BKD, LLP: an accounting and advisory firm with Indiana roots to 1917.

• Author: Held, Shari
• Position: PROFILE - Company overview

BKD, LLP IS ONE OF THE 10 largest CPA firms in the United States with a reputation as a steady and focused advisory firm. It has 31 offices in 12 states, with five of those offices in Indiana--Bloomington, Evansville, Fort Wayne, Merrillville and Indianapolis.

BKD also is the largest member firm of Praxity, AISBL, a global alliance of independent firms. It is through this alliance that BKD is able to serve their clients' international activities.

From 1917 to 2001, the Indianapolis office served as the headquarters of the BKD legacy firm, George S. Olive, LLP BKD Indianapolis was established in 2001 when Olive merged with BKD and consists of approximately 230 personnel, including 30 partners, who provide CPA and advisory services to more than 5,500 clients. The other Indiana locations have been added in the past 50 years.

A history of high expectations. BKD has high expectations not only for their people hut for their clients as well, many of which are closely held or family businesses. BKD has stringent quality control processes in place to help ensure strong, long-term relationships.

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"We look carefully when we go through our client acceptance processes because we want to be involved with individuals who have the same values we have," says Robert J. Pruitt, managing partner.

Community involvement is part of the firm's core values. The BKD Foundation collects and disburses partner and employee contributions to not-for-profits. Including the Foundation support, Indiana partners have contributed more than $400,000 annually to Indiana colleges to fund accounting scholarships and to support community not-for-profit organizations.

Since the mid-90s BKD has used an industry-focused model to deliver its services, concentrating on manufacturing and distribution, health care, government and not-for-profits, financial services, construction and real estate and wealth planning services. "We split our teams into these six areas and approached the market in this way. It has paid off tremendously because there are specific accounting needs to know about each of those industries," Pruitt says. "Clients really appreciate working with accounting professionals who understand their world."

BKD's strategy works. The firm received high scores in a formal client survey, which was conducted by a third party and measured responsiveness, technical capability and communication, among other areas.

Other kudos include being the only Top Ten firm...