The Blue Collar CPA

A Productivity in Practice Feature

From the Sept. 2011 Issue

A small business is most productive when its owners are doing what they love. Whether a mechanic, baker, landscaper, restaurateur, childcare provider or a merchant, small business owners usually like what they do. That’s what led them to their profession in the first place, along with their own drive, determination and the goal of working for themselves. Aside from accountants and financial professionals, however, few business entrepreneurs went into business so they could manage books, taxes, payroll and compliance.

Joe Madden knows this as well as anybody, which is why he’s shaped his own small business around helping others succeed. Joe is the owner and founder of Joseph E. Madden, CPA (www.josephmadden.com) in Denison, a practice that focuses on what he considers the real backbone of our economy: the smallest businesses where the owners get their hands dirty along with their workers … if there even are any other employees.

“Denison has plenty of larger corporations and other entities, but we try to help the small guys,” said Joe. “The shade tree mechanic, the plumber and other blue collar workers. They’re the ones who would rather be doing real work instead of trying to figure out their finances, and that means they also need the help most of all.” He says that the key is finding out what each individual client wants to know, especially in helping them really understand their cash flow.

Joe started his firm in 2003, but was already well-known in the business community. He had worked for one of the largest firms in north Texas, where he mostly handled audits for nonprofits and governmental entities. He also partnered with another area accountant for a few years, and has since built the firm around tax preparation and compliance, accounting/write-up, payroll and business consulting.

He’s been especially successful at developing his payroll services, which the firm handles in its entirety, including impounding and full EFT management. While most of his payroll clients are also small, there are exceptions, including a glass manufacturer and a large church and school just across the Red River in Oklahoma. The firm processed more than 12,000 checks and deposits last year, with total combined payrolls of nearly $900,000. His model has even attracted the attention of large firms across the country who would like to duplicate his success.

Joe has also developed a less common specialty, but one that he’s found professionally and personally rewarding. He manages the income tax returns for approximately 20 pastors, some who’ve even moved out of state but continue to rely on his expert advice when it comes to clergy members, from special housing allowances, self-employment taxes and other issues. He occasionally even holds seminars for this niche audience, where he “evangelizes” good tax planning and preparation.

As many of his peers have done, Joe has taken advantage of best practices in the areas of going paperless, which his firm has been from nearly the beginning, as well as integrating optimized workflows. The three-person practice is made up of Joe, payroll manager Jill Wood, and Joe’s mom Pamela, who serves as the client coordinator. “My mom used to be a ballroom dancer, so she is expertly qualified to dance around the numbers all day long.” Bella, a 120-pound Great Dane, is also a common sight at the office.