NORTH BAY BUSINESS JOURNAL EVENT

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September 25, 2008, 5:30-7:30 p.m., Doubletree Hotel, Rohnert Park

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ACCOUNTING: CPA Andersen starts PR practice; CrossCheck to offer debt collections

In launching its newest practice area, Santa Rosa-based Andersen & Company LLP is venturing into territory where few CPA firms have gone before: public relations.

Ted Grafe, the head of Andersen’s internal marketing and business development, is spinning off a new in-house PR shop aimed at expanding the firm’s suite of consulting services. Mr. Grafe, who joined Andersen a year ago after spending several years at a PR firm in San Francisco, said that for several months he has informally consulted with company clients about publicity.

“We started doing it, and now clients are starting to ask for it,” Mr. Grafe said of the new service. “It’s just growing exponentially in terms of demand.”

Andersen may be the first North Bay accounting firm to delve into public relations, but the company can look for an example in the San Ramon firm Armanino McKenna, which recently launched its own PR group in a partnership with former newspaper publisher Vintage Foster.

Andersen Partner Ken Dansie, who heads the firm’s business advisory arm, said the new PR practice dovetails with other consulting services because it helps companies increase revenues.

“It’s kind of like looking at an income statement for a company and saying we want to impact every item on that income statement,” Mr. Dansie said.

For more information, visit www

.aandco.com.

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Rohnert Park check-guarantee provider CrossCheck Inc. is expanding in the payment services market with a new debt collection business, Optio Solutions LLC.

Optio charges flat fees – $5.25 to $12.25 for written requests, more for phone calls – to collect overdue bills on behalf of companies. It has an online portal that clients can use to track payments.

The company is hoping to cash in on growing economic uncertainty, which may lead companies to focus more on their accounts receivable, according to Optio’s President and CEO Chris Schumacher.

“We’ve started to find that the public is getting concerned about where the country is headed from a recession point of view,” said Mr. Schumacher, who is also chief operating officer of CrossCheck.

Launched last year as a wholly owned subsidiary of CrossCheck, Optio is expected to grow from seven employees to 25 by the end of the year.

Mr. Schumacher said Optio is targeting companies that want to collect payments without ruining relationships with customers.

“What we’re trying to do is do it with a more diplomatic approach,” Mr. Schumacher said.

Optio also hopes to differentiate itself with its flat fees, a contrast with agencies that take a percentage of debts collected, according to Mr. Schumacher.

For more information, visit www

.optiosolutions.com.

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PC Magazine, Dell Inc. and the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants are offering a free, online course in computerized financial management for small businesses.

The course includes information about both online and offline software for accounting, reporting and compliance, including Crystal Reports. Fore more information, visit www.aicpa.org.

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Submit items for this column to William Jason at 707-579-2900 ext. 225, wjason@busjrnl.com or fax 707-579-8475.

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