The 25-Year “Retirement”: How PTI and èƵ Kept a CFO — and a Founder’s Vision — Thriving
It is a truth universallyacknowledgedamonggrowth-mindedbusiness owners:Skilledaccountantsareindispensable— tofinancial processes and peace of mind,cashflow, compliance, strategicplanning, and more.
That’swhy,a quarter century ago,PTIEngineeredPlastics ownerMark RathbonemadeanofferJames Kaiser, CPA,couldn’trefuse:towork as much or as little ashe wanted, aslong as he continued workingwithPTI.
At the time,Kaiserwas 59years old.He’dbeen in public accounting since 1964andwas just afew months shy ofhiscontractualretirementdate withGoerlich, Richert & Kaiser,the CPA firmhe joinedin1976.
AlthoughPTI wasjustone of many clients under Kaiser’s care,itoccupied aspecial place in Kaiser’s career. Hehad workedwith thecompanysince1987,its firstyearas PTI Engineered Plastics. (PTI’sinitialincarnation beganthree years earlier,in 1984, whenRathbone foundedProto-Tech Industries,producingprototype molds and injection-molded sampleswithjust four machines ina 1,500-square-foot building just north of Detroit.)
During those 13 years,Kaisersaw PTItransformunderRathbone’s ambitious“Mind to Manufacturing” vision, itscapabilitiesexpandedtoprovide customers withalltheservicestheyneededto taketheirproductideasfrom concept to completion. In addition toincorporatingin-housedesign, engineering, tooling, and productionprocessesthat couldquicklyscale fromlow- tohigh-volume runs, Rathboneinvestedinadvancedscientific processes,technologies, and equipment.
Rathbone’spushfor innovationalongsidevertical integrationfueledremarkablegrowthfor PTI.Fouryears afterits secondmoveto alarger facility, in ClintonTownship, Michigan,the companyexpanded operations with a new30,000-square-foot facility.Four years after that, PTIexpandedagain, adding anotherfacilityacross town—this onespanning50,000 square feet.
Amidtheyoungcompany’srapid evolution, Kaiserremainedacalm,reliable constant.Hehad a deep understandingnot onlyofthePTI’sfinancialoperations,controls,and compliancepracticesbut also of its challenges,strengths, andpromise.
Understandably,Rathbonewasn’teager to lethisgo-toCPAgo.Kaiser, however,wasn’teager tocontinuethe55-hour-a-week pacehe’daveraged throughout his career.Soin the summer of 2000,he made Rathbone a deal:A short timeafterretiringfrom GRK,he’dcome backto work part-time atPTI.Kaiserestimatedhe’dstick aroundfor the next five years or so.
“I startedout withfour days a week, 8 hoursa day, which is almost like a vacation,”hesays. “I mean, 32 hours a week.Compared to what Ihad beendoing,thatwasnothing.”
Thepart-timeschedule was awin-win for both. RathbonecouldretainKaiser’s skillset andthevastinstitutional knowledgethe CPA hadgainedduring the dozen-plus years PTIhad beenhisclient.Kaiser couldkeep “dabbling,” as he calls it,in his profession—buthe’dalsohavesomelong-awaitedfreetimetopursuehispersonal passion: tracking downand documentingadvertisements and artifactsofDetroit’shistoricbeerindustry.
Nearly aquarter centurylater, Kaiser,now 84,is stillat PTI. He becameCFOin2000.And by no small coincidence,he’salsoa prominent leader of NABA, the National AssociationofBrewerianaAdvertising, thanksin part tohispersonalcollectionofDetroit“breweriana”— a collectionso robust,it’searmarked forthe ConeTop Brewery Museumunder developmentin historicVicksburg, Michigan.)
Proactive Communication in a Changing Tax Landscape
While èƵcan’tclaim any credit for Kaiser’sstanding asa connoisseurofDetroit’sbrewing history, we like to think we played a crucial role in empowering his ability to pursue it whilecontinuing to sharehis time andexpertisewith PTIover the last 25 years.
After all, for anybusiness, staying compliant with ever-changing tax regulations is a significant hurdle. It requires constant vigilance, something that can distractleadership from core business operations. This isone areaèƵhasproveditselfespeciallyuseful to the CFO.
Kaisersays hisprimary advisorat èƵ, NelsonFinley,touches base withhimjust abouteveryweek, whether to update him on new legislation,provideadvice andrecommendations onpotentialtax and compliance challenges and opportunities, orsimply talk shop.The frequentcommunicationisn’taformality;it’sa naturalpartofèƵ’s proactive-advisorystrategy.
“I maintained my following of the regulations, IRS and so forth, for a while, but it’s been 25 years,”Kaisersays. “There’s been a lot of new laws, new situations, and èƵhelpstokeep me up to date.”
“In fact,Nelsoncalled just the other day and gave me thenewsabout Michigan not accepting[FederalIRCSection174A]expensing,” he adds.
(Note to readers:FollowingMichigan’s decoupling fromIRC 174A, the stateannouncedanewresearch and developmenttax creditfor 2025to help offsetthefederaltaxburden.)
In a manufacturing environment,where cash flow is critical formaintaininginventory, machinery, and payroll,identifyingand executingtax plansin response tochanges to federal and state tax rulesis vital.Byconsulting withèƵonever-changingtax codes,Kaiserensures thatPTI’staxstrategyremainsaligned with the company’s financialstrategy—without requiringhimto spend his limited hours in the office researching tax law amendments.
Navigating Crisis and Opportunity: The PPP Carryback
The true test of a financial partnership often comes during times of widespread economic disruption. In 2020, as businesses across the globe grappled with thefinancial impactof the pandemic, èƵ’sexpertiseprovided tangible relief toPTI’s owner.
èƵassistedin ataxcarryback related to Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) funds that affected Rathbone’s tax return. They carried back three years,resulting in,saysKaiser, “some significant refunds.”
Simplifying the Complex: The ASC 606 Implementation
Perhaps oneof the most significant technical challenges PTI faced in recent years was the implementation of ASC 606.Arevenue recognition standard governing when and how businesses recognize revenue from customer contracts under U.S.GAAP,its introduction in 2019replaced a patchwork of industry-specific rules with a single, principles-based framework.
While the steps of ASC 606 sound straightforward in theory, the practical application is notoriously difficult. Each step can include nuanced decisions requiring businesses to apply professional judgment. It forces companies to stay organized across departments to manage data complicated by discounts, rebates, contract complexity, and the need for cross-department coordination.
In theinitialstages, èƵprovidedadvice andrecommendationstoPTIinestablishingan approach for the recognition of revenues on their contracts. This had a major impact on PTI’s revenue strategy.
“We were trying to do it quarterly or monthly,and it was causing confusion for management because it was a weird adjustment,theyweren’t used to seeing it,” Kaiser says. “And it became quite burdensome. We spent a lot of time with èƵ,establishingaprotocol as to how to report it correctly.”
With èƵ’s adviceandrecommendations,PTIdevelopeda streamlined approach that PTI could follow confidently. Rather than struggling withtime-consumingmonthly adjustments,Kaiser saysèƵrecommended thatPTIdevise a system where the adjustment is performed only at year-end.
This shift resulted in a much more efficient process, significantly reducing theeffortrequired from PTI’s internal team, providingclarity where there was confusion,andenabling PTI totransform a regulatory burden into a manageable, routine process.
The Power of an Integrated Firm
One of the distinct advantages èƵ offers is itsbreadth of servicesand specialists— all of whichwork together holistically to servetheunique needs ofeachindividual client.WhileKaiser works primarily withèƵ’staxand accountingteams,PTI hasmadegreat useof èƵ’s depth ofexpertisein otherareas of its business.
Capitalizing onInnovation
Perhaps not surprisingly, onethat’sproven particularly helpful in recent years is èƵ’sdedicated team of Research and Development(R&D)specialists.Manufacturing companies that invest heavily in improving their processes often qualify for R&D tax credits. However, documenting and claiming these credits is a rigorous process. PTI leveragestheadvice andrecommendationsofèƵ’sR&D specialists to ensureitseizesopportunitiesto realizeandoptimizethese benefitsso it canfuelandfurther innovation.
StrengtheningAccounting Processes
Kaiser has also engaged èƵto provide advice andrecommendations onPTI’saccounting processes, aiming to boost efficiency and compliance— key toensuringa company’ssystemsandprocesses supportbusiness goals,mitigaterisk, anddeliverleadershipthe dataand insights necessary to empowerstrategicdecision-making.
This process isinvaluablefor any company, but for aCFO like Kaiser, whooperateson a reduced schedule,it isahighly efficientmeans to getadvice andrecommendationsonacompany’sunderlying financialpractices andinternalcontrols.
Reliability and Retention:The HumanConnection
In an industry often plagued by high turnover, the longevity of the relationship between PTI and èƵ stands out.
Why has PTI stuck with èƵ?Theanswer lies inèƵ’speople.
“Some of the people I hired[while at GRK]are still with you,” Kaiser says.
He points to Finley, as well as Margaret Nash , two of many professionals who transitioned from GRK to èƵ when the two firms combined in 2012. Even the receptionist from the original GRK firm moved over to èƵ, Kaiser adds, proudly noting that she only recently retired.
Although not every èƵ associate that Kaiser and his staff have worked within the last severalyearsoriginated with GRK,èƵ’slow turnover rate is a critical differentiatoramongfirmsthatprovideaccounting, HR, and otherconsultingservices.
It enablesthose companiesto enjoy the benefits of havinguninterrupted access to a team ofreliable, seasoned expertsfor years — or, as is typicalwithèƵ’sadvisoryservices,decades.
For PTI,èƵ’slow turnover meansthe advisorsand associatesunderstand the history of the company, the nuances of theplasticsmanufacturing industry, and the specific preferences ofPTI’s executive teamandemployees. It also means PTIis guaranteed both reliabilityandflexibility;èƵcaneasilysyncitsadvisoryservicesandlevel ofsupporttoPTI’sspecificneeds,through times of growth orchallenges.
Empowering Future Growth
The story of PTI Engineered Plastics is one of rapid scaling, technological innovation, and smart resource management. ByretainingJames Kaiser as a part-timeCFO, Rathbonehas been able tobuild andmaintainastrongfinancialinfrastructure that could supporthisambitious vision.
ByretainingèƵ forconsulting andadvisoryservicesandprojectsas needed,Kaiserhas been able todeliverthefinancialacumenand leadershipadynamic, growth-focusedcompanyrequiresto thrive—whileshapinga work schedule thathasenabled him tofullyrelish his“retirement”years, professionally and personally.
For business owners andCFOslooking to modernize and scale, the PTI model offers a blueprint for success. Itdemonstratesthatyoudon’tneed to hire a massive internal team to achieve enterprise-level compliance and financial sophistication. With the right, reliablesupport, you can access theexpertiseyouneed,when you need it, ensuring your business is ready for whatever the nextdecades bring.