ASSINIBOIA - What does it take to see a business grow and thrive over a 100-year span? Stark and Marsh, Chartered Professional Accountants based in Swift Current, Shaunavon, and Assiniboia, celebrated their Centenarian status in 2021.
Their current Chief Executive Officer, Elden Moberg, reflects on what qualities a business needs to endure over a century. “Maurice Hesford, the original founder, began his accounting business in 1921 in Swift Current, which had just become a city seven years previous.
Whether he envisioned that 100 years later the traces of his operation would still be in place, I’m not certain, but he had enough foresight that he brought in some people and that’s when it started expanding. I’m sure it was difficult to set up a practice in 1921, just like it is now. There is always risk.”
Fast forward to 2021. Though the province has aged well in her golden years, and has proven herself a sound investment over the years, “risk” not only lingers, it bracketed the century. The risk that Hesford had to consider and weigh was substantial, as he invested in a new province and a fledgling city.
Stark and Marsh closed the 100 years with the bookend bracket of risk, albeit another type of risk while continuing to operate and grow throughout profound weather cycles and an unpredictable pandemic. Risk is still an ever-present factor as Stark and Marsh peer into the sunrise of another century. “We always assess risk. That’s part of the CPA profile. But you have to weigh the threat against the opportunity, and take advantage of those opportunities when it’s wise.”
Some of those wise decisions that kept Stark and Marsh in their 100 year trajectory were made in the early 90’s. “In 1993, Stark and Marsh was formed as two independent firms, Stark & Co. and Marsh, Siemens, Budd, and Hagen, merged. They came together providing more opportunity to meet the specialized needs of their clientele.
In 1993 they grew to 35 people when they merged. Then in the early 2000’s Stark and Marsh hired a Director of Operations to look after operational items. In this way, the partners could focus more efficiently on their clientele. This took them through to 2008 when the current day Stark and Marsh emerged. “We have a Strategic and Governance model and now we’re about 85 people. We have an even larger management team now that takes care of operations, so our partners are able to focus on the very specialized needs of our clients.”
With agriculture being a major industry in the Assiniboia area, Stark and Marsh has been able to provide accounting and consulting advice for many clientele. “We’ve been in Assiniboia since 2016. The majority of our clients are corporate. We also offer spin off services – we’re providing quite a bit of consulting now, as well as advanced tax projects, transition planning, business valuations, cash flow projections and management accounting. Also, we still do audits for governmental bodies and not for profits.”
“In Assiniboia we have 4 full time staff plus one on maternity leave and one seasonal team member. In Shaunavon, we have between 10 and 12 people, and in Swift Current we are at about 60 staff with all 9 partners here. Our staff are anywhere in age from young people just starting or others with up to 40 years of experience. It’s a dynamic work environment”
Trained professionals are a commodity every workplace seeks out. “We’ve been fortunate,” says Elden, “in recruiting and retaining professional, well-trained staff.”
There are other obstacles to overcome, though, and Elden speaks about the biggest one. “Technology is a constant challenge. In the 50’s to 70’s, the global market made a major shift from everything handled manually to using a computer. The ever-expanding world of technology still demands attention today. Businesses must continually stay on top of it. It’s helped us become more efficient, and it also helps our clients do their jobs more quickly.”
Another area where Stark and Marsh have risen to the challenge is the expectation on behalf of clients to provide more online services. “Since Covid we’ve offered virtual services, but now there’s an expectation that we can provide resources at the click of a button. It’s been a journey towards transformation as we serve a more extensive and knowledgeable clientele than ever before.”
What about the next century? Will Stark and Marsh add another 100 years to their legacy? “We’ve considered that. What would it take?” asks Elden. “It seems far off, but we’ve committed to continue providing a full suite of services that clients want and need. It’s also a priority for us to take care of our employees. They’re looking for an opportunity in their career, so as we work together on our future vision, we will continue to attract good people to the firm and try to retain them for a long period of time.”
Their third goal is to remain active members of their communities. “Just like our founder Maurice Hesford, who invested and lived in the community in which he worked, we too are all members of our communities.
We try to make contributions back. Our employees have chosen to live in Swift Current, Shaunavon, and Assiniboia, and we value them, so we choose to support their hometown projects and initiatives. We work here but we also live here.”
Happy 100th Birthday, Stark and Marsh.
