Henrico-based Keiter, Stephens firm offers versatility

Entrepreneur Bob Cabaniss admits that he hasn't been an easy client for his accountants at Keiter, Stephens, Hurst, Gary & Shreaves.

Cabaniss is the owner of Williamsville Wellness, a treatment center for compulsive gamblers and alcoholics in Hanover County. But he has operated several other businesses over the years, including being a wine and beer wholesaler and a microbrewer.

"A lot of my businesses weren't normal types of businesses to deal with," he said.

"Keiter, Stephens has done a wonderful job throughout the years," he said. "They have had to deal with different states and different governments, and they always got up to speed quickly. I can't say enough good things about them."

Keiter, Stephens, Hurst, Gary & Shreaves provides a variety of financial and accounting services, from analysis and modeling to strategic business consulting.

The certified public accounting and consulting firm opened in 1978 downtown but has operated offices in the Innsbrook Corporate Center in western Henrico County since moving there in 1986.

The firm grew its business by focusing on smallto mid-size privately owned companies in central Virginia.

"We still have a lot of small mom-and-pop type businesses that want the breadth and depth we have to offer as well as a close personal relationship," said Robert Keiter, one of the firm's founders.

But the firm also works with larger public and privately owned companies throughout the region, he said.

Before starting the accounting firm, all of the original principals -- Keiter, Bill Stephens, Carroll Hurst, Robert "Ted" Gary IV and Bub Shreaves -- worked at Gary, Stosch, Walls and Co.

"We were the top non-partner in many of our respected areas," Gary said. "We decided we wanted to grow our careers together."

In the beginning, Keiter, Stephens worked with a lot of young businesses, helping them become profitable.

"We had to spend a lot of time with them," Keiter said. "That gave us experience under fire. We had to be hands-on and creative with our clients."

Economic conditions in the late 1970s and early 1980s weren't favorable for new businesses.

"We had to borrow money from the bank just to make it, but so did our clients," Keiter said. "It helped us be efficient."

Times were tight those first couple of years. For instance, each partner earned only $12,000 in the first year.

But at the same time, the company had to borrow $100,000 to buy its first computer system.

"We wanted to make sure we had technology to leverage our expertise," Gary said. "Now, all of our files are automated. We haven't had a file room in five years."

Keiter, Stephens has grown to become the 15th-largest professional accounting and consulting firm in Virginia, based on the number of employees who hold the certified public accountant designation. The firm has 126 employees; 56 are CPAs.

Two of the original partners left the firm -- Shreaves in 1997 and Stephens in 1999 -- when they moved out of the area.

In 2004, the firm opened a second office in Charlottesville with seven full-time employees.

"We felt that was a market that was underserved with the variety of services we offer," Keiter said.

In addition to its main business, Keiter, Stephens has an ownership interest in two additional companies: KSPH, an employee benefits consulting company in Henrico; and Dominion Partners, a boutique merger and acquisition consulting company.

In the past five years, the firm's revenue has doubled. Its growth over the years has been incremental.

"There has been no one milestone," Hurst said.

As its clients have gotten larger and more complex, Keiter, Stephens has added specialty areas, including business valuations and litigation services.

"Our niches have always been built around the needs of our clients," Keiter said.

Josée G. Covington, president and CEO of Covington International Travel in Henrico, has been using the CPA firm for more than 30 years.

"They are true experts in their field," she said. "They are proactive, always ahead of the news about finance and taxes. When they do our work, both personal and corporate, I know I don't have to worry. I know everything has been done correctly."