Slave Lake has its share of business success stories. One of them is EPR Gordon C. Ferguson & Company, the Certified General Accountancy firm that just recently changed office locations in Slave Lake.
Ferguson will celebrate both the anniversary and the move to the new, spacious 6th Ave. S.W. location on Mar. 14.
The grand opening and customer appreciation barbecue runs from 11:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. with a ribbon-cutting at 1:00 p.m.
“Everybody’s welcome,” says Ferguson.
It will be a busy event if very many of Ferguson’s customers show up. After 20 years in business there are plenty of them.
“We’re the largest accounting firm in the area,” says Ferguson.
It wasn’t always so. Ferguson came to town fresh out of college in the late 1970s to do his articling with the firm of Jensen and Clark. Following a brief stint working for the Sawridge Band, he took the leap into business ownership, when Jensen and Clark became available in March of 1983. At that time it was located on the third floor of the Lakeland Centre, and had a staff of five.
Things went well, and two years later Ferguson was able to move to his own new building next to the Honda Shop, where he spent the better part of the next 18 years. In 1985 he joined forces with the national firm of Evancic, Perrault, Robertson, bringing more expertise to his clients.
Ferguson says business grew steadily through the 1980s and 1990s, mostly through word of mouth.
“We’ve earned a really good name in the industry,” he says.
One thing led to another, and the staff at one point reached 20. But with a switch from “pencil and paper” to computerized accounting, Ferguson was able to get the same amount of work done with 12 employees. Steady growth since then has boosted it back up to 17, with more on the way.
“I just hired another guy from Toronto,” he says, “and I’ve got positions for two more full-time accountants. Our growth has been phenomenal.”
In fact the toughest thing the firm has had to face in 20 years is finding qualified staff – a difficulty many northern businesses encounter. One way Ferguson copes is by hiring local people as much as possible, and also by making the place a good one to work. His philosophy, he says, is that God and family come first, then work.
“When I hire people I say I don’t want to impose anything that’s going to (interfere) with those two things.”
The move to the former health unit building next to the Centennial Daycare won’t hurt staff morale. It is very roomy, as compared to the rather cramped offices in the Ferguson Building on 3rd Ave. N.W.
“It was really the perfect fit,” he says. “The staff really like it and we’ve had very favourable comments from clients.” Looking to the future, Ferguson sees his firm continuing to grow as Slave Lake matures into a stable, regional service centre. He expects the management consulting side of the business to continue to grow, as it has throughout.
“People want advice,” he says.
“That’s what they’re shopping for – how to grow their business and save money.”
Consulting has grown from roughly five per cent of Ferguson’s business when he started to around 30 per cent today. Other traditional services, such as accounting, taxations, and audits, continue to be a big part of the business as well.
One interesting development in recent years is the growth of business from clients from other parts of Alberta.
“I’ve got client blocks from Grande Prairie, High Level, Ft. McMurray, Athabasca, Edmonton.”
Ferguson is looking forward to serving even more clients in the years to come, both from in and out of town. He hopes to see lots of them for the grand opening and customer appreciation day on Mar. 14.
To all his customers of the first 20 years, he’d like to say just one thing:
“Thank you very much.”

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