Overview

We are SS&G Financial Services, Inc., certified public accountants and advisers. We provide tax, assurance, employee benefits, payroll, and consulting services to thousands of clients across a variety of industries. In addition to our tax and accounting practice, our firm name, SS&G, encompasses the entities SS&G Healthcare Services LLC and SS&G Wealth Management LLC. We also work closely with our payroll affiliate, Paytime Payroll Services.

SS&G is one of the nation's largest independent accounting and business consulting firms. With offices in Cleveland, Akron, Columbus, Cincinnati, and Westlake, Ohio, and Erlanger, Kentucky, we serve clients across the state and around the country.

Our employees are the foundation of our organization. They utilize their knowledge, skills, and expertise to contribute to the entrepreneurial pursuits of our clients and better respond to their changing needs. We create value for our clients by providing progressive, effective, and timely services and solutions, and demonstrate our commitment to client partnerships by emphasizing the principle of teamwork and engaging in consistent, responsive, and proactive communication.

More than 20 percent of our accountants have prior experience in a Big Four (Five, Six, Eight) firm, and another 15 percent have served in the capacity of CEO, CFO, COO, or controller in private industry. Members of our professional staff have been employed by the Internal Revenue Service, Ohio Department of Taxation, Auditor of the State of Ohio, Office of the Chapter 13 Trustee, and the Federal Credit Union. Some of our employees have held tax and accounting positions in county and state government, as well as with the U.S. armed services.

SS&G is a member of the The Leading Edge Alliance, an international professional association of independently owned accounting and consulting firms.

Culture

We're one of largest and most well-respected independent accounting firms in the country. Having catered originally to fast-growing, early-stage companies that are now "all grown up," we understand how to assist clients through their growing pains and provide support in all phases of maturity. We are proactive problem solvers who bring creative thoughts to the table and take a vested interest in the success of our clients.

Of our more than 425 employees, one-third are certified public accountants (CPAs). More than 10 percent of our total staff earned a master's degree in tax, accounting, finance, or general business, and two percent have their law degree.

Every member of our valued staff strives to achieve levels of excellence in client satisfaction by practicing the highest quality of service, observing the highest ethical and professional standards, including strict adherence to confidentiality, and operating with integrity and accountability. We proudly earn the trust of our clients.

Commitment to quality is a fundamental philosophy of the firm. We strive to exceed our clients' expectations on a consistent basis. In order to assess how we are doing, we utilize a "Performance Survey." We are fortunate to have a high client response rate, which gives us confidence that the survey serves as a sound indicator of our performance. The 2007 survey results indicate that 98 percent of our clients were satisfied/extremely satisfied with the overall quality and performance of our services.

SS&G is a participant in the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) Peer Review Program. In accordance with AICPA requirements, we are reviewed by a designated, professional accounting firm every three years for quality and compliance with professional standards. Our last peer review was completed for the year ended 2007 from which we received a "clean" opinion, with no comment letter, verifying our adherence to professional standards.

Client Service

SS&G has built its reputation for integrity by providing the best client service and delivering the highest quality services to our clients. It is imperative that all of our employees engage in practices that the firm has established as integral to providing the best service possible. Practices include, but are not limited to, returning phone calls the same day and certainly within 24 hours, checking voicemail daily during the business week when not scheduled in the office (this includes part-time employees), completing client work on a timely basis, taking joint responsibility for transferred work, and, in general, doing everything possible to ensure that the client is well served, including consistent account status correspondence to the client.

SS&G has a "Super Service Group" that is comprised of representatives from all levels, offices, and entities that work to develop and implement new strategies, ideas, and policies to enhance client service, both internally (employee-to-employee) and externally (employee-to-client). The group's mission is to constantly improve how we attain, interact, treat, work with, and show appreciation for our clients. The Super Service Group is charged with the task of coming up with concepts that go above and beyond our standard customer service practices.

We have also implemented a client service agreement as a tool to reinforce the firm's expectations regarding client service. All employees must sign the agreement which states "I understand our mission is to provide ‘professional services of the highest quality and value that enable our clients to thrive,' and will do my part as an employee of the firm to ensure that this mission is followed. As an employee of SS&G, regardless of my position within the firm, I recognize that it is my responsibility to ensure that all clients that I come in contact with, directly or indirectly, receive superior client service. I will respect vendors, contacts, referral sources, and my colleagues."

Mission

Our Vision

SS&G is the preeminent regional provider of accounting, tax, and consulting services to a myriad of industries and organizations. SS&G provides the services that bring solutions.

Our Core Values

• Hire, retain, and recognize the best-qualified and most dedicated professionals, and afford them opportunities for personal growth, professional development, and advancement

• Utilize our knowledge, skills, and expertise to contribute to the entrepreneurial pursuits of our clients and better respond to their changing needs

• Respect for colleagues, clients, and contacts, as well as the importance of confidentiality, at all times is essential in building strong, long-term relationships

• Acknowledge our responsibility to good corporate citizenship and contribute to the betterment of our profession

Recognitions

Our clients, employees, and communities make our firm what it is today. Along the path to get here, we've been honored to receive recognition of our hard work from a number of organizations, publications, and companies.

Awards

• Akron Cascade Capital Corporation: Business Growth Award (13 years)

• Weatherhead 100: List of Fastest-Growing Companies in Northeast Ohio (12 years)

• Ohio Chamber of Commerce: One of Best Places to Work in Ohio (2006, 2007, 2008)

• Inside Business : NEO Success Award (2006, 2008)

• SBN : World Class Customer Service Award (2007, 2008)

• Practical Accountant: Technology Innovation Award (2007)

• Solon Chamber of Commerce: Business of the Year Award (2007)

• SBN : Pillar of the Community (1998, 2003, 2006)

• First Merit: Inaugural Legacy Award (2005)

• NorthCoast 99: Great Workplace for Top Talent in Northeast Ohio (1999, 2000, 2005)

• Bowman's Accounting Report : Top 10 Accounting Firms (Fastest Growing, Professional Staff to Partner Ratio, Percent Revenue from Tax, and Volume Managed by Managing Partner) (2005)

• Better Business Bureau: Torch Award for Business Integrity (2003)

• Greater Cincinnati Chamber of Commerce: Customer Focus Award and Innovation in Business Award Finalist (1999)

• Accounting Today : Achievement in Client Service Award (1995, 1997)

• SS&G's Restaurant CFO Bootcamp® has received accolades from professional organizations, including the Association for Accounting Marketing and The Leading Edge Alliance.

• Our annual golf outing to benefit the Alzheimer's Association has been recognized with numerous awards since its inception in 1996.

• SS&G Healthcare Services LLC has also been recognized for its continued growth and client service, most recently in 2006 with Akron Cascade Captial Corporation's Business Growth Award.

Giving Back

We are committed to ensuring that our communities are a better place to live and work. In addition to supporting nonprofit organizations with charitable giving, we support employees dedicated to pursuing their philanthropic interests in volunteering their time. We donate thousands of hours to pro bono work, providing accounting services to a diverse group of nonprofit organizations. In fact, more than one-fourth of our staff actively sits on nonprofit boards in a leadership capacity, and three-fourths volunteer for a nonprofit organization or one of its committees.

We recognize our responsibility of good corporate citizenship and accept our duty to the betterment of the communities where we live and work. Whether teaching elementary school children at "Accounting for Kids Day," collecting food for shelters and food banks, walking or running for cures to heart disease and cancer, or raising funds for a myriad of other essential needs in our communities, our firm and its employees support nonprofit organizations in the communities in which we practice.

Additionally, SS&G has supported the Cleveland and Greater East Ohio Area Chapters of the Alzheimer's Association for 10 years with its annual golf outing. To date, the firm has raised more than $225,000.

Confidentiality Statement

SS&G Financial Services, Inc. adheres to strict levels of confidentiality. As a CPA firm, we are governed by privacy rules which require us to secure client information. As such, the firm’s policy is to continuously keep client information confidential.

New employees sign the firm’s confidentiality policy acknowledging this responsibility to clients. Violation of the firm’s policy results in immediate termination.