Bob Murrell, managing partner of accounting firm MHM, stands in front of a painting by his late mother-in-law, Connie Walstad, in the firm’s Norman offices. BY JACONNA AGUIRRE, THE OKLAHOMAN
EXECUTIVE Q&A
Bob C. Murrell
• Title: Managing partner, Murrell, Hall, McIntosh & Co. PLLP.
• Age: 65.
• Family: Wife, Diane; daughters Shannon Smith, Jill Shelton and Wendi Murrell; grandchildren Mitchel, Meredith, Chloe, Sophie and Cecilia.
• Education: Bachelor's degree in accounting with minors in finance and business law, University of Oklahoma. Certified Public Accountant.
• Interests: Cycling, fishing, bird hunting, sporting clay shooting and snow skiing.
• Favorite book: The Bible.
• Currently reading: "Practice What You Preach," by David Maister.
• Favorite movies: "The Big Country"; "The Sting."
• Recently watched: "Invincible." "A feel-good movie about the underdog."
• Favorite music: Kevin Kern, Josh Groban and Neil Diamond.
• Favorite restaurant: Charleston's.
• First car: 1928 Model A Roadster. "My friend and I went in half-and-half, paying $40 for it when I was 15. We weren't old enough to drive on the streets, but we bought it to work on and drive off-road."
• Current car: Honda Pilot. "I got it because it has an internal bike rack."
But 30 or 40 miles?
"I can go home after a hard day both physically and mentally worn down and think I'm too beat to ride," said Murrell, managing partner for accounting firm Murrell, Hall, McIntosh & Co. PLLP. "But I'll go on a 30- or 40-mile ride and come back more refreshed than ever. It's an outlet, and sort of exhilarating."
Murrell, 65, turned to cycling about 15 years ago after frequent racquetball games left him with knee problems. He tries to ride several times a week and does a number of charity rides each year. Murrell also has been a regular at the annual Hotter 'N Hell ride in Wichita Falls, Texas, which offers treks of up to 100 miles in the scorching Texas summer heat.
"They cut it off after 75 miles this year because it was too hot," he said. "The key is to ride with other people. When you're drafting behind a partner, you can cut the energy needed by 25 or 30 percent. When you're as old as me, you need all the help you can get!"
Murrell credits two authority figures who helped shape his career, albeit unknowingly: a high school English teacher and his boss at accounting firm Arthur Andersen. The teacher told Murrell he wasn't college material, while his old boss doubted he'd make it when Murrell struck out on his own in 1973.
"When I turned in my resignation, the managing partner asked me out to lunch for the first time since I'd been there," recalled Murrell. "He said, ‘Bob, you're not going to make it. Give yourself a year and get this out of your system. Then you can come back, and your job will still be here.'"
Murrell initially had no clients and shared an office in Moore with an attorney. Within a few years, the firm added fellow founding partners Stan Hall and Mike McIntosh, who had worked with Murrell at Arthur Andersen.
The firm has since grown to more than 80 employees and eight partners, with offices in Norman and Oklahoma City. MHM includes 37 CPAs and offers a full range of tax services, accounting, auditing, consulting and investment advice.
Murrell recently sat down with The Oklahomanat MHM's offices in Norman. The following is an edited transcript of that conversation:
Q: What was that first year like on your own?A: When I left Arthur Andersen, I had three young daughters and no clients. It didn't scare me as much as it did my wife. But then I had the promise of another job, and going into practice then was totally different than it would be now. We didn't have the technology, so all you needed was a desk and some office space and you're up and running.
I was very fortunate. I had a lot of good friends and acquaintances who referred people to me. By July of that year, I had grown to the point where I needed help and hired a lady who had just graduated from OU.
Q: What do you see as the strengths of the firm?A: I think it really gets back to the personal level of service. That really gets back to our people. Our two greatest assets are our people and our clients. Our goal has been to grow and build this firm on a good foundation of integrity and ethics, coupled with a motto of trying to be responsive and provide the best level of service to our clients.
Q: Who are the typical clients?A: They range from individuals to closely held businesses and large corporations. Our clients are represented in almost every field and industry, including some in China, Spain, Canada and Mongolia.
Q: MHM has made some acquisitions of firms in Oklahoma City in the last few years. What's the strategy there?A: We view ourselves as the firm of choice in Norman in terms of being able to provide full services. We intend to become the very same thing in Oklahoma City. There are a lot of opportunities and potential clients in the Oklahoma City market. We recognize the need to become more visible in that regard because historically we've been pretty low-profile.
Q: Did you always want to be a CPA?A: When I was real little, I wanted to be a cowboy. Roy Rogers was my hero!
I graduated from Harding High School in Oklahoma City in 1959. I went to OU with aspirations of being an engineer. By sophomore year and Chemistry II, it suddenly dawned on me that I wasn't cut out to be an engineer. I had some friends majoring in accounting, and I kind of went that way.
Q: What was your first job?A: It was with a small manufacturing company in south Oklahoma City. Our company was a client of Arthur Andersen, who for some reason thought I'd be a fit for them, so they made me a job offer in their consulting business. I was with them for about five years.
Q: How did you meet your wife, Diane?A: She was dating and became engaged to one of my best friends. I was going to be the best man at the wedding. He had to go back home out of state during the summer and asked me to keep an eye on her while he was gone. I did, and as she says, she got the best man! We've been married 43 years.
Q: Tell me about your vacations. A: We started going to beds and breakfasts while our daughters were still in school. We started just going to local beds and breakfasts, then made a trip to Washington, D.C., and stayed at some real historic places. Now, for Diane and me, it's a good getaway for us. We love New England, the Maine coast and the Oregon coast. They are not your typical bed and breakfast — we stayed in a lighthouse on the Oregon coast and had an eight-course gourmet breakfast!
Q: Do you travel outside the country? A: I have, but prefer to stay here. There's too many places here in the U.S. we still haven't seen, although we made a trip to Banff and Lake Louise, Canada, earlier this year, which was gorgeous.
[12 hrs ago]
