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About Us

About Our Firm

Our firm motto is Excellentia Cvm Integritate (Excellence With Integrity).

Excellence is doing the very best that can be done.

Integrity is absolute faithful adherence to all moral, ethical, and professional principles in every situation.

Excellence is how well something is done.

Integrity is how it is done well.

 

Of course, anyone can adopt a motto, and claim the attributes of that motto.

In our case we have searched for objective criteria to illustrate our determination to live up to the firm motto.

How have we done that?

In addition to the normal CPA firm membership in the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) and the Florida Institute of Certified Public Accountants (FICPA), which is common to most CPA firms in Florida, we have also enrolled in the Private Companies Practice Section (PCPS) of the AICPA. PCPS membership brings added requirements of Continuing Professional Education beyond just the regular AICPA membership. This is to be sure we are always abreast of the latest developments and “emerging issues” in the profession.

In addition to the PCPS membership, our firm is a member firm of the Government Auditing Quality Center (GAQC) of the AICPA. GAQC member firms are those who are making the greatest effort to increase the quality of audit engagements for Governmental and Not-For-Profit entities.

All CPA firms who perform Audit engagements or Review engagements go through a process known as “Peer Review” where an independent outside CPA firm is engaged periodically to come into the firm and examine a random selection of work files for engagements the firm has completed to ensure that the quality of the firm’s work is meeting the standards of the profession. For GAQC member firms, there is an additional requirement that the outside firm engaged to come in to examine the firm’s work files is also a GAQC member firm. This is to ensure that any engagements the GAQC member firm performs also meets the standards of the Government Audit Quality Center.

You can find our most recent Peer Review report on the AICPA website at https://peerreview.aicpa.org/publicfile/Popup.aspx?f=1041882&r=339244&t=REV&s=1&e=.pdf.

Our firm has participated in the AICPA PCPS Peer Review program for since 1990. We are committed to this process. We look forward to having an independent CPA firm come to us periodically to examine our work to be certain we are truly meeting the highest professional standards for CPA firms in how we complete our work for clients.

On a local level, our firm is a member of the Escambia County Chamber of Commerce and the Santa Rosa County Chamber of Commerce. Also, our firm has been a member of the Better Business Bureau of Northwest Florida since 1987.

We believe in the value of relationships. We view every client relationship like a partnership. We only consider our relationship with you as successful if you are successful.

We are committed to providing close, personal, attention to our clients. We take pride in giving special attention to your specific situation. The help you receive comes from years of advanced training, technical expertise, and experience. We make a substantial investment of time and effort into each client’s relationship. Most of our client relationships last over 10 years, some as long as 25 or 30 years. One does not build long lasting relationships with clients without making the very best effort to provide excellent service and to treat the client with integrity.

If you want to contact a specific individual at the firm, try one of these:

Jim Carlson, CPA
jdc@carlson-co.com

Kevin Carlson, CPA
kjc@carlson-co.com

Jane P. MacWhinnie, CPA
jpm@carlson-co.com

Alyson J. Carlson, CPA
ajc@carlson-co.com

Misty Stewart
Office Administrator
mes@carlson-co.com