Jim Hawarden
Andrews Transport, CFO

Andrews Transport moved to PSK around 2000-2001. Steve Kilpatrick is the partner on our account and he approves our audit. We work mostly with Kevin Brock on the audit side and with Joe Foster for tax issues. I view them as a consulting service. Their desire and availability to help impresses me.

PSK goes out of their way to look for new things we need to know. Kevin sends over articles he reads about our industry and, last year, the firm worked with a group of firms and developed a benchmarking of Andrews with other companies in the transportation industry.  It was helpful to note both our strengths and areas where improvement is required.

Many people think accounting is black and white but sometimes there is a need for flexibility in our business. PSK gives us advice on how to do what we need to in a way that makes most sense for us while remaining in compliance with accounting and IRS regulations. They give us options which we appreciate.

I think the outlook on auditors has changed over the past ten years. People used to dread audits, but auditors now assist us. We don’t hire them just because we have to. I look at the audit as a validation of my year’s work and as an opportunity for improvement. I look forward to what I might learn when they visit.

PSK prepares a management letter every year. They interview our people—from the chairman to the maintenance director—to see what’s going on with the company. Many of the suggestions and recommendations, which are included in the management letter, come from these interviews. The letter might highlight areas of potential cost savings or risk exposure. These suggestions are valued and the letter is not something that is just read once and filed away.

I’ll call PSK with questions during the year, not simply about the audit, but about accounting issues. They take the time to look into issues and suggest other ways of doing things. We now have documented internal controls that were developed from company policies. We wrote the internal controls but we asked Kevin to review them and he gladly did so.

One thing that has helped us was PSK’s knowledge of tax law. There was an issue the IRS raised and Joe said “You don’t have to worry, we’ll take care of it.” Joe worked with the IRS agent and he made all the calculations which were accepted by the agent with no adjustment. This I believe shows the regard the IRS has also for both PSK and Joe Foster.

I don’t know if we could get another person of Joe’s caliber. He is energetic and does all that we need while doing it exceptionally well. Kevin Brock shows the same level of energy and drive and while still a young professional he shows all the signs of a star in the making. Any firm is only as good as its people, and all the staff we deal with at PSK are top notch. For a small to mid-sized business, they are the best firm out there.  

Jim is the CFO of Andrews Transport since joining the company in November of 2004. Andrews Transport is a private company that transports liquid petroleum throughout the US and Canada. Jim has served as CFO for others in the petroleum industry as well.