Dane Boeckermann, Boeckermann, Grafstrom & Mayer
Title: Principal
Age: 33
Dane Boeckermann, a certified public accountant and business owner who enjoys working with other entrepreneurs, has been named a principal at Boeckermann, Grafstrom & Mayer, the Bloomington accounting firm his father helped found.
While Boeckermann likes interpreting "the story that numbers tell" owners about their businesses, he can identify even more closely with the ups and downs of entrepreneurship since he and his wife opened a home care company in 2008. Handling client management and new business development means Boeckermann meets frequently with business owners.
"Not only do we understand the numbers, we also understand the fears of our clients and their successes," Boeckermann said. "It's really affected the way that I provide service to clients, because you understand some of the emotional side of business decisions versus being an outside adviser."
Boeckermann, now one of 14 partners and 80 total employees at the firm, grew up pitching-in in the file room at Boeckermann, Grafstrom & Mayer, which his father, Daniel Boeckermann co-founded in 1982. The younger Boeckermann got to know employees helping his father out with his fantasy football team.
Becoming a principal has been a goal since Boeckermann, who has a master's degree in accounting from George Washington University, joined his father's firm in 2007. He previously worked three years at LarsonAllen in Minneapolis.
"Being a family member of the founding partner, there's definitely pressures there," Boeckermann said. "The highest pressure is meeting my own expectations as well as my father's. He probably doesn't expect more out of anybody in the office than he expects out of me."
Q: What has working with your father been like?
A: He's always been my mentor on the person side, so it's been interesting to see him interact on the client side. We focus more on the professional side now, learning new skills from him and the other partners as well. I always knew he was successful and well respected but it's become much more clear the last six years the impact that he makes on clients, their businesses and their lives.
Q: What prompted you to go into accounting?
A: In addition to my father, I have two uncles that are in public accounting and two cousins as well and cousins that are married to CPAs at different firms. It's just something that works for our family. Numbers come pretty easily.
Q: Had you always planned on working at Boeckermann, Grafstrom & Mayer?
A: I thought I'd go out of state but one of the reasons I made the switch is I enjoy working with business owners and helping them achieve their goals. That's one of the things in a larger firm that I wasn't getting right away.
