Executive Suite: Ken Cerini, Bohemia

Ken Cerini does not fit the traditional stereotype of an accountant. He started Cerini & Associates in 1993 from his garage in Ronkonkoma. His present office in Bohemia is decorated in a Dungeons and Dragons motif. And he says there's plenty of laughing and joking in his staff meetings.

"Accounting doesn't have to be scary, boring, dry. It's not," said Cerini, 47. He points to the need for analytical and puzzle-solving skills, as well as writing and communicating abilities. "It has everything you could want."

He says he's been an "accounting major since he was 12 years old" or thereabouts, when he took a school aptitude test that pointed him in that direction.

Despite a troubling economy, he says the full-service firm, where he focuses on nonprofits and educational organizations, has grown this year by 6 percent to 7 percent. He says he's also looking for culturally compatible firms to merge into his. "We are a large firm in a small- firm body," he says. 

What's your biggest headache?
"The accounting industry has gotten somewhat commoditized. Price becomes one of most important factors. . . . We're not the cheapest, and we're not the most expensive. There's always someone out there willing to" offer a different level of service "for less money." 

Where have you learned management lessons?
"It's all about learning from everyday life experiences. I make mistakes at home. . . . I go into a store and a woman is rude, and I think, 'I'm not buying from them again.' . . . I can apply that to work, also." 

What have you read that's carried management lessons?
An article on the website of Jim Collins, author of "Good to Great," relating rock-climbing techniques to the business world. The lesson? "Failure would be giving up." Better that you "took the chance and pushed forward," even if it meant you might fall back a little. "I would rather fall than fail any day."

How do you conduct a job interview?
"I don't really ask a whole lot of questions. . . . It's more of a dialogue. . . . If you set people at ease during the interview process, you get a good reflection of who they truly are." One question he likes to ask: What cartoon character are they most like and why? That encourages candidates to "think outside their normal comfort zones and be little more creative." 

Your most fun workplace perk?
"I get to be me." While working for a big accounting firm "on Saturdays I walked the hallways wearing a Batman T-shirt and sweatpants that said, 'Bam, Pow, Kabang.' " While colleagues there shook their heads, "if I did that here, nobody would think twice. The firm is a reflection of me." 

How do you keep your creative juices flowing
A "nonwork-related passion" is rock climbing. "Any place where there's a rock wall, an ice wall, a mountain to climb, I'm fine."

Company snapshot

Name: Ken Cerini, managing partner

Cerini & Associates Llp, accounting and consulting services firm, Bohemia

What they do: "Most accountants are historians. They view things in the past. We think differently. We tend to be more creative" in helping clients "determine decisions that are best to drive their organizations forward."

Employees: 30 full-time, four part time, in roles including auditor, tax and business adviser, marketing coordinator and administrative support

Revenue: $4.7 million for this year