The firm’s origins begin in the 1960s when founding partners Pete Brown and Burt Armstrong earned their accounting degrees, became CPAs and began their practices.

In 1972 Pete Brown moved to Bakersfield from Colorado and joined a local public accounting firm.  Just two short years later on April 1, 1974 (yes, two weeks before the tax filing deadline) Pete walked out of that accounting office and began his own firm with a $20,000 loan and four employees.  The firm’s practice centered on tax preparation and tax planning and quickly grew adding several partners in the following ten years. 

Burt Armstrong is a proud Bakersfield Driller where he was a champion swimmer and senior class president for the class of 1958.  After three years at a national firm in Los Angeles, he decided to switch gears and return to Bakersfield to join Fox and Company, a small national firm that was just starting in California. His career with Fox led Burt to work with oil and gas producers and their initial public offerings.

In the fall of 1984 Burt left Fox and joined the firm. Over the next thirty years, Pete and Burt led the firm to grow from a small Bakersfield firm into a regional firm with multiple offices in California.

The entrepreneurial spirit of Pete and Burt continues to guide the firm as we welcome new ideas, areas of practice, employees, and most importantly new clients.