Sven Fickeler, ACC STL 2021 president, said, “One of the priorities this year is to continue to provide value to our membership with frequent access to quality topics and events in partnership with our sponsors despite the ongoing constraints and challenges caused by the pandemic. We have strong relationships with our sponsors who have been supportive in switching to all virtual events until circumstances allow us to resume in person events.”
St. Louis (Jan. 20, 2021) – Affinity Law Group, a leading St. Louis-based boutique business, estate planning and employment law firm, recently announced that Tabitha Atwell and Andrew Rushing have each been promoted to Member.
Atwell joined the firm in 2008, and her practice is focused on estate planning, asset protection, wealth preservation planning, probate, elder law, and estate and trust administration. She received her Juris Doctor (J.D) from Saint Louis University School of Law, and is a member of the Missouri Bar Probate and Trust Committee, the Missouri Bar Elder Law Committee, the Missouri Bar Taxation Committee, and the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys, Inc. Atwell is also a member of WealthCounsel and ElderCounsel, both of which provide a nationwide network collaboration for trusts and estate attorneys and other legal, tax and business professionals.
St. Louis (Jan. 12, 2021) – Tom Dunn CPA Firm, a St. Louis-based accounting, business advisory and tax preparation firm for small business owners and entrepreneurs, recently launched a new YouTube channel.
Dec. 8, 2020 (St. Louis) – Tom Dunn CPA Firm, a St. Louis-based accounting, business advisory and tax preparation firm for small and mid-sized businesses, nonprofits, families, and trusts, recently launched a new website.
Dec. 3, 2020 (St. Louis) – The Association of Corporate Counsel – St. Louis Chapter (ACC STL) received the 2020 Innovation Award from the national Association of Corporate Counsel (ACC) for its 2019 Diversity & Inclusion (D&I) Summer Internship Program.
St. Louis (Nov. 17, 2020) – Lakenan Insurance Group recently announced that Kyle Kozel, Risk Advisor, was selected as one of the 2020 Top Producers by Insurance Business America (IBA) magazine.
“This is an incredible honor for the St. Louis chapter and a reflection of the support, commitment and involvement from the ACC STL board, committees, members, and sponsors. Since the pandemic started, we’ve have been creative with our programming, member engagement and community outreach. As an organization, we’ve learned new ways of doing things. As we go into 2021, we’ll be able to continue offering a wider variety of programming and services to engage more members,” said Brian M. Parsons, ACC STL 2020 President.