Getting to know you.

A firm that highlights every staff member online.

Pashke Twargowski & Lee (PT&L), in Erie, Pennsylvania, decided to use the World Wide Web not only to advertise the firm but also to let potential clients know who the firm's members are. In addition to detailed descriptions of PT&L's services and scores of useful business links are individual pages that provide photographs and a "personal areas of interest" list for each partner and employee.

"Our purpose was marketing and public relations," said firm partner Greg Pashke. "Information technology consulting--especially relating to Novell networks--is becoming a larger niche for us, and potential clients are more likely to find us on the Net:'

WHAT'S ON THE SITE

The PT&L site, which has been up since the spring, is Greg Pashke's pet project. A few small graphics enliven a simply designed site that loads quickly. The home page provides a table of contents linking to the firm's staff and services, a wide variety of other Internet connections and "a lighter look at life."

Most of the site's pages are devoted to services and firm personnel. Andy Warhol said everyone would get 15 minutes of fame; PT&L gives each firm member 15 bytes: a photo, brief biography and description of his or her responsibilities in the firm. Each member also provides a list of interests-- everything from state CPA society activities to favorite musicians-- and favorite links--from alma maters to the Pittsburgh Pirates. Visitors get a sense of what each person is like and who does what for the firm. For example, visitors ]earn Karen Benson, CPA, provides accounting, tax and consulting services and has run audit engagements for large publicly held companies. Her page also notes that a "positive mental attitude makes Karen a role model to emulate" and lists bible study, reading, skiing, swimming and sailing as her interests. Greg Pashke quotes his mantra, and partner Stan Twargowski refers to himself as the firm's "resident philosopher and renaissance man."

Firm services also are described, in considerable detail, under six broad categories: computer and systems; management consulting and information services; accounting/management outsourcing; pension and employee benefit plan auditing; auditing, accounting and tax compliance; and tax and financial planning. Subheads translate "business-speak" to English, defining strategic and tactical planning, for example, as "How are you going to get where you want to go?"

A special section titled "I Didn't Know That You Could Do That" describes PT&L services that businesses may not realize a CPA firm can provide, such as controller outsourcing, Web page design and being a "sounding board" for chief executive officers.

Pashke said the firm plans to add a weekly technology tip. He also said he is working with clients to add case studies describing how the firm handled particular engagements and is planning to include links to clients' Web sites.

LINKS: SOMETHING FOR EVERYONE

The more than 50 links to other Internet sites are divided into financial/ government, Web resources, local, professional/small business and news/diversion. PT&L provides more than a list, including brief and sometimes amusing descriptions. (A White House link is described as "visit Bill & Hillary.") Visitors can quickly scroll from the Internal Revenue Service to Monty Python. Small business clients--companies unlikely to have a dedicated online professional on staff--can find several links especially for them, such as the MCI Small Business Center. Other sites help visitors find information about a variety of companies or other spots on the Web, especially useful features for novice Web users.

PULLING IT TOGETHER

Pashke designed and set up the Web site himself on a Macintosh computer with an Adobe program called Pagemill, which saved him the need to learn hypertext markup language (HTML), the language of the Web. Pagemill costs about $200. PT&L pays $27 a month to its Internet service provider, which includes space for the firm's Web site for no additional cost. The graphics are ondisk clip art--low-cost generic graphics available for home computers that usually can be purchased anywhere software is sold. Each staff member's photograph was taken with the firm's digital camera, a film-free device that converts images directly to a digital format suitable for uploading. Although digital cameras are more expensive than conventional cameras and do not provide as clear a photo, they are good enough for a Web site.

(Digital cameras are not essential for adding photos to a Web site: many scanners, useful for other office tasks, are adequate for handling conventional color and black and white photographs.)

"It was fun setting up the site," said Pashke. "I had always had an interest in this, and I wanted to do it myself." He deliberately designed the site to be informal and personal--and quirky. For example, there are no capital letters, not even for names, anywhere on the site. The site's mix of practical business information and personal descriptions of the staff is summed up by Pashke's "mantra": "Get a lot done; have a lot of fun."

--Richard J. Koreto

Firm Profile

Name: Pashke Twargowski & Lee

Total personnel: 9 professionals and administrative staff

Location: Erie, Pennsylvania

Type of clients: Mostly small businesses

Client services: Various management and information consulting services, including computer and systems; accounting and management outsourcing; pension and employee benefit plan auditing; auditing, accounting and tax compliance; tax and financial planning.

Web Site: http://www.ncinter.net/~ptlerie

Smart Stops on the Web

World Wide Web sites of interest to CPAs.

Web Vendors

http://www.webcompare.com

Information on vendors of Web servers and Web server software.

News, News, News

http://www.businesswire.com

Setting up your own personal Web news box to receive the latest news/public relations items tailored to your specific needs.

Laptop Rentals

http://pcrrent.com

A site dedicated to laptops and peripherals. Click on "Request a Quote" to get a rental price quote online.

Travel and Entertainment Tickets

http://www.tixs.com

A site for free classified ads to buy or sell tickets for travel, sports and theater.

Computer Publications

http://www.zdnet.com

Home page for Ziff-Davis, publisher of many computer publications--a good resource for hardware and software information.