Episode #8
Efficiency & Effectiveness: Rick Flynn on Building a Firm People Don't Leave
Rick Flynn spent three decades building Flynn & Company into one of Cincinnati's most respected CPA firms — then sold it. On this episode of What Gives , Erin Satzger sits down with Rick Flynn , now a partner at UHY , the 26th-largest accounting firm in the country, to unpack the whole arc: caddying at Kenwood Country Club, ten years cutting his teeth at EY, the itch to go out on his own in 1994, and the leadership pivot that turned Flynn & Company from a revolving door into a place people built careers. Rick also gets into his other big bet: Warsaw Federal , the Price Hill savings bank he helped pull out of regulatory trouble and turn into Cincinnati's first Minority Depository Institution — funding the Warsaw Federal Incline Theater along the way. And because Rick was a founding business behind what's now the Northern Cincinnati Foundation , the conversation turns to community, philanthropy, AI's role in accounting and giving, and why more choices — in banking, in CPA firms, in everything — make communities stronger. Topics covered: Growing up in the region and learning the ropes under mentor Bob Foppe at Kenwood Country Club Ten years at EY and the decision to go out on his own Building a firm that keeps people instead of burning them out The Warsaw Federal turnaround and becoming a Minority Depository Institution Selling Flynn & Company to UHY — and why "choice" mattered more than the paycheck AI's impact on accounting, philanthropy, and small business What's in Rick's bug-out bag (it's not what you'd guess) What Gives is a production of the Northern Cincinnati Foundation , telling the stories of the business and civic leaders driving economic development across the region. Hashtags #WhatGivesPodcast #NorthernCincinnatiFoundation #CincinnatiBusiness #Philanthropy #Accounting #CPAFirm #Leadership #SmallBusiness #Cincinnati #CommunityFoundation #MergersAndAcquisitions #PriceHill #WarsawFederal #EconomicDevelopment #WestChesterOH
