Sponsored by Hannis T. Bourgeois
Few companies reach a century in business, Hannis T. Bourgeois is in that number. Providing a full suite of services, its team of CPAs aims for business relationships that last.
On Oct. 31, 1924, founder Hannis T. Bourgeois established his practice on the 4th floor of the Roumain building in downtown Baton Rouge. What began as a small business has evolved into one of the largest CPA firms in Louisiana, with five offices and more than 150 employees.
Since 1924, HTB has sought to be more than a CPA firm by combining collective knowledge and experience to provide personalized accounting, tax, assurance, and consulting services. HTB focuses on using a personalized approach backed by technical and industry experience commonly found at large regional and national accounting firms.
“We can bring to the table the resources of a large firm, but we don’t sacrifice that small firm relationship feeling,” says Managing Partner Jay Montalbano.
Montalbano says a key to century-long success is continually evolving to adapt to the changing business landscape.
“Committing to client service, recruiting and developing the right individuals and investing in new technologies are key characteristics of a long-standing firm.” Montalbano says. “You can’t be around 100 years using the same technology from the 60s.”
Claire Harrell, Firm Operations Manager, adds maintaining a foundation of core values throughout the journey is essential.
“You continue to adapt but hold true to your firm’s core values. I think that’s something we’ve done well over the past century, says Harrell. “If you look at the firm now vs when it started, there’s a lot that’s completely different, but the core values have remained constant.”
Those core values were engrained from the beginning.
“We’ve got clients today who have been with us for 50+ years. That was the model for success we saw when we were younger in the firm,” says Montalbano. “Establishing long-term relationships is how you build that trusted advisor status.”
HTB is marking its centennial celebration by celebrating the communities it serves. HTB created The 1924 Fund to give back to the communities that have trusted its services for the past 100 years. The 1924 Fund is a donor-advised fund set up through the Baton Rouge Area Foundation and supports Louisiana non-profits nominated by HTB employees.
“We created the 1924 Fund to give back to the communities who gave us the privilege of serving them for the past 100 years,” says Montalbano. “The beauty of the fund is that it will grow with us as we expand our footprint in Louisiana.”
As HTB looks ahead to the next century of service, Harrell shared The 1924 Fund will be a part of its internal culture going forward.
“The idea was to be able to link our past with our future,” says Harrell. “We wanted to create something that will outlive us and to leave something to the community that will be here 100 years from now.”
The leaders at HTB shared how grateful they are for the clients and communities who have trusted them these past 100 years. Its team members welcome the next century with an open door to new clients and new ways of enriching the communities in which they practice.
