Productivity in Practice

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From the Sept. 2006 Issue

Every professional finds his or her own path in the accounting profession, but the road chosen by Hennie and Margaret van Bulck has been one of the least traveled. The married couple are the principal partners behind Van Bulck & Company, CPAs in Sumter, South Carolina. The success of their partnership, in their practice and marriage, stems from their mutual intellectual respect and curiosity, as well as their independence, which has led them to each have specialties that complement the other.

But let’s start at the beginning. When a young Hendrikus van Bulck (Hennie) came to the United States from the Netherlands in 1972 as part of an academic exchange program, his intent was to complete his MBA at the University of Georgia (UGA). He accomplished this degree and went on to earn a Ph.D. in International Business, but his most rewarding achievement was in the partnership that the Dutchman forged with a Southern Belle named Margaret West.

Firm Name: Van Bulck & Company, CPAs Location: Sumter, South Carolina Websit: www.vanbulckcpas.com
PRODUCTIVITY SCORE™ — 400 (The Productivity Survey is sponsored by Thomson Tax & Accounting. For more on this free business assessment tool, visit www.cpatechadvisor.com/productivity.)

The two met as a result of a double date arranged by a friend while Margaret was attending Westminster School, a preparatory academy in Atlanta, and Hennie was at UGA. The personal and professional lives of the two have been deeply intertwined ever since. While Hennie finished his doctoral work and gained U.S. citizenship, Margaret completed an MA in Economics, and both set off into the lofty world of academia.

During the next 10 years, they taught economics and business courses while on the faculties of Clemson, the University of South Carolina at Sumter, and St. Andrews Presbyterian College in North Carolina. “We’ve always worked very well together, complementing each other,” says Margaret. They’ve certainly had time to get used to it, since they’ve worked together for all but about the first two years of their 30-year marriage, even sharing an office at St. Andrews for a time.But the two started to think about “the rest of our lives,” and knew it was time for a change. Margaret’s father had an accounting practice in Sumter, so Hennie and Margaret both left their teaching positions to work for her father and take courses to prepare for the CPA exam. They both earned their credentials in 1985 and took over her father’s practice a year later.

“This was still in the time when we used service bureaus for tax preparation,” said Hennie while recalling the first tax season that he and his wife were in practice. “I remember filling out input sheets and sending them to the service bureau, working until midnight or later.” He also laughs about the first real error he made. “It was late, and I had been filling out K-1s for what seemed like hours, and I copied the K-1 sample data by mistake and submitted it to the bureau!” Margaret was also challenged early on as the partner responsible for obtaining new clients and building business relationships without her father’s name to stand on.

Things have progressed a long way since those early days, with the practice now serving hundreds of personal and business clients, specializing in providing payroll and accounting services to small businesses, with a focus on physicians and legal firms (Hennie’s specialties), and providing fiduciary and estate tax and consulting services (Margaret’s specialties). In addition to both being CPAs with advanced degrees, Hennie is accredited as a business valuation professional. His Ph.D. and personal experience in business further strengthen his consulting capabilities.

As Hennie describes his niche, “I don’t claim to be the smartest accountant, and I don’t necessarily know the most code sections by heart, but because of my background in both practical business and academics, I give my clients broad business consulting expertise and help them plan for success.”