Good Neighbor Podcast: Fort Collins

Behind the Scenes with Klinger Hagerman: Boutique Public Accounting Explained

• Nick George • Season 1 • Episode 109

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Ever wondered what makes accounting "boutique"? Micah Clinger breaks down this mystery with refreshing clarity and enthusiasm. Unlike traditional accounting firms that spread themselves thin across numerous services, ClingerHagerman dives deep into specialized areas—specifically auditing for state and local governments, non-profits, and select industries like construction and manufacturing.

Micah's journey from aspiring teacher to specialized auditor offers a fascinating glimpse into how career paths evolve in unexpected ways. With 18 years of experience under his belt, he brings both expertise and a teacher's knack for explanation to the table. This combination allows him to dispel common misconceptions about auditors (no, they're not all working for the IRS!) while painting a picture of modern accounting that's focused on partnership rather than intimidation.

What truly sets ClingerHagerman apart is their philosophy on client relationships. Rejecting the stereotype of auditors as scary figures looking to play "gotcha," Micah emphasizes their role as trusted advisors who help organizations improve incrementally. "We feel that we're on the same team," he explains, describing a collaborative approach that transforms the audit process from a dreaded inspection to a valuable opportunity for organizational growth. This mindset—coupled with deep industry knowledge—is changing how local governments and non-profits view their accounting partners.

Ready to connect with a different kind of accounting firm? Find ClingerHagerman on LinkedIn or visit their website at www.clingerhagerman.com to learn more about their specialized approach to public accounting.

Speaker 1:

This is the Good Neighbor Podcast, the place where local businesses and neighbors come together. Here's your host, Nick George.

Speaker 2:

Welcome to the Good Neighbor Podcast. Are you in need of a boutique public accounting firm? Well, one might be closer than you think. Today I have the great pleasure of introducing your good neighbor Micah Klinger, with Klinger and Hangerman. I'm sorry, klinger, hangerman all one word. Capitalize the H in the middle. How are you doing, micah?

Speaker 3:

I'm doing great. How are you doing, Nick?

Speaker 2:

Excellent. We're so excited to learn about you and your public accounting firm, so please tell me all about it and what makes it Boutique.

Speaker 3:

Oh, that's a great question, nick. I think the main thing that makes clear Heyerman Boutique is that we are a very niched and specialized public accounting firm. Oftentimes, public accounting firms do a lot of a lot of different things, or a little of a lot of different things, and our firm specializes in just two or three specific industries and we do a lot of work in those industries, and so we focus on providing financial auditing or auditing or assurance services or consulting services to state and local governments, as well as not-for-profits, in addition to construction and manufacturing companies, and so that's all we do and we go very deep in those sectors, and that's what makes us boutique.

Speaker 2:

How did you get into this niche of public accounting?

Speaker 3:

I feel like it was kind of by accident. I was originally going to become a teacher and somehow I know what you're thinking. Accounting and teaching those are very different things. But just during my college journey I was introduced to accounting and somehow I fell into it and it just struck me and didn't even know what public accounting was at the time. But that was told that that was what a person was supposed to do and you got an accounting degree and so firms started coming to the school where I went to college and I started interviewing and got into it. And here I am, 18 years later.

Speaker 2:

Wow, what are some myths or misconceptions that you run into with customers that don't know as much as you do about your industry?

Speaker 3:

I would say, probably the most common myth or misconception. When I tell someone that I'm an auditor, almost instantly they'll say something like, oh, like IRS? And I'm like, no, no, I probably couldn't spell tax if you spotted me the A and the X, and so, no, we don't do anything with the IRS or tax audits. We perform audit services for companies that need audited financial statements or reviewed financial statements, which could be for a variety of reasons. If it's a private company, it could be a debt covenant, and so the bank says, hey, we need you to give us audited financial statements. Or, in the case with governments, usually a state statute will dictate that they need to have their financial statements audited by an independent accounting firm or auditors every year.

Speaker 2:

And is that your target market?

Speaker 3:

That is our target market. We specialize in auditing state and local governments and not-for-profits. And when I say state and local governments, what does that mean? It involves we audit a lot of cities, counties, school districts, charter schools. We also audit a lot of special districts like fire districts, water districts, those types of organizations. In addition to not-for-profits, and especially if they receive federal funds, we do a lot of audits of organizations that receive federal funds and have to have compliance audits.

