Our Approach

As firm leaders, our facilitators understand today’s most important issues and realize how valuable a well-run retreat can be. Sam Allred, Mike Tobiason and Tim Bartz pride themselves on their abilty to use a one or two day retreat to build a firm's unity, get to the heart of difficult problems and help implement processes that will make a positive impact on the firm. Through a combination of conference calls with firm leaders, surveys of participants and years of experience handling even the most highly charged topics, our skilled facilitators craft a customized agenda that will address the issues most vital to your firm.

		Sam Allred is a Shareholder with Anderson ZurMuehlen & Co. and Founder and Director of Upstream Academy.  He interacts with hundreds of CPA firms around the world each year via professional conferences, partner retreats, and conference call presentations.  Sam is widely regarded as one of our profession’s top strategic thinkers.
		Tim Bartz, CEO of Anderson ZurMuehlen & Co., has been a guiding force in the expansion that has tripled the firm’s size in the last fifteen years.  A respected consultant and energetic speaker, Tim’s passion for meaningful change is infused and tempered by the realism born of his many years as AZ’s visionary leader.
		Mike Tobiason is a Shareholder, Board Member and Office Vice-President with Anderson ZurMuehlen & Co., P.C.  Drawing from his experience in a variety of firm leadership roles, he is able to bring unwavering commitment to helping firms deal with some of the most difficult subjects including compensation, partner accountability, and owner commitment.

For further details regarding fees and availability, please contact

Sam at 406-457-7002 or sama@upstreamacademy.com

Tim at 406-447-3090 or timb@upstreamacademy.com

Mike at 406-523-9400 or mtobiason@azworld.com