A Well-Accounted Career

By Kayla Gahagan

Paul Thorstenson inherited the best of his father— a wicked sense of humor to put people at ease and a sharp street sensibility to carry on the legacy of one of the Black Hills’ largest accounting firms. Thorstenson, a partner at Ketel Thorstenson, LLP, doesn’t talk about his own career, or the growth of the firm, without weaving in stories of his father, the late Bud Thorstenson. “It was one of the best things to work with my dad,” says Paul, who will be 60 in August. “I didn’t spend a lot of time growing up with him because he was working a lot, but as an adult, he was my best friend.” Paul, who switched from journalism to accounting in college, didn’t have Ketel in his sights at first because of nepotism rules. “I never thought I’d be able to work here, but four years into a job with KPMG (Klynveld Peat Marwick Goerdeler), I got a call from Ketel,” he says, laughing. “I left my shiny tower in Minneapolis to do bookkeeping on Pine Ridge. I never looked back. I’m so glad I made the switch.” Bud, who passed away from cancer in 2004 at the age of 78, came to Rapid City in 1950. He was the 36th CPA in South Dakota and an integral part of the company’s formative years. The company originally opened in 1936 under Harold Heims. The firm started in offices above the old North Western Warehouse and then moved to space above Staple & Spice. The building at the current 810 Quincy Street address was constructed in 1966, the same year that Roy Ketel and Rich Siekman worked together to form a new partnership. Bud loved his work, Paul says.

“He was still working when he got sick,” he recalled. “I had to go back and finish the taxes on his desk. I learned a lot from my dad, so many little pieces of wisdom.” It’s too early, he says, to know if his own son will share his interest of accounting. Paul has been married to Mary Thorstenson for 31 years and they have a 15-year-old son they adopted from Guatemala. They also inherited a “beautiful, little ranch” on Nemo Road where they own a herd of cows and Paul takes horse rides during his time away from the office.

But, like his father, he enjoys his work, he says.

“We try to create a fun atmosphere,” Paul says, and that includes practical jokes, bean bag tournaments (sometimes during staff meetings), and a family-friendly policy for clients— babies on the laps of their parents and kiddos in hand. “I like to giggle a lot,” Paul says. “We have a lot of fun and we laugh a lot. I’m a little goofy for an accountant.” Despite the fun, he doesn’t take for granted the role they play in people’s lives. “We get to know people’s families, and a lot of times, we’re dealing with multiple generations,” he says. “People take their money very seriously and they often think about it even more than their health.”

Things have changed at Ketel since his father’s days. The firm had only 20 employees when Paul started in 1987 and now has more than 150. Paul empathizes with

an emerging generation of accountants that face more obstacles as the years go by. “The complexity of tax law has become mindnumbing,” he says. “I honestly feel sorry for our newer professionals in the tax business, as the body of knowledge is so overwhelming. I still learn new things every day.” Emerging technology has also changed the face of accounting. “When I started in this business, they hadn’t really invented computers that were useful to CPAs,” he recalls. “We would end each day wiping the eraser crumbs off our desks. If you made a mistake, you actually had to erase

everything and start over. In my third year on the job, we were each given a clunky, but portable Apple Macintosh. Today, it would be virtually impossible to prepare even a simple Form 1040 by hand.” Despite the improved technology, one thing remains the same. “The hardest part is the compression of the workload during tax season,” he admits. “For three months, it’s every hour you can for seven days a week.” During both the lighter moments and the pressure of the tax season, Paul’s goal is to help maintain a quality of work that was his father’s trademark. “Our partners are getting older and we have a great new group of young professionals who will take over,” Paul says. “There’s no reason any CPA at our firm can’t become a partner. This will be here and locally-owned 100 years from now.”

Paul Thorstenson’s financial advice in the middle of a pandemic sounds very much the same as it was pre-pandemic. “With or without COVID, and no matter what age you are, you should be thinking about retirement,” Paul says. “And you should be thinking of having a team of investors, a CPA, an insurance advisor, an investor, and possibly a real estate professional.” There’s strength in a diversity of investments, and advice, he adds. But the very best expert should be free — yourself. “Your greatest advisor should always be you and you should learn by reading,” he says. “Google for articles, subscribe to the Wall Street Journal, learn about investments.” It’s advice he takes to heart. He reads. A lot.

“Investing is my hobby,” he says. “I buy stocks and have a great time. I’m not a professional investment advisor; it’s just what I do.” In Rapid City, he has learned the ins and outs of business investment by part or full ownership in multiple business, including the Firehouse Brewing Company, Philly Ted’s Cheesesteak, Rush Mountain Adventure Park, and Anytime Auto Sales. “I have smart partners at each of those, so I’m not in the day-to-day work,” he says. “One of my greatest joys in my career has been seeing this area grow and prosper. There wasn’t much wealth in this community when I was a child. But even better has been to know the people who have taken the risks necessary to make this a bigger and better place to live.” BHB