MOUNT VERNON — External changes will soon come to David Perry & Associates, but internally, the CPA firm will deliver the same dedicated service to its clients.
After 28 years, Perry will sell the business to Derek Shunk, CPA, on July 1. The company will close and immediately reopen as Mount Vernon CPA.
“I’m 62. As as an old CPA once told me, you only have so many tax seasons in you,” Perry said of his decision to sell. “I work 80 hours a week during tax season.
“I don’t think that’s something that someone in their 60s should or could do.”
The transition is not a surprise, however.
“I had a lot of clients saying ‘When are you retiring?’ Or, ‘What are you going to do with us?’ They wanted some continuity. So I started trying to sell the firm over two years ago,” Perry explained.
Wes Martin, a mutual church friend, introduced Perry and Shunk. Perry hired Shunk in June 2023.
“He didn’t have a CPA at the time, but he had worked in tax for corporate America in Columbus for a big bank, and he knew corporate tax. I liked that,” Perry said.
“He did get his CPA while he was here. As soon as he got a CPA, we started saying, ‘Hey, you might be the the transition.”
But Perry was not ready to quit, and Shunk needed to learn the firm’s processes and customers.
As they talked about timing, Shunk’s desire to own, and Perry’s desire to leave, the men agreed on July 1.
“I want to work for another two years part-time. I may work longer than that, but he’s worked with us for two years. I’ll work for him for two years,” Perry said.
Serving the community
Shunk said he is ready to step into business ownership.
Before moving to Mount Vernon, he lived in Columbus and worked for Alliance Data, focusing on corporate tax and accounting.
He had two children, and his wife, Louisa, was pregnant with their third.
“We wanted to be in a small town, and I told Dave I wanted to move somewhere where we can serve people, serve the community,” said Shunk, who hails from a small town on the Ohio River.
“We just knew big city and corporate wasn’t for our family. We want to be somewhere where we could be a part of the community.”
“I think a four-year transition is a good runway for our clients to not feel an impact of me just selling to some outside firm.”
David Perry CPA
“When I interviewed him and heard him say … I want to move to a small town and serve my community, it might as well have been over, because I can’t recruit out of Columbus,” Perry said.
“People who are in their 30s want to go the other direction. They want to go out of small town to the big city.”
Perry considers business a mutual service where he can provide specialized assistance to someone.
“It takes [clients] a lot more time, and they don’t know it’s correct, and we can do it right and we’re really good at it, so we can do it more efficiently than they can,” he said. “It’s the trade.
“I think [Derek] has the same characteristic.”
A grueling tax season
Perry said the decision to sell was not difficult. He noted the tax season is grueling, and his family has been through 28 of them. His family does not see much of him during tax season, which runs from Feb. 1 to April 15.
“The off season is more manageable. It’s less than 40 hours a week, so it’s good. And you make up for the overage during the tax season. But as you get older, making up for that and going through that laborious season, it just gets hard,” Perry said.
The staff works six days a week during tax season, but the office is not open to the public on Saturdays. From April 15 to Dec. 31, the office is closed on Fridays.
“Our whole staff works overtime during tax season, so that makes up for their overtime, too, to take that time off,” Perry said.
To help relieve the stress, Perry runs three miles, three times a week, and Shunk hunts. But the primary stress reliever is their faith.
“We don’t work on Sundays because we’re both Christians, and we view that as the sabbath,” Shunk said.
“The Lord’s design of that for the world certainly helps for our business,” Perry agreed.
“Even in the busiest time of the year when we work six days and get 80 hours in those six days a week, it helps. We don’t check emails on Sunday; we don’t answer phone calls on Sunday. We go to church and spend time with our wives.”
Four-year transition ensures client continuity for CPA firm
Perry said the long transition is designed to make clients comfortable.
“Derek working here two years and me committing for two more years means I’m here to answer his questions about specific clients. We’re here to work together as two CPAs,” Perry said.
Perry plans to work two days a week for nine months and 40 hours a week during tax season. He does not plan to lie on a beach in his spare time.
“I don’t think retirement is to make your life a life of leisure and entertainment. I want do some more service in my community, on boards and serve my church and help my neighbor, which I haven’t had enough time to do running a business,” he said.
Shunk acknowledged any new business owner is going to be a little apprehensive, but he is also excited.
“We’re growing, we’re adding team members. We’re excited to keep serving the community,” he said.
Shunk said the CPA firm has a good, experienced team. Some team members have been with the firm for more than 15 years.
“A couple of people on our team are starting to study for the CPA exam, which is just going to bolster us. We’re hoping to grow and then in two or three years, it will be a three-CPA firm,” Shunk said.
Perry has been at the 205 E. Ohio Ave. location for 26 years. While the clients and employees have grown through the years, the building has remained the same.
Looking for a potential new location will be up to Shunk.
New signage will go up soon, and Shunk plans to launch a new website, MountVernonCPA.com.
He will also launch new email addresses, but the current ones will be valid for a while.
