Founding Partner, Wilf Wilkinson, FCA, CFE

Mike Ackerman, CA, 1988

Forty years ago, the accountant that had just persuaded his wife to relocate to Trenton, telling her it was for six months, now stood before superiors who were urging him to close the office and move back to Montreal. “How large do you see that Trenton office growing?” his superior from E.C. Leetham & Co. asked, skeptically. “Oh, to four, maybe five accountants some day,” replied Wilf Wilkinson, diffidently. A short time later, he was on his own, back in Trenton having founded the W. J. Wilkinson CA firm that was destined to achieve more than even he predicted that day.

Soon the firm grew to three partners, Wilf Wilkinson, Mike Ackerman, and Jerry Silverthorn. The company dedicated itself to providing superior service in helping its clients build wealth. The firm’s first location in Trenton was beside a theatre, part of a maze of small offices boasting other businesses. As the company grew, it took over each space as it became available. Wilf eventually gained the space that had once been the office of the bank manager, and discovered a peephole that allowed him a bird’s-eye view of the bank vault. Another surprise was in store when the theatre was torn down, they discovered that the wall that had once enclosed them was gone, leaving them very much in the open-air until a new exterior wall could be built.

Gail Lockwood began her career as a financial statement typist with Wilkinson & Company LLP in October 1969. “There were 5 or 6 of us back then, ”she fondly recalls, “it was great! I worked on an Underwood manual typewriter and a crank-style adding machine. We typed copies using 8 sheets of carbon paper!”

John Lewars, CA at Pinnacle Street

Ten years in business marked a milestone for the company when it merged with John Lewars’ accounting firm, which had been operating out of Belleville for twenty years. John had located to Belleville because it was a midway point between Toronto and Cornwall, the boundaries of his territory. Selling the eastern Ontario portion and joining Wilkinson & Company LLP as a partner, he gained the resources to concentrate on building his Quinte area clientele. John has since retired after almost fifty years in the accounting profession, but still keeps active with some clients. Both Jo-Ann Patrick and Linda Marshman have over 31 years experience at Wilkinson & Company LLP. Jo-Ann joined the firm as a secretary after working with John Lewars in his practice. “The best thing about Wilkinson & Company LLP has been all the people I have worked with,” she said, “they’re a wonderful bunch.”

In what turned out to be a momentous year, 1974, Wilkinson & Company LLP also acquired the Trenton office of Dunwoody & Company, a merger that saw the firm gain Rob Cory and Bob Yager. Later that same year, the growing firm merged with R.G. Harrison, and expanded its operations at 217 Pinnacle Street in Belleville. Grant Harrison who had previously been the Managing Partner of McColl Turner & Company, came on board at that time; he retired in 1996. During his forty-five years as an accountant, he has seen many changes in the profession, including the advent of Ontario Corporation income tax returns, PST, GST, EHT, CPP, RRSPs, and the capital gains tax.

ur firm has not, nor will it ever be built on the efforts of a single person, but rather its future, like its past, will be built on the contribution of all those associated with the firm. Let me, therefore, encourage you to be enthusiastic and competent in your work, patient and objective in your criticisms, and above all, be tolerant and well spoken of both our clients and of your associates in the firm.” - Wilf Wilkinson, Accounting for Wilkinson & Company Feb. 1982.

From early days, Wilkinson & Company LLP has sponsored young people who are considering a career in accounting, both at the high school and post-secondary levels. A generous program of scholarships sponsoring accounting students prompted one graduate, Jack Shorey, to pursue employment with the firm as a CA. Since then, more than eighty graduates have followed, some even becoming partners.

The former Wilkinson Belleville office at 217 Pinnacle Street (until 1994)

Over the years, the firm continued to grow and evolve. After twenty years at the Pinnacle Street location, the Belleville office moved to 139 Front Street, in 1994. In 2001, another merger brought the Kingston firm of Shurtleff & Savage into the firm and expanded the area of Ontario served by Wilkinson & Company LLP. In 2002, the company was also pleased to announce the launch of Wilkinson Financial Services, a division dedicated to assisting clients in safe-guarding and building their wealth.

Over the course of the last forty years, Wilkinson and Company LLP has grown into one of the largest regional public accounting firms in Canada, and a member of the prestigious Top 30. With typical modesty, Wilf looks back on this exemplary track record, “We were very lucky in our partners, our employees and our clients. We’ve consistently attracted people who value excellence. Our staff has been excellent. Northumberland, Hastings, and Kingston areas have been most receptive and supportive. It’s been a good place – for the business and for our families.”

We can confidently expect to see continued excellence from Wilkinson & Company LLP, as the firm builds another forty years of success. •