Worcester Business Journal

16 Worcester Business Journal | January 7, 2019 | wbjournal.com F O C U S H a n d l i n g Y o u r M o n e y McLaren helps businesses, people prosper M cLaren & Associates is hardly your regular tax accounting firm. Sure, the firm does typical accounting things like taxes, but its real bread and butter is in forensic accounting. That includes tracking down money lost, hidden or stolen, said Managing Partner David McLaren. In addition to companies of all shapes and sizes all around the world, the firm has done work with the FBI, U.S. Department of Defense and other government agencies. "It's always been a passion to bring people to justice," McLaren said. Dealing with lost or stolen money can be a stressful time for finance managers, and McLaren's firm seeks to ease that tension. "We give hugs," he said. "We understand the stress people are going through when they've been wronged." If anyone understands loss, it's McLaren, who was homeless at age 9 after his parents separated when his sister died at age 11 after a battle with leukemia. He got himself through high school and worked two jobs to pay for tuition at Bentley University. "We have a very different view" at this firm, he said. "I know what it's like for people to struggle." That business, McLaren said, is fueling the firms' rapid growth and a 3,000-square-foot expansion doubling the space in its Shrewsbury headquarters. The firm is now at 14 employees since adding four in the last six months. In terms of revenue, the firm grew at a clip of 21 percent this year, 25 percent the year before and 35 percent in 2016. The firm has 400 clients while most firms that size have upwards of 3,000, but that's because McLaren accountants are extremely detail oriented, he said. "We know all of our clients' names, spouses, kids, dogs," McLaren said. "We spend up to 10 times the amount of time working with clients than a typical accountant does." With the Worcester-area economy doing well of late, McLaren said his firm helps clients and businesses contribute to that growth with proper money management. "We're trying to help clients hold onto more of their money and taxes and plow that money back into their businesses to continue growing and grow more jobs," he said. "It's really to improve their life." BEST FORENSIC ACCOUNTANT McLaren & Associates CPAs, PC Shrewsbury, dmclarencpa.com Top executive: Founder & Managing Partner David S. McLaren Founded: 2005 Employees: 14 BEST HEALTH INSURANCE PROVIDER Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts* Boston, www.bluecrossma.com Top executive: President & CEO Andrew Dreyfus Founded: 1937 Employees: 3,800 Blue Cross launched a new website this year to enhance the customer experience, sponsored the bikeshare program BLUEbikes, started an opioid toolkit for employers to prevent lethal overdose and sponsored Drug Story Theater, a program meant to reduce substance abuse among children. Notable runners-up: Fallon Health, Harvard Pilgrim Health Care BEST ACCOUNTING FIRM Bollus Lynch, LLP Certified Public Accountants & Consultants* Worcester, bolluslynch.com Top executives: Partners Michael J. Bollus, Stephen A. Lynch, Jeffrey C. Blue Cross CEO Andrew Dreyfus participates in the company's bikeshare. W BY ZACHARY COMEAU Worcester Business Journal Staff Writer Swanberg & David G. Eaton Founded: 1989 Employees: 39 One of Bollus Lynch's major goals over the years has been to attract and retain the best audit and tax professionals to the firm. This, along with keeping up with the latest technology, policies and procedures, helps the firm create long-term client relationships and a diversified client base. Notable runners-up: Stowe & Degon, LLC, and O'Connor, Maloney & Company, P.C. BEST CREDIT UNION DCU – Digital Federal Credit Union* Marlborough, www.dcu.org Top executive: President & CEO James Regan Founded: 1979 Employees: 1,331 Owned and operated by and for its DCU employees participate in the regular Shred Day event. David McLaren (far right) with the associates at his firm.

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