Porte Brown of Elk Grove Village

Focusing on client needs has been the guiding standard of Porte Brown LLC since Jim Porte founded the firm in Chicago in 1946. Armed with his old-fashioned key-driven comptometer, Porte would take his accounting services directly to his customers’ locations in order to acquire the in-depth company knowledge and ongoing communication he needed to meet their business needs. Even long after Porte Brown moved to Elk Grove Village in 1974 to centralize its growing staff and clientele base, the firm still stays true to Porte’s original premise of working directly with the customer.

Successful companies like Porte Brown LLC build on the foundations established by their creators. They know how to balance adjustment to changing times with perseverance to the principles that made them successful in the first place. Porte Brown is still going strong after 75 years by staying current with new knowledge and technologies in the profession of accounting, while still giving their clients personalized service.

Appetite for Learning

“The appetite and demand for learning in this firm is insatiable,” says Pam Metzger, Chief Marketing Officer for Porte Brown. “Everyone in the whole firm is not only encouraged, but expected, to keep up on topics in the industry and increase their professional knowledge. Each month, outside of tax season, we take the entire team off-line for a full day of structured training and best practice sessions. This is a place where ideas really matter. The office has a, positive, ‘can-do’ energy which you can feel when you first walk in the door. I think the clients pick up on the positive environment, and it has helped to foster further growth.

This growth has been not only strategic but also internal. Porte Brown now numbers over 120 employees in four locations, which includes numerous CPAs and twenty-two partners. “We look for top talent in our staff,” says Bruce Jones, the former managing partner of Porte Brown. “We try to recruit go-getters who have perfected their particular expertise and who also want a long-term commitment to their careers with us. The perfect person for us would be a hybrid personality who not only knows their skill set but is also extremely personable and able to work well with clients."

The staff-management relationship is very much a two-way street at Porte Brown,“ Jones continues. “The management here expects its employees to contribute to the firm’s success and excel in its service to our clients, but at the same time the employees have certain expectations of management and look to them to help them progress in their careers.”