History of Byler, Wolfe, Lutsch & Kampfer CPAs, Inc.

1910 - BWLK traces its roots to the Hartt Audit Firm, which was started in 1910 by Charles L. Hartt, a Chartered Accountant from Canada. The office at that time was located in the Potters Savings and Loan Building in East Liverpool.

1923 - Charles A. Hartt, Charles L.’s son, returned to East Liverpool after World War I and began working for his father.

1928 - Charles A.’s sister, May Hartt, joined the firm in 1928.

1932 - Charles A. and May Hartt became partners of the firm, upon the death of their father.

1968 - Hartt Audit changed hands when it was sold to Alfred S. Fricano, CPA. A graduate of Youngstown State University, Fricano majored in accounting, and was a former income tax auditor for the Internal Revenue Service.

On April 13, 1968 Alfred passed the Ohio CPA exam and became the first practicing CPA in East Liverpool, Ohio. The firm’s name was then changed to Hartt & Fricano, Accountants and Auditors.

1968 through 1977 - The firm began offering new services such as payroll check writing and computerized accounting. The operations were also supplemented by acquiring new resources, including its own data processing equipment and a full accounting library.

The firm was one of the first accounting firms in the region to prepare tax returns using computers and tax preparation software.

1977 - The firm incorporated as A. S. Fricano & Company, Certified Public Accountants, with Alfred S. Fricano as President.

1981 - The firm purchased the tax practice of Earnest K. Moser at 277 East State Street in Salem.

1985 - The firm acquired the practices of Wayne Holt and Frank Mason.

1991 - Eugene Byler and Richard Lutsch acquired an equity interest in the stock of the firm and began managing the Salem office.

1993 - The firm purchased the accounting firm of Axtmann and Lomax, Inc., of Youngstown, Ohio.

1996 - The firm added business valuation services when Alfred Fricano became certified.

2001 - Alfred S. Fricano began a controlled reduction of his workload, and a majority of the firm’s shares were sold to Byler, Lutsch and Denny Kampfer. The administrative office was moved to Salem.

2009 - The firm launched its first website, and completed a major site upgrade in 2012.

2011 - A.S. Fricano & Co., CPAs merged with Daniel D. Wolfe, CPA, and the firm changed its name to Byler, Wolfe, Lutsch & Kampfer CPAs, Inc. (BWLK). The East Liverpool office was moved from downtown to 49020 Ashland Place, East Liverpool.

2015 - BWLK added a news blog and email newsletter in order to better communicate with its client base, prospective clients and the communities it serves.