Speaker 2:

So you're not auditing. I mean, you're not marketing yourself in the way that a traditional public accountant might just shotgun blast themselves out there to everybody. At the same time You're targeting these public institutions. How do you market to them? How do you uniquely market to that segment?

Speaker 3:

That is an interesting question. It's kind of a variety of ways. Most local governments so your cities they're required periodically to send out a request for proposal and so in that sense it's kind of formulaic every three to five years they may send out this request for proposals and then different public accounting firms that specialize in auditing governments may respond. We've found that it's good to get involved kind of in your state societies of CPAs in addition to different organizations that involve the finance directors and different other stakeholders at these cities and local governments, so that you can build that relationship, put a face to the name so that when they are looking to go out for an auditor the next time that hopefully they'll think of us because they've met us and seen us in our involvement in those organizations.

Speaker 2:

Have you ever thought about podcasting to reach these people preemptively?

Speaker 3:

Honestly, I have not. The thought hasn't crossed my mind. In fact, this is my first exposure to kind of this arena, to the podcast arena, but it's an interesting thought or concept.

Speaker 2:

You seem I can see the teacher's background in the way that you present yourself. Podcasting is a way for people to give a sample of their work to institutions that may not be able to put a name with the face and the text and the pictures that they've seen and the other formats they've looked at. This can kind of be the new word of mouth and reach people in a in an authentic way that maybe would work for you trying to reach out to them If they had maybe a link to one of these where you were talking about some of the problems that they run into most often. Just a suggestion what do you do for fun when you're not counting the beans?

Speaker 3:

I was going to say, man, I didn't know. I thought fun and accounting were synonymous with one another. No, I would say, my wife and I, we have four children, and so we're very involved in all the activities that they do. We have the oldest three are boys, and they're involved in various sports. It feels like, especially this time of year, there's always a football game going on somewhere. There's our youngest, she's a girl, who's 10 years old, and she's involved with basketball and volleyball. So we really enjoy sports and being involved with them. We also enjoy getting out into the outdoors, going up into the mountains, just experiencing nature, going on hikes and walks and, uh, really enjoy traveling as well.

Speaker 2:

so micah, if there's one thing that people can take away from this interview about clinger hangerman, what would you like that to be? What do you want them to remember most about your company?

Speaker 3:

I think the thing I would like them to know is oftentimes, uh, I think there's a stereotype with with auditors, um, where they they.

Speaker 3:

It kind of a stereotype or stigma in the sense that auditors are scary, that they, you know, here they are looking under the hood and looking at the numbers and trying to play gotcha, and that isn't us as a firm. I mean, you may have certain auditors who are that way. The way we look at it is we feel that we're on the same team. We feel that we're your partner. Obviously, we have a job to do and if we find things that we need to report on certain issues, we do that. Obviously. However, it's not necessarily through that lens of gotcha. It's really trying to help our clients and these organizations that we audit better meet their reporting objectives and internal control objectives and just incrementally be better, and so we really look at it as being a trusted advisor and a valuable partnership and hopefully and I do believe that our clients look at it the same way- Micah, what are all the ways online that people can find Klinger, hagerman and then a phone number?

Speaker 3:

The best way would be LinkedIn. We have a LinkedIn page for Klinger Hagerman LLC. You can go out and find our contact information there. We also have a website, wwwklingerhagermancom. The firm's only been around for about three years, so we would like to build out that website a little bit more. However, it does have contact information on there as well.

Speaker 2:

Right and you have 18 years of experience. You said right.

Speaker 3:

Yes, sir.

Speaker 2:

Just wanted to clarify that for the people that just heard the five years, so there wasn't confusion. Mike, it's been a pleasure having you on our show, for sure, and we definitely wish you and Klinger Hangerman the very best moving forward.

Speaker 3:

Thank you Appreciate it.

Speaker 1:

Thank you for listening to the Good Neighbor Podcast. To nominate your favorite local businesses to be featured on the show, go to gnpfortcollinscom. That's gnpfortcollinscom. That's gnpfortcollinscom. Or call 970-438-0820.