Accounting and Advisory Firm Celebrates 80 Years in Business By Continuing to Honor Its Founder and Mission

For Anthony R. McCree, serving as the managing partner of Detroit-based accounting and advisory firm GJC is a job that he enjoys but also a mantle that he carries willingly and with reverence for the history and importance of the firm and its legacy.

That is because of the man who originally founded the firm – the late Richard H. Austin – as well as the example Austin set in how he conducted the business and the kinds of work the firm did for Black- and minority-owned companies as well as the mentorship the firm has created for bringing more people of color into the accounting field, McCree said.

This year, GJC is celebrating its 80th anniversary, looking back on Austin’s contributions to the industry, the hard work of subsequent leaders such as George G. Johnson and the continuing service of McCree and the current staff as they serve as one of the largest certified public accounting firms founded in the Metro Detroit area.

“We still work with small businesses and startups as well as individuals, paralleling Richard Austin’s days as well as helping African Americans become CPAs, start businesses and set up nonprofits so they can be successful,” McCree said.

The GJC story started in 1941 when Austin founded what was then known as Austin, Washington and Davenport. Austin – who is best known as Michigan’s Secretary of State from 1971 to 1995 – was the first African-American CPA in Michigan and the 11th in the United States. That original firm worked with businesses of all kinds, McCree said, but it made sure to serve Detroit businesses in areas like the storied Black Bottom and Paradise Valley neighborