The kids are out of college. In his rearview mirror is a solid, 32 ½-year career as a certified public accountant who for nearly half that period led one of New England’s largest — if not the biggest — independent accounting firm/business consultancies.
The kids are out of college. In his rearview mirror is a solid, 32 ½-year career as a certified public accountant who for nearly half that period led one of New England's largest — if not the biggest — independent accounting firm/business consultancies.
That, plus hitting age 56, Carl R. Johnson says made it the right time in June to retire as a partner at BlumShapiro LLC of West Hartford and hang out his own shingle.
“I've always said I wanted to do something different,'' said Johnson, who spent 13 of his last 14 years as BlumShapiro's managing partner, a nearly round-the-clock job. “I figured this was a good time to do something new.''
Working without staff from his Farmington home and a satellite office at a dwelling on Cape Cod, Mass., Johnson says his CRJ Consulting LLC already has landed 10 clients, mostly accounting firms spread among Connecticut, Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Rhode Island. With them, he says he's doing pretty much what he did his last years at BlumShapiro — helping with business development and strategic planning.
A Bristol native, Johnson graduated from Pennsylvania's Susquehanna University and returned to Connecticut, working two years at the utility now known as Eversource while pursuing his CPA license. In 1984, he joined BlumShapiro, which then had one office and 40 workers.
By 1995, Johnson was a partner. In 2002, he was voted managing partner, overseeing 100 workers. Today, through acquisitions and expansion, BlumShapiro has more than 400 staffers in a half dozen New England offices.
— Gregory Seay
