November 1, 2007
We all knew it would eventually happen, but I don’t think any of us ever believed it. There’s no easy way to say this, but after 44 years in the accounting profession,
Bill
McKinley has decided it’s time to retire from full time practice. Effective July 31,
Bill
is retiring from McKinley Scearcy Associates and is withdrawing from the partnership.
But, even though he feels it’s time to retire, he doesn’t intend to slow down. He will continue to have an office at the firm as long as he desires and we have space. He still has a lot to offer and he will continue to work for us as a consultant and will be available to help us out during the busy times when we need all the help we can get.
The bottom line is that
Bill
’s retirement doesn’t really change anything, except that he can take it easy when he wants to and he doesn’t have to worry about “how things are going” in the office. He and Jan will still be involved in the practice, although we won’t see as much of
Bill
in the future as we have in the past. Even when doing work for the firm, he may decide he wants to stay at home and work in his “jammies.”
When
Lynda
and Dick had their first grandchild, they can remember
Bill
saying “I’m too young to have grandchildren.” Well, it looks like he’s finally gotten old enough. He and Jan have grandchildren now and they seem to be enjoying them immensely.
Some of you may not know
Bill
as well as you think. You may not know that
Bill
was born in
Bakersfield
or that he grew up in Pond, which isn’t even a wide spot in the road anymore. After moving around between Shafter and Wasco in the south Valley and Paso Robles and
San Luis Obispo
on the coast and even
Fresno
, he and his family moved to
Nevada
in 1957, where they had a cattle ranch.
Did
Bill
like the cowboy life? You don’t even have to answer. Some of his fondest memories are of being a working cowboy in the
Nevada
desert near Elko. He even operated a turquoise mine and made turquoise jewelry.
He met Jan while they both attended the
University
of
Nevada
and, after graduation in 1963, they were married. She came from
Long Island
(emphasis on the “g”) in New Yawk. But, she too took to
Nevada
and they lived happily in Elko for several years.
After working as a CPA for one of
Nevada
’s largest statewide firms to gain his experience and then as a sole practitioner in Elko,
Bill
decided to return closer to his roots. After making contact with Gordon Sorey, who needed a partner, it turned out to be a good match.
Bill
came to
Porterville
in 1974 and he’s been here ever since.
Since
Bill
entered the public accounting profession in 1963, how things have changed! There were no true calculators in those days; what we called calculators were really just adding machines that could multiply, but not divide. And, some weren’t even electric.
This was the days of hand-prepared tax returns (yes, there was a time before you needed a computer to handle the complex calculations). That’s good, because there were no computers yet either.
The closest thing to computers were the new Hewlett-Packard hand calculators that would handle financial functions, but would not print the results, requiring the user to transfer the results to a hand-prepared spreadsheet. These pocket calculators, similar to the ones you can buy now for under $25, cost $800 or so (much more than a house payment).
Copy machines used a thermal printing technology that printed on paper that turned brown after just a few years.
There were no fax machines or scanners or cordless phones or cell phones.
When computers finally starting arriving at accounting firms, they were large, slow, limited in capability and very expensive. They required full-time handlers (programmers and operators). As soon as something resembling the personal computer came along,
Bill
became what is known as an “early adopter.” We still have a Radio Shack model TRS-80 computer upstairs (we called them “Trash 80s, although they were pretty good computers for the day, considering they were one of the very first personal computers).
So, a lot of things that we sometimes take for granted came along since
Bill
first entered the public accounting world. But, through all the transitions to modern computers, software, copiers, faxes, scanners, cd and dvd writers, flash memory and modern communications,
Bill
remained up to speed with the new technical world.
Whenever we upgraded to some new technology,
Bill
was the one who actually opened the user’s guide and tried to learn how to get the most out of the new device.
Yes,
Bill
has seen a lot in his 44 years in the profession, but we think he’ll probably see more over the next several years. He won’t really be “slowing down,” because that’s not the kind of person he is. He’ll still be busy, but just doing other things.
For instance, he’ll still represent us on the Tulare County Association of Governments, including its Environmental Committee, Tulare County Assessment Appeals Board, Porterville Chamber of Commerce Branding Committee and continues to be active in the Rotary Club of Springville Sierra Sunrise, of which he is a past president. He also continues to be a member of the Tulare-Kings Estate Planning Council, of which he is also a past president. He plans to keep his memberships in the American Institute of CPAs and the California Society of CPAs.
And, just because he can’t resist the urge to learn something new, he’s pursuing a new credential as a Certified Fraud Examiner. CFEs apply many of the skills
Bill
has learned in his decades of public practice, but they do so in a much more structured fashion.
So, as we make the transition to
Bill
’s new status, we don’t have to say “we’ll miss him,” because he’s still going to be coming around and will still have a big part in making McKinley Scearcy Associates a successful and quality accounting firm.
But, we do hope you’ll join us in wishing him a very happy and rewarding retirement.
Partners and Staff of McKinley Scearcy Associates
