METAIRIE - Malcolm M. Dienes LLC, a 55-year-old public accounting firms, loaded belongings and family members and evacuated before Hurricane Katrina. Now, it's back and expanding.
the grim reality of the devastation and the long ordeal of
recovery started to sink in on August 30th. Employees were scattered in
The EarringsTennessee, Florida, Texas and throughout Louisiana. Senior Partner, Jack
Dienes, sat in his Houston hotel room anxiously watching the national news
broadcast images of a CBD building, not more than half a block from the firm's
301 Magazine St. location, go up in flames, looting throughout the downtown
area and vandalism of Saks Fifth Avenue at Canal Place. Most frustrating
was Dienes' inability to reach his Managing Partner, John Theriot, on the cell
phone. "I was very concerned. As the magnitude of the devastation became
apparent, I didn't know what the status of our office building was, where
our employees were or where our clients were. I wanted to know if there
were any employees or clients needing our help!" said Dienes.
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What Mr. Dienes didn't know was that a combination of events were occurring for
his firm that would not only be their salvation in the short term, but place them on
a growth path for the future. A mix of forethought and planning by John Theriot
and magnanimous gestures of generosity and compassion by friends
and colleagues of the firm, both in Baton Rouge and nationwide, were coming
together in a spirit of community and survivor tenacity that was remarkable.
Finally, on September 1st, Mr. Dienes was able to communicate with
Mr. Theriot. The news, although still cloaked in an air of caution, was
exceedingly positive. Mr. Theriot and a few employees had evacuated with the
firm's computer hard drive. The Baton Rouge law firm of Leonard Cardenas III,
an MMD tax and forensic accounting client, opened his office providing a
temporary home to the displaced CPA's. Mr. Theriot and a small group of
employees who had evacuated to Baton Rouge managed to get the computers
up and running and began a mass email and phone campaign in an attempt to
contact clients and other employees.
"I was concerned about our employees. We wanted to keep their salaries
flowing. I didn't want to have to lay anyone off as we heard other
professional service firms were doing. The storm was creating enough
personal tragedies for them without job security adding to the equation!"
said Theriot. "We belong to an international accounting organization -
BKR International. We hosted the annual international accounting
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conference in New Orleans in 2004. The group fell in love with our city-
its warmth and hospitality. Their email response was overwhelming. BKR
members offered to employ our people all around the country, if that's what
it would take. The gestures were humbling and deeply appreciated, but in
the end we felt it best to keep our employees close to their families and to
home; even if that meant an additional financial commitment from
management."
"I learned from Malcolm and Jack Dienes... many years ago when I first
joined led t5 tube MMD- It's not about money, it's about people. Money should not be
your primary goal. The primary goal is to do quality work and service your
clients and enjoy what you do. If you do this and are sincere about it, the
money will follow," added Theriot.
"We have been blessed in the wake of this terrible tragedy," adds Dienes,
"and I am proud of what we have accomplished through hard work and the
intervention and kindness of our friends."
