His office is in Little Rock, but Randy Milligan, CPA and principal at Landmark CPAs, takes a special interest in Conway.
“Conway is home to me, many of our team members, our friends and our families,” Milligan said. “We want Conway, and all of the communities with which we work, to thrive and be a place people are proud to call home.”
As a co-managing member of Landmark, which has four Arkansas locations and two in Arizona, Milligan serves a client base that includes industries, nonprofits, government entities and manufacturing companies, and his work includes employee benefit plans and 529 savings plans.
The firm was formed by the 2018 merger of Beall Barclay & Company with Thomas & Thomas and is a full-service, public accounting and business advisory firm providing tax, audit or advisory assistance. It now has 19 partners and more than 100 professional and support personnel, with offices in Little Rock, Russellville, Rogers, Fort Smith and the Arizona locations in Surprise and Scottsdale.
“We are fortunate in that we have experienced significant growth in challenging times,” Milligan said. “With the merger of Thomas & Thomas LLP in Little Rock and Beall Barclay & Company PLC late in 2018, Landmark PLC became one of Arkansas’ largest public accounting firms. Then in 2020, in an effort to expand our footprint, we merged with Monheit Frisch in Scottsdale, Arizona. So, we were in the process of merging cultures and rolling out consistent operating and client service procedures for our new firm throughout the pandemic.”
Thanks to the use of technology and the quality work of the Landmark team, Milligan said the firm “didn’t miss a beat” during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Was it challenging to go from working in the office every day to working from home and communicating with our team members and clients through Zoom? Absolutely,” Milligan said. “But we did it, and I think our team has done an outstanding job.”
From its position in central Arkansas, Landmark is able to serve the accounting and business advice needs of people and companies in Conway, and Milligan is pleased that Landmark’s efforts have helped the city’s successful expansion, improvement and economic development efforts.
“Our firm has long-standing relationships with several key players in the Conway business community,” Milligan said. “We have seen the positive impact our clients have had on the tremendous economic growth in Conway over the past 15 years. It is exciting to help our clients be a part of that growth.”
One of the roles Landmark has played has been to partner or work with higher education institutions in the state, including those in Conway. Landmark takes part in “Meet the Firm” events and is a frequent presence at mixers and accounting club events.
In its role as a friend to the Conway area, Landmark is also a prospective employer, regularly hiring college graduates who have the education to become CPAs. It uses its outreach to interview students at Arkansas State University, Arkansas Tech University, Harding University, the University of Arkansas, the University of Arkansas-Fort Smith, UA Little Rock and, of course, Hendrix College and the University of Central Arkansas.
“We … have an excellent relationship with the University of Central Arkansas, and they have one of the best accounting programs in the South, in my opinion,” Milligan said. “We enjoy participating in continuing education opportunities provided by UCA to the public, and we frequently volunteer to assist with programs designed to help their students succeed.”
