Viewing a single comment thread. View all comments

Thr0wingIt4llAway t1_itvhrsn wrote

Reply to comment by iceflame1211 in Anyone work for BerryDunn? by uninspired-v2

I have non-trivial tenure with the firm on the consulting side. The decision and planning for the office move to outer Congress preceded the pandemic by over a year. Years in the making and no relation to PPP for the record.

I'll try to be fair regarding the PPP loans. Accounting and consulting organizations are highly risk averse/conservative by nature and for good reason - I've experienced this risk aversion to a frustrating degree when negotiation compensation at times in my career here. Though I do not have a seat at the C-level table, I am highly confident the procurement of PPP funds was done in a lawful way with significant due diligence. PPP was less about potential loss in clients as you allude to, and more about managing through the uncertainty of the pandemic economy and being able to retain employees. The firm had no layoffs or furloughs. That's 800 people who could continue to pay for expenses, mortgages, healthcare, child care, etc. From what I am told, the firm didn't layoff anyone during the '08 financial crisis which is admirable given that many professional services become a "nice to have" (read: demand drops) during significant economic contraction.

Just a couple of my thoughts from the inside. And believe me, I have no problem being the firm's first critic when I see things I don't like.

2

iceflame1211 t1_itvmg65 wrote

Right, I agree they doubtfully did anything illegal. They're too professional for that. Most of the largest accounting firms in Maine took PPP loans, likely unnecessarily... I guess I'm more jabbing at the PPP program not having any significant means or needs test built in- just had to show the receipts, not that COVID actually damaged your bottom line.

BerryDunn is regularly in the top 3 biggest firms in Maine by revenue, and I'd be shocked if they lost -any- business at all during the COVID pandemic. A quick Google search shows they had a revenue growth of 18% in 2021 and may have break top 50 firms in the nation this year.

I reiterate- what they did likely wasn't illegal... but it is immoral IMHO. When you already have a hundred million in profit at the end of the year, it is greedy and wrong to take even more from taxpayers that they very clearly did not need. However, their primary interest is generating more revenue, not doing what's right for the American people/non-client taxpayers. Congress's incompetence in passing PPP gifted a lot of rich corporations with giant bonuses, and BerryDunn was one of them.

I get what BerryDunn did, it's shitty, but in their defense it's what almost everyone else did too.

1

Thr0wingIt4llAway t1_itvszt7 wrote

The firm does not have 100 million in profit at FY end. Revenue and profit are not the same. Prior to the pandemic, the firm (and any business) has significant expenses, debts, and operating costs. Payroll expense is typically a business's greatest expense. The pandemic introduced economic and business risk. I'll quote, the Paycheck Protection Program is "An SBA-backed loan that helps businesses keep their workforce employed during the COVID-19 crisis." This is what it what used for. Using a program as it was intended is not immoral, IMO. Was their fraud with PPP nationwide? Sure there was. If it is your MO to apply that narrative to whatever businesses you want, so be it. I wouldn't say it is immoral or "shitty" for any qualifying business to apply for a PPP loan in support of retaining its employees and make sure their financial wellbeing is intact.

You can point to our revenue growth in 2021, but that doesn't change the fact that in 2020, business leaders across the country were facing huge economic uncertainty about the future. It was take the loan or lay people off. To your point about "but in their defense it is what almost everyone else did too": almost everyone else was facing the exact same uncertainty and decisions about retaining or release staff. This is what PPP was for at that specific time, not in hindsight.

2