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Corporate profile

IPA

The consulting organization founded as IPA in 1991 has grown since that time to a family of companies which all told comprise the largest full service management consulting and professional services firm in the world dealing with small and medium size companies. Managing rapid growth and emphasizing client and employee satisfaction are the company’s key priorities.

Services performed by the various firms making up the IPA family of companies are a broad stroke across all business disciplines. "IPA was formed to provide quality consulting services to businesses as well as a rewarding life style for its employees," says President Gregg M. Steinberg. "We change people’s lives, and our goal is to have an impact on our clients professionally and personally. As such, our service offerings have to encompass all aspects of advisory assistance in regards to our clients businesses and their personal long term wealth and succession management. Ultimately, at the end of the day we have to make sure that our clients profit in business and prosper in life."

Within the last few years, IPA has branched into the tax consulting business and has grown significantly. The company has expanded on its success and has begun reaching out to current and new clients with broader services, such as its tax consulting group. Strategic product and service diversification as allowed IPA to expand its capabilities more rapidly. The sister organizations have been built to accommodate this diversification and add value to IPA’s clients.

The various firms that comprise this global leader are IPA, IBA, ITA, AAL, IPA AI Services, International Tax Implementation Services and ITA Financial Services . Through IPA and IBA, knowledge is transferred to their clients through specific consulting engagements. Issues such as operations, sales and marketing, human resources, financial controls and efficiency/productivity are addressed. ITA, ITA Implementation Services and AAL provide tax planning, tax efficiency, estate structuring and succession planning services as well as accounting compliance work. IPA AI Services performs various valuation and intermediary services.

During IPA’s 15 years in business it has served more than 150,000 small and medium sized businesses in North America. Given the fact that small business employs more people than any other sector of the economy and that small business has driven each major economic revival, it may be fair to say that IPA has been partially responsible for ensuring that small business plays a leading role in U.S. entrepreneurial growth. Not only has IPA taken the lead role in global small business consulting, it has done so with a sales and marketing methodology unique to the professional services landscape.

Teamwork is the byproduct in this very goal and process-oriented environment. Key matrices for each key operational group link to the next group’s responsibilities. For example, sales productivity is measured not on the number of leads they generate, but on the number of analytical surveys that the company completes. And the consultants’ productivity figures are not based on the number of new consulting projects taken on by each consultant, but rather on the quality of the benefit received by their client.

IPA has developed systems to transfer their knowledge quickly from the individuals to their consulting group as a whole, allowing all to share best practices with their clients. In many cases, these clients are second- or third-generation family owners. Whereas the business founder thought they could rely on his or her intuition to run the company, they require formalized processes and procedures to meet their own business and personal needs.

"Ultimately, our job is to make sure our clients are successful," Steinberg says. "I define that as making sure our clients and their companies have a strong cash flow tied to profitability and to quality of life."

Clearly the innovation and best practices which IPA transfers to its clients come from both the benefit of serving over 150,000 clients as well as the knowledge gained in growing its own company from a pure start up (with no outside funding) to a company on the way to $250 million in sales and 2,000 employees in less than 15 years. The ability to grow a company organically in such a successful manner can no doubt be partially attributed to its senior management team, many of whom have been with the company for the bulk of its existence.

John Burgess is the key founder and the driving force behind building the world’s largest management consulting and professional services firm specializing in the small and medium-sized business marketplace. Burgess’s innovative strategies and entrepreneurial insights created this global leader in 1991, and through his direction, the firm is and continues to be the fastestgrowing company ever in its segment of the marketplace.

Gregg Steinberg is the president of IPA, and his responsibilities include direct daily oversight of all the operating entities, as well as management of the combined operations to ensure all companies are meeting short-term financial targets. In addition, he is responsible for developing long-term strategic, operational, financial and growth objectives. Steinberg is a graduate of the University of Arizona with a bachelor of science in Business Administration. He also has a masters in International Management and Business Administration, with an emphasis in finance, from The Garvin School of International Management (Thunderbird).

Kenneth Sweet, JD, CBI, MFP, CAM, CPM, CM&AA, CBC, is the executive director of management and tax consulting for IPA. The consultants under his direction provide comprehensive business advisory services and tax strategies to companies in the United States, Canada and other locations worldwide. Since assuming the position of executive director in 1992, he has directed and supervised in excess of 63,000 consulting engagements. Sweet is recognized as a leading authority on small business. His other degrees include a bachelor of science in Business Management and a bachelor of science in Accounting.

Tyler Burgess is the director of survey services for IPA, and his responsibilities include daily management of 250 senior business analysts who consult more than 450 businesses each week. Burgess joined IPA in 1997. Recently, he was appointed to the IPA Board of Directors and was nominated for The Business Ledger’s “Today’s Young Executive” award. Tyler is a graduate of Lake Forest College.

IPA clearly has established its presence among the consulting elite, and its future plans are closely aligned with the needs of its clients and ensuring that all services required by that constituency can be delivered. Doing so will ensure that IPA is able to deliver upon its mantra of ensuring that its clients profit in business and prosper in life.