Christopher Tierney, MBA, CPA

tierney@dsbcpas.com

I bring a diversified business background to my position at Dana S. Beane & Company, P.C. After my junior year in college, I worked for a year in a tobacco, stationery and confectionery retailing business in England that had been founded by my great-grandfather. After graduating from Cornell I accepted a position with Macy's (New Jersey) and upon completing their Executive Development Program, became an assistant buyer of Men's Designer Suits.
Working for a big corporation involved a lot of politics. It seemed that every day lunch revolved around discussions of who was going to get who's job. To avoid being too closely aligned with any faction, everyone ate with different people each day and tried to observe whom was having lunch with whom. And, apart from anything else, working in downtown Newark and living in Northern New Jersey wasn't much fun.

However, retailing taught a number of valuable lessons. For example: You can't sell dollar bills for 99 cents and make it up in volume. . . . If inventory isn't moving, get out of it and reinvest your money in something else where you can make a buck. After learning those lessons, I went back to school and got an MBA from Cornell University. Valuable lessons were learned at school, particularly in finance and capital budgeting. For example, a dollar today is worth more than a dollar tomorrow. And, never underestimate the power of compound interest. After receiving my degree, I worked briefly as a Special Projects Coordinator/Comptroller for two Visiting Nurse Associations in Massachusetts. (That was the foundation of my specialization in not-for-profit health care.) I accepted a permanent position at Newkirk and Newkirk, P.A., a well established accounting firm in West Yarmouth. There, I was responsible for bringing an in-house computer utilizing General Ledger software for client accounting up to speed. (I was going to say "on-line" but . . . this was the era of the 8 inch floppy disks. Al Gore hadn't invented the internet yet.) Family circumstances led to a relocation to the Lakes Region of New Hampshire in the fall of 1982. I accepted a position as Senior Staff Accountant with a local firm. Shortly thereafter, I passed the CPA exam and was granted a license to practice. In 1987, I became a shareholder in Reed & Morley, P.C. and became the managing partner of their Plymouth office. I joined Dana S. Beane and Company, P.C. in 1996.

During these years, I gained a great deal of experience dealing with the problems (and opportunities) impacting small businesses. I created a number of business plans and successful financing proposals; served a Team Captain doing Quality Reviews for CPA firms and taught several accounting courses at Southern New Hampshire University. I have prepared a number of business valuations, testified as an expert witness in New Hampshire Superior Courts and participated in negotiations both buying and selling businesses. I also learned some valuable lessons: Partners always share poverty better than they share prosperity. And: Consider carefully before marrying an attorney . . . a divorce (at least in New Hampshire) can be very expensive. Right now I'm happily married with four children.(One is now in college so I've got pretty good at doing FAFSA forms.) When they're not keeping me busy, I like to go sailing, kayaking and camping in the summer. In the winter I teach skiing at Gunstock as a PSIA certified ski instructor. I used to fly airplanes but that joined golf as something I have to get back to when time permits.

Over the years I have served on a number of non-profit Boards. At the present time I am the Treasurer of the Lakes Region Scholarship Foundation and serve as a member of the Laconia Airport Authority. [ Return To Staff Directory | Return to Qualifications Index ]

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