The can-do CPA
With Kevin Keane at the helm of Archbishop Stepinac”™s treasury, it”™s small wonder the school”™s inaugural Trustee Award reception raked in an impressive $300,000 ”“ 25 percent more than the target goal.
And it”™s no surprise Keane was presented the first Corporate Citizenship Award by his former high school.
The managing partner of O”™Connor Davies Munns & Dobbins has simultaneously helped foster the growth of the firm”™s revenues by more than 27 percent last year.
The firm has offices in New York City, New Windsor, Paramus, N.J., Stamford, Conn. and moved recently into a 35,000-square-foot space in Malkin Properties”™ 500 Mamaroneck Ave. office in Harrison.
“We”™re looking to grow from the Washington to Boston corridor,” Keane said of his accounting firm. “We had stopped for about five years doing mergers and things like that, but we”™re in a position now where we feel like it”™s a really opportune time to grow.”
For more than 30 years, Keane”™s niche was providing business advisory services to the real estate and construction industries.
“Construction is down, but over the last few years with the stimulus money coming through, there”™s been some opportunities for contractors to participate in some of the growth,” he said. “They”™ve repositioned themselves. Maybe they didn”™t go after public work in the past, but they went after it recently.”
Accounting firms across the board are looking to diversify their niches.
Keane counted groups ranging from health care and nonprofits to hospitality and even government.
The post-recession climate brought financial opportunities in mergers and acquisitions activity, but not without due diligence.
“We”™re finding that the banking and financial institutions are a little more willing to look at deals today than they were two or three years ago,” he noted. “There are more stringent requirements and more guarantees required, but at least they”™re back in the marketplace again.”
Keane serves in a dual role as a director and founder of The Westchester Bank, which lent $122 million during its second year in operation.
“We”™re in the process of doing another capital raise ($33 million through a private placement, the Business Journal reported in February), which is very successful,” he said. “We service the $10 million to $20 million businesses who don”™t get the personal services that the big banks do.” He acknowledged that, “We can”™t handle what the big banks can do.”
When Keane is not attending board meetings of The Westchester Bank and The John E. Coleman School of The Elizabeth Seton Pediatric Center, he is busy putting in a good word for his industry at area academic institutions.
“We recruit at about 20 different schools each year,” he said. “The people who are now studying accounting have increased tremendously over, say, 10 years ago, when we dipped down. I think there”™s a lot of opportunity. People think of accounting as adding numbers up, but I think reality is, we”™re involved with every aspect of business.”
Added Keane with a laugh: “Trusted adviser? Yes. But I always tell my clients, ”˜I”™m not your doctor. I”™m your CPA.”™”