What began for Alan C. Young, CPA, as a "side" tax and bookkeeping business while employed as a full-time accountant has evolved into Alan C. Young & Associates, P.C. (ACY), one of Detroit’s most prominent accounting firms. Young established ACY in March 1983, a year in which he also purchased his first home, saw the birth of his oldest son and was pursuing a master of taxation degree. The firm’s services include audit, tax, backroom accounting, IT staffing, management, and special financial consulting services. Its clients include government agencies, retirement plans, schools and small businesses. ACY’s most profitable areas of business are audit and IT staffing. ACY has had the honor of being the official auditor for the Emmy Awards (Michigan) and the Michigan State Lottery and is ranked as one of Detroit area’s 20 largest accounting firms by Crains Detroit Business. Other clients include the city of Detroit, county of Wayne, Detroit Public Schools, Kappa Alpha Psi fraternity, and several churches and construction companies. ACY was also the auditing firm overseeing the NABA national elections for approximately five years. “Our long-term goal is to establish an institution that our community can easily access and be proud of,” said Young. “We also want to expand our services in the federal market, having just acquired our GSA schedules.”

Young says that one of the greatest rewards of business ownership is “recognition of a job well done which was provided by an organization you created and nurtured.”

Possibly one of the biggest challenges for ACY was shielding the company from the effects of the 2008 economic recession. “One of our largest clients, the city of Detroit, went out to bid as required, and although we retained the client, the down time as well as all the other economic issues of the time proved devastating. We were able to put together a plan to immediately reduce our human resource cost and obtain other concessions from staff, which we were able to reinstate later,” said Young. “Although the post-2008 economy still remains challenging, the lessons we learned in 2008 have helped tremendously.”

Young began his career in public accounting in January 1977 when he joined Deloitte, Haskins & Sells, where he served as the supervising accountant on several audit jobs, including Fisher Body-Livonia and General Motors Assembly Division. He later served as an international tax specialist, which included tax work on location in Saudi Arabia. Next, he worked for a small accounting firm where he was made partner. “That was the true start of the ownership bug,” said Young.

As founder and CEO of ACY, Young was acknowledged by the Detroiter Magazine as one of the city’s emerging black leaders, has appeared on television as a guest tax consultant, and has been featured as a financial consultant and business owner on a number of Detroit talk shows. He served under two governors on the Michigan State Board of Accountancy, and as a board member of the Michigan Association of CPAs, a local bank, and the Detroit Regional Chamber of Commerce.

Young has been a member of NABA since 1977 and was the Detroit Chapter’s president in 1988. “Being involved as president and scholarship chair enhanced my leadership and presentation skills, and also afforded me valuable professional contacts, whom even today refer business to our firm,” said Young. He has also been a member of the Division of Firms for a number of years. “I use the network to refer clients or situations outside the Detroit region to other DOF firms. I have given a lot of business and business leads to other DOF members. In addition to the fantastic CPE training that DOF provides, the other real satisfaction is sending business to other qualified minority firms who want to grow.

Young’s advice to others who may seek to establish an accounting practice is to be committed to the win. Young advises, “Expect to see many dark days before you see the light, but understand that when light comes, it will be well worth it. From an operations standpoint, manage your payroll! Being a service business you have greater control over your expenditures than [for example] a retail establishment. Take advantage of that and do not forget to pray over your business. Lastly, the most important aspect of a successful firm is to provide the best possible service you can. Put your focus on service and money will cometh.”

Young is married to Colette Young, chair of the business department of a community college, and has three sons, Aaron (Morehouse 2008), Adam and Austen (currently attending Michigan colleges).