RKKM began in 1998 when four separate sole proprietorships
merged into one firm. Bruce McDonnell is
the only remaining founder of the business, after buying out his fellow
partners. At the beginning of 2014, the firm changed its name from Reinhard Kopko Keller & McDonnell, Inc
to RKKM in order to distinguish the firm while honoring the founding members.
RKKM is a full service accounting firm that provides such
services as book keeping, tax planning, financial statements, and many
others. Based in Canton, they serve a
large area, stretching as far north as Cleveland and as far south as
Coshocton. Recently, RKKM has dealt with
over 600 individual and 220 corporate and partnership returns this past year.
RKKM currently has seven employees, with three of them being
Certified Public Accountants and the rest having significant tax and accounting
experience. The firm prides itself on
its work-ethic, hiring of seasoned tax professionals, and its ability to build
close client relationships that add long-term value. RKKM also provides clients with services like
estate and retirement planning, IRS representation, and business valuation.
The firm joined NFIB when a current member contacted Bruce
during George Bush’s 2004 re-election campaign.
Bruce was able to attend a speech with President Bush and then followed
up his involvement by attending Small Business Day at the Capitol and a meeting
of the Stark County Area Action Council meeting.
Since then, Bruce and RKKM have been active members of
NFIB. Through NFIB, RKKM has been able
to build beneficial relationships with officials such as Scott Oelslager,
giving them a voice in state government.
Bruce currently chairs the Stark County Area Action Council and attends
meetings of NFIB/Ohio’s Leadership Council in Columbus helping to represent the
area on a state level.
RKKM realizes the complex issues facing small firms such as
themselves. Bruce sees the challenges of
attracting young people to stay in the area.
Many potential new employees with applicable college degrees are looking
to move to bigger cities. While RKKM has
a great group of current employees, a vacuum of qualified applicants could
prevent them from expanding further. Also,
with some businesses closing during the recent economic recession of 2008, they
experienced a shrinking client base, as some of their accounts could simply not
stay solvent.
But, Bruce points out that there is nothing quite like the
freedom owning your own business allows.
He appreciates what NFIB does not only for his business but for his
clients as well saying that many of his clients are members of NFIB. “There is not really any other advocate for
small business out there”, Mr. McDonnell says.
To anyone thinking about starting their own business, Bruce has a few
pieces of advice: “(Have) a good
accountant and have a good plan that you have thought through.”
Find out more about RKKM at http://www.rkkm.com/
