100 Days of Service

As mentioned in a previous blog post, we are celebrating our 100th anniversary. We started as a small accounting firm called Shannon Reynolds & Bone. A few years later, George Griesbeck joined the firm, and it became Reynolds, Bone & Griesbeck.

From our beginnings off of Cotton Row in downtown Memphis to our current headquarters in the heart of East Memphis, our firm has weathered two world wars and the Great Depression. Today, we grow and thrive because of our talented employees, dedicated clients, and the Memphis community.

Our Managing Partner, John Griesbeck, the grandson of George, says the Mid-South has been good to RBG over the past century, so in honor of this milestone, we are proud to give back to our community by completing service acts for 100 days during the summer of this year.

“Over the last 100 years, this community has made our firm what it is today,” said
Griesbeck. “Our founders were among the first certified public accountants in the state of Tennessee and we would not be the success we are today without the trust and support of the businesses in this community. So the best way we could think to celebrate our success was to simply give back.”

We gave our clients and employees a voice in deciding which acts of service were most meaningful in our communities and asked them to select the organizations where we would dedicate our time. Some of the organizations selected include:

  • St. Jude Children‚Äôs Research Hospital
  • Wolf River Conservancy – Cycle the Greenway
  • Mid-South Food Bank
  • Church Health Center
  • MIFA Meals on Wheels
  • YWCA
  • Lifeblood
  • LeBonheur Children‚Äôs Hospital
  • Humane Society of Memphis and Shelby County

We look forward to our 100 Days of Service and will keep our blog and social media accounts updated with pictures and accounts of our service projects.

The secret to our success

This is a big year for RBG, as 2016 marks the 100th anniversary of our business. In a time when small businesses do not always thrive, we've been able to grow because we've invested our time and energy into our most important resource – our people.

Our firm has, on average, a 95 percent annual retention rate among associates. In a day where workers regularly hop from company to company, people stay at RBG. We asked our employees what they enjoy about working for RBG. The answers were consistent – the firm’s overall culture, flexibility, professional training – but the big reason echoed by employees: RBG treats everyone the same, whether you are a partner, a manager, or a staff member.

“One of the things that is unique, especially in this industry, is that employees here have a say,” said Senior Audit Manager Nathan Stevens, an employee since 2007. “We have access and communication with the partners and can facilitate change and ideas. Public accounting is an old industry and a lot of firms still have a rigid structure with most things driven from the top; but RBG is open to hearing what their employees have to say and even works to encourage feedback.”

Rebecca Jacobs, a current tax senior and employee since 2009, appreciates that partners want to hear from the firm’s young professionals, as evidenced through the establishment of the firm's Young Professionals Group. “It is very unusual to have 50-60 year old partners listening to 25 and 30 year old associates and making them part of the decision making process.”

“Our commitment to both clients and employees is based upon our guiding principles and core values. This is the same foundation which has guided us as a top Memphis accounting firm for the past century,” said John Griesbeck, Managing Partner. “We have an unparalleled team in place, and we give them every opportunity to expand their knowledge and skills to continue to reach new levels of expertise.”

Our associates receive more than 50 hours of professional development training each year to improve tactical and leadership skills, as well as continuous internal coaching and mentoring.

We have also made it a point to give employees the flexibility they need to have a
successful career and personal life, even in the 1980s and 1990s, when it was not something on most company’s radars.

For instance, when Tax Manager David Love, who has been with the firm since 1970, had a stroke 20 years ago, we made sure he was taken care of and not rushed back to the office. We let him work part-time, gave him flexibility and treated him like family. Or, when Client Accounting Senior Kim Crawford, with the firm since 1992, started working here, her kids were young and she needed to have a schedule that allowed her time to take care of them. Crawford said RBG was more than willing to create the most comfortable working situation for her.

What’s most obvious after 100 years is that this employee focus doesn't just benefit our employees, it also benefits our clients. We've consistently maintained a high client retention rate, and we feel that we owe our success to our talented employees.