If you walk the halls of Skoda, Minotti & Co., you may run into Ricki Weiss. She’s not an employee of the accounting firm, but she has an office there as executive director of Teachers’ Aid Inc.
In addition to free office space, the firm provides computers, conference facilities and equipment and acts as an incubator for this nonprofit organization.
This kind of community commitment is part of Skoda, Minotti’s core values. Its employees are also encouraged to take time during their workday to do community service, whether it’s for their place of worship, with the Boy Scouts or Girl Scouts or at their alma mater.
“Virtually every one of our folks gives back, in one way or another, to the community,” says Kenneth Haffey, partner at the firm. “(Chairman and founder) Greg Skoda is involved in a number of groups. All partners are involved in at least a couple of organizations; it starts at the top.”
Skoda, Minotti’s partners have served as presenters with Business Volunteers Unlimited’s (BVU) Non-Profit Board Training Program, and several of the firm’s accountants have graduated from the training program to become board members of other organizations.
“We end up fulfilling a very important role on these boards by being the financial overseer to that organization,” says Haffey. “Probably three-fourths of our folks are acting in that capacity on these different boards. That’s OK, especially these days, when you read bad things in the paper about people not properly handling finances. We as CPAs see our role as to make sure the right things are happening.”
But Skoda, Minotti’s employees do more than crunch numbers. Sometimes they pick up a paintbrush and head down to the Boys and Girls Club to help with the BVU-sponsored Done-in-a-Day project. A crew of 42 volunteers, including firm partners, employees and their relatives, recently spent a day at the club cleaning the gymnasium, washing walls and painting the back wall of the stage.
“The gentleman who runs that facility was extremely appreciative and was surprised we had such a large number of volunteers,” says Haffey. “We do community service projects individually, but we also feel very committed to doing things as a firm and making a big difference.” HOW TO REACH: Skoda, Minotti & Co., (440) 449-6800, www.skodaminotti.com
