We are an award-winning certified public accounting & consulting firm.

Challenges and New Beginnings

Waters from the Rochester flood of 1978 flooded the downtown, including the Smith Schafer office on North Broadway, leaving all paper records nearly impossible to read. The flood, along with the prospect of new headquarters, prompted the firm to move to a new location in late 1978. Within the next year, the firm added several new staff, including Kim Mahanna and Jim Heydon, who are still with the firm.

In 2000, we welcomed Steve Erchul and in 2002 added Mike Malugani.

Two Rochester-based accounting firms — Coffman, Nehring and Christopherson and R.S. Wayne CPA — were acquired to add expertise to our Rochester office. Firm staff was eventually merged into our headquarters location. 

In 2007, the acquisition of Graves, McKenna, Lundeen & Almquist PLLP led to the opening of Smith Schafer’s Edina office location. Bill Frudden and Steve Erchul relocated from the Maplewood office to head up the Edina location and Tim Pass became Office Managing Principal of the Edina location in 2013.

A Great Company to Work For!

Minnesota Business Magazine announced Smith Schafer is one of the Best Companies to Work For.

We are proud to have been honored with the Best Place to Work in SE Minnesota Award. 

Energage named Smith Schafer a Top Workplace. Over 2,000 organizations were invited to participate in this survey.

“We are honored to be recognized locally, alongside some of the best in Minnesota. We are always trying to make our firm a better place to work and create an environment that is flexible and supportive. We continue to grow each year and this recognition demonstrates the loyalty and commitment of our team members and clients.”

New Twin Cities Office

Top Workplaces recognizes the most progressive companies based on employee opinions measuring engagement, organizational health and satisfaction. Over 2,400 organizations were invited to participate in the survey, and over 71,000 employees shared their views.

Smith Schafer Managing Principal, Steve Erchul, is humbled and honored to be included in the list of Top Workplaces, especially since the judges were the employees! Click to watch a short video message from Steve!

The lists appear in a special supplement to the March 2020 edition of Accounting Today. Accounting Today has studied the top companies in the industry for nearly 30 years by ranking firms on a national and regional basis.  The rankings offer in-depth benchmarking data, as well as strategies and advice from the most successful firms.

Smith Schafer is one of 30 firms across the country recognized with ClearRated’s 2019 Best of Accounting Award indicating we provide an exceptionally high-level of service. We received a 9.4/10 satisfaction rating from our clients!

We are proud to be named one of the FASTEST-GROWING ACCOUNTING FIRMS in the U.S. by The Platt Group/Inside Public Accounting. We rank 2nd in the Great Plains region with a 29.8 percent all growth rate!

“Our growth since 1971, is a testament to our longstanding technical excellence, passion to serve our clients and dedication to our internal culture. This achievement would not be possible without our talented staff, who are committed every day to making a positive impact in our business and helping our clients grow. This awards would also not be possible without our incredible clients. The growth we have achieved is exciting and we sincerely appreciate everyone who has helped us earn this recognition!” -Managing Principal, Steve Erchul

2019

Smith Schafer is proud to announce that our team has been named a Top 300 Accounting Firm in the Nation by Inside Public Accounting. IPA 300 firms are ranked by revenues, with $10 to $17.8 million being the range of firms ranked 201 to 300. Smith Schafer is ranked #204 at $17.1 million.

We are excited to announce, Smith Schafer has been named a 2020 Top Recommended Tax Firm by Forbes. The list identifies 227 firms, across the U.S., who are most recommended for their tax services. Smith Schafer is one of only five Minnesota-based firms recognized!

The lists appear in a special supplement to the March 2020 edition of Accounting Today. Accounting Today has studied the top companies in the industry for nearly 30 years by ranking firms on a national and regional basis.  The rankings offer in-depth benchmarking data, as well as strategies and advice from the most successful firms.

Smith Schafer is excited to announce we are one of 40 firms across the country recognized with ClearlyRated’s 2020 Best of Accounting Award for providing superior service. Best of Accounting Award winners have proven themselves as industry leaders in service quality based entirely on ratings provided by their clients.

Smith Schafer received satisfaction scores of 9 or 10 out of 10 from 87.3% of their clients, significantly higher than the industry’s average of 45% in 2019. With its most recent client satisfaction survey, Smith Schafer received a Net Promoter®️ Score (NPS) of 84.

Smith Schafer has been named a Top Accounting Firm in the U.S. by The Platt Group/Inside Public Accounting for the fifth year in a row. Smith Schafer ranked no. 214 on the ranking list for 2020.

IPA 300 firms are ranked by U.S. net revenues and are compiled by analyzing the more than 540 responses received this year for IPA’s Survey and Analysis of Firms. This survey and benchmarking report are well respected throughout the profession for being independent, accurate, and confidential.

Smith Schafer Named Top 150 Workplaces in Minnesota by the Star Tribune! We were ranked no. 67 on the small business list.

We truly appreciate our team’s commitment, dedication, and hard work to help us be a Top Workplace for the fifth year in a row!

Smith Schafer was one of three finalists in the Best of Business Reader’s Choice Poll in the accounting firm category from the Twin Cities Business magazine. This means that TCB readers identified our firm as one of the most appreciated and affirmed companies in Minnesota.