WHY I'M A MEMBER

RISCPA a Valuable Vehicle to Network

John E. Barrett, Jr., remembers how beneficial it was all those years ago to get up in front of a RISCPAs business valuation subcommittee and explain how he arrived at a “capitalization rate” to about a dozen of his colleagues.

“If you can explain a complex tax issue to other CPAs, it really helps you to be able to explain it to clients,” he said. “And that helps your confidence when you have to explain it to lawyers and judges in court. You don’t want to falter on the witness stand.”

Barrett is the principal of Barrett Valuation Services, Inc. in Cranston. A long-time CPA and member of the RISCPA since the mid 1980s, Barrett has seen his involvement in the organization as invaluable.

“I had moved here from Massachusetts and was working for a large firm downtown,” he said. “They encouraged me to join, which was great.”

Barrett’s line of work - business valuations - is a specialized one.  He was instrumental in working with the RISCPA to form a business valuation subcommittee – the rewards of which have been many. The Society has regularly brought in national experts who have conducted workshops on the subject and has offered various continuing education opportunities.

“It helped me to develop my technical skills as well as allowed me to network with other people who do this kind of work,” said Barrett.

Because of his experience, Barrett encourages other CPAs, especially newly minted ones, to join the Society.

“It is a great vehicle to network with other professionals of a similar age and meet people from firms other than your own,” he said. “It gives you a broader perspective. And of course, those contacts you make when you are younger become so important later in your career.”

For Barrett, it is a rewarding career, at that.

“I am constantly meeting business owners – new ones every week – and I see how they operate,” he said. “I see what makes them successful. And for those that are not…to be able to show them how they might turn things around…”

There is an inflection in Barrett’s voice as he talks about his job, a tangible level of excitement. He is a man who loves what he does.