Daniel J. Heerey, CPA lays
blueprint for success

By Amy E. Gaeth, manageing editor

Most people take a conservative approach to life, whether it’s what they do with their personal time or how they make decisions professionally. Dan Heerey threw caution to the wind. In fact, he likes a good adventure which involves risk, strategy and challenge.

Show up for the Grandma’s Marathon in Duluth, Minn., and you’ll see Heerey on the starting line. Watch in wonder as Heerey hikes Vermont’s rugged Long Trail. Travel to the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness and you’ll find Heerey and his family careening across the waters on a canoe wilderness trip into the Quetico Provincial Wilderness Park in Atikokan, Ontario.

Long-distance stamina only begins to describe this dynamic industry CPA, who has played a key role in leading a local manufacturing company through a major restructuring and expansion into the global marketplace.

With more than 19 years as CFO at Quest Technologies in Oconomowoc, formerly known as LaBelle Industries, Heerey has helped transition a company which once offered a low-tech product line of audio visual projectors to a company that today designs, develops, manufactures, markets and distributes highly sophisticated industrial hygiene and worker safety products to more than 65 countries worldwide. The company makes electronic instruments for measuring workplace hazards, including noise, gas detection, heat stress, indoor air quality and vibration.

"We’re a world leader in some niche product lines and we’re a small player in others. We’ve been recognized in the industry as a company that provides a high level of customer service, and in a good response time," Heerey said.

In fact, the company has grown 15 to 20 percent in international sales annually over the last 10 years and recently earned national acclaim. In 2005, the company received the Governor’s Export Achievement Award in High Technology.

Also during his tenure, the company successfully transitioned from a privately-owned company to a 100 percent employee-owned firm and converted to an S Corporation in 1998.

As CFO, Heerey wears several hats. He oversees the financial statements and is responsible for health insurance, liability insurance, banking, financial issues, management information and technology systems, and works closely with the company’s senior management team.

He has also implemented sophisticated computer systems. During the past year he oversaw the integration of a new ERP system. "It was very successful; we didn’t have any breakage or downtime. Many companies that go through a major transition like this come out on the short end, but we were able to come through it successfully because of our great implementation team," Heerey said.

But maintaining the company’s financial integrity is one of Heerey’s most important tasks. He has high praise for his mentors, and singled out a former boss and company owner, N.E. Isaacson, a national recreational land developer formerly based in Reedsburg, Wis.

"N.E. Isaacson was a man of high integrity. I learned quite a bit from him about what integrity entails and what sacrifices that can involve," Heerey explained. "He didn’t want to see any of his stakeholders put at personal risk. If the business took a downturn, he put his own wealth on the line. That showed me a high level of integrity and I learned from that."

Heerey has gained a wealth of experience during his career. After obtaining an accounting degree from Marquette University, he enlisted in the Air Force Reserve and selected the accounting and finance specialist career path. He received basic training in San Antonio, Texas, and was assigned to the 440th Tactical Air Wing at Billy Mitchell Field in Milwaukee. As a part-time reservist for six years, he received training and experience in both governmental and business processes. His public accounting career began with Ernst and Ernst and continued when he joined Reilly, Penner & Benton, several years later, both in Milwaukee. He then transitioned to industry where he worked for N.E. Issacson and Co. and subsequently for Amwood Homes, a multi-state home manufacturing and building company based in Janesville, Wis., before landing his position at Quest Technologies in 1987.

Heerey joined the WICPA in 1973 and has been an active member ever since. He joined the organization for networking and professional development opportunities. "It is one thing to go to work every day, but it’s another thing to be able to participate in a profession and be able to learn from other CPAs," he said.

Early on, Heerey participated in the Decisionmaker’s Conference, now known as the CPAs in Industry Spring and Fall Conferences. He also has been an active member of the Madison Area Discussion Group for more than 20 years. Now, in 2007, he takes the reins as president of the WICPA.

During his professional ascent, he has seen the profession go through many changes, including the consolidation of firms following the demise of both Enron and Arthur Andersen, as well as the implementation of Sarbanes-Oxley which has spawned new job opportunities.

"The transition of AA employees to other accounting firms and the consolidation that took place at larger firms has provided opportunities for many people in public accounting that probably didn’t exist five years ago," Heerey explained. "With SOX there’s been an increased demand for accountants that has changed the landscape for big firms, public companies and midsize companies that deal with public companies."

The image of the CPA is on the upswing, notes Heerey: "The high level of integrity that’s required to be a CPA is being understood in the marketplace and the value that they bring not only to their clients, but to the firms they represent and work for, whether it’s in the government sector or in the business community, is unparalleled."

Heerey’s career path has been so rewarding that one goal as president is to increase awareness of accounting careers. He takes his mission to heart through his own active involvement in the WICPA’s Accounting Careers program. He recently made presentations to three accounting classes at Craig High School in Janesville, one of which his granddaughter attends. He also recently judged the accounting analysis section at a recent regional DECA competition.

Heerey encourages members to share his passion: "It is so exciting. I tell students that once they get their basic accounting skills they can pursue any field, whether it’s cutting records like Kenny G, being a comedian like Bob Newhart or starting a company like Bill Knight, a CPA who started and built the Nike Corp."

Promoting financial literacy is also on his agenda. The AICPA, state societies and the Ad Council recently launched "Feed the Pig," a financial literacy effort aimed at 25- to 34-year-olds. The campaign urges young people to save or "feed" their piggy banks, and leverages the AICPA 360 degrees of financial literacy initiative. "We as CPAs, no matter at what level we work, have the responsibility to help promote financial literacy to the citizens in our communities," Heerey said.

Beyond promoting financial literacy, Heerey encourages all members to get involved in their communities: "We expect a lot from society, but we have to give back to it as well."