Sometimes following in your father’s footsteps can be daunting. For Adam Hancock, it’s an honor and a privilege.
After 28 years as managing shareholder/president with Riney Hancock CPAs, Joseph A. Hancock has announced that he will be stepping down. Effective July 1, 2015, the shareholder board appointed J. Adam Hancock, who is Joe’s son, the new managing shareholder/president. The two men obviously have a great deal of respect for each other.
Outgoing managing shareholder/president Joe Hancock says of his son, “Adam has been a significant part of the firm’s success, and I believe the firm will have continued success under his leadership. I am pleased that Adam has been named managing shareholder/president. We have a great team of young professionals at Riney Hancock. They are our next generation of leaders in business, as well as in our community, and they will flourish under Adam’s leadership.”
According to the younger Hancock, working alongside his father has been an incredible experience. “Yes, he is my father, but he has also been one of the best role models and teachers I could ever ask for,” Adam says. “He pretty much taught me everything I know. I just hope that I can build on all the things that he taught me and continue to grow the firm as well.”
Adam currently serves as the director of the firm’s consulting services division. He joined the firm in 2005 and became a shareholder in 2013. Hancock says becoming president isn’t something he felt he had to accept or was expected to do. “This is something I was invited to do, and it was an easy decision for me.” He says the staff at Riney Hancock is the number one reason. “It’s a great group of people to work with. There are people who have been here for 20 and 30 years and have become experts in their fields. We wouldn’t be where we are today without the people we have in the firm.”
Marketing coordinator Jeana Sorrells, who has been with the firm for six years, but considers herself a “lifer,” echoed that same sentiment. “There are many in the firm who started as interns or have come on board after college and stayed with Riney Hancock for many years. If there is turnover, it’s normally because they have gone into private practice, not with a competitor.” Sorrells says another reason for the family atmosphere at work is because the staff are encouraged to further their careers by discovering what aspects of accounting they are most interested in and then pursuing those specialties.
Adam is actually a prime example of that. Adam admits he was questioning whether he really wanted to be in accounting for the rest of his life until he branched out from auditing to valuation and fraud investigation. By the time he had moved into consulting services, Hancock says “I found my way, and I love it. I’m a true believer that you need to be passionate about what you do in order to be successful.”
Riney Hancock at a Glance:
Founded in 1973
2 offices (Owensboro and Evansville)
A staff of 30 team members
7 Shareholders
Similar paths between Joe and Adam Hancock:
Joe Hancock:
Chair of Owensboro Chamber of Commerce at age 31
First Class of Leadership Kentucky in 1985
Adam Hancock:
Chair-Elect of Owensboro Chamber of Commerce
this year (age 34)
Leadership Kentucky class of 2013
