October 16, 2009

McKonly & Asbury Employee Exchange Program with U.K. IGAF Worldwide Partner HURST

HARRISBURG, PA – McKonly & Asbury, LLP took part in its first international employee exchange program with United Kingdom and IGAF Worldwide partner firm HURST this past summer. HURST is a leading business advisory and accounting firm in the North West of England, with offices in Manchester, Liverpool and Stockport. IGAF Worldwide is an international association of independent local and regional firms of Certified Public Accountants, Chartered Accountants, or their professional equivalents.

From May 1 – June 12, Aubrey Taylor, McKonly & Asbury Senior Accountant, joined HURST in their Stockport office as part of the northwest accountancy firm’s continuing international employee exchange program. At McKonly & Asbury, Aubrey specializes in audit and employee benefit client work.

“Having a cross-cultural employee exchange with other accounting firms in our IGAF Worldwide association has been a goal of our firm for many years,” comments Terry Harris, Managing Partner of McKonly & Asbury. “We’re active participants with our 130 IGAF Worldwide members, and Aubrey’s trip to HURST is the culmination of many months of planning and relationship building with our global colleagues.”

While in England, Aubrey gained work experience as part of HURST’s audit team. Over the six week period, Aubrey became involved in a number of audit projects and held meetings with HURST’s various business clients in the region. While learning more about international accounting, Aubrey was also able to experience the culture with her colleagues at HURST.

“The team at HURST gave me such a warm welcome and I learned so much during my time with them,” said Aubrey. “Since coming home, I’ve been able to share best practices I learned at HURST with the McKonly & Asbury team.”

During Aubrey’s time with HURST, she kept her McKonly & Asbury colleagues, friends, and family updated through her blog – Aubrey’s Manchester Diaries.

A member of HURST’s accountancy team will be spending six weeks with McKonly & Asbury in the near future.

“As a Best Place to Work organization, McKonly & Asbury’s employee exchange program sets us apart from other accounting firms and is consistent with our innovative approach to doing business, creating growth opportunities for team members, and investing in our firm culture. Aubrey is a talented professional and an excellent representative of the McKonly team. We look forward to furthering this opportunity for other team members,” said Terry.

About IGAF Worldwide

IGAF Worldwide is the strongest association of independent accounting firms in the world, comprised of over 130 highly successful independent public accounting firms in 60 countries. Founded in 1977, IGAF Worldwide provides member firms with tools and resources to help them furnish superior accounting, auditing, and management services to clients around the globe. Through IGAF Worldwide, member firms offer the strength and capabilities of a large, worldwide organization with technical depth and geographic reach impossible for a local firm alone. For more information about IGAF Worldwide and the services it offers its member firms and their clients, visit the IGAF Worldwide Web site at www.igafworldwide.org.

About HURST

HURST is a leading business advisory and accounting firm in the North West of England, with offices in Manchester, Liverpool and Stockport. The 10 partner firm specializes in providing ‘local’ accounting, tax, corporate finance and outsourcing support for businesses investing into the UK and is a leading member of IGAF. For more information about HURST, visit www.hurst.co.uk.

About McKonly & Asbury LLP
McKonly & Asbury LLP is a leading regional accounting and consulting firm with over 100 employees, 40 CPAs, and specialized professionals including CISA's, CIA's, and other certifications. The firm has offices in Camp Hill, PA; Lancaster, PA; and the Lehigh Valley area. McKonly & Asbury is ranked by the Central Penn Business Journal as the 5th largest accounting firm in Central Pennsylvania and named an All-Star by Inside Public Accounting in 2006, 2007, and 2008, ranking McKonly & Asbury as one of the ten fastest growing accounting firms in the nation for 2006, and as an industry leader in management metrics for 2007 and 2008.

For six years, McKonly & Asbury has been named a Best Place to Work in PA by The Best Companies Group. McKonly & Asbury has added to these accolades by being named a Best Accounting Firm to Work For by Accounting Today for two consecutive years.

McKonly & Asbury provides audit, tax, and consulting services to many of the region's largest and most well-known companies and organizations. The firm also has two affiliated companies: Anchor Financial Group provides investment advisory services for individuals and qualified retirement plans. Financial Outsourcing Solutions (FOS) is a provider of outsourced internal audit services to the banking industry. McKonly & Asbury is an independent member of IGAF Worldwide. For more information, please visit McKonly & Asbury at www.macpas.com.
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For more information, please contact Melissa Roberson at 717.761.7910 or by email at mroberson@macpas.com.