Kep is the founder and namesake managing partner of KepnerCPA. He came into the accounting profession in an unusual way with a background in sales and marketing from his stint at IBM and other computer companies. His marketing background allowed him to become the partner in charge of the management consulting practice of Alford Meroney & Company, a regional CPA firm. When Alford Meroney merged, Kep became a Management Consulting Partner at Arthur Young.
Kep has an accounting degree from “can’t wait until basketball season” Kansas University (Rock Chalk Jayhawk) and an MBA in finance from the University of California – Berkeley. But his education wasn’t complete until he cashed in his corner office at Arthur Young to acquire a company that built bank buildings. When that business tanked in the financial debacle of the 1980s (Kep calls that a learning experience), he started KepnerCPA in his spare bedroom.
Through his own experiences and those of his many clients, Kep has identified the factors that separate highly successful companies from also-rans. He has defined those strategic factors in two books and consults regularly with his clients to help them grow and prosper.
No, he doesn’t read the tax code every night but deals with it daily. He knows that the best tax strategy is to make money, a lot of it.
He is more content climbing Aconcogua and Kilimanjero, swimming in the Arctic Ocean, or taking a horseback trek in outer Mongolia…not the typical life of a CPA. He is happily married to Kim and has two adult sons Peter and Kyle…who have survived his entrepreneurial efforts without too many scars.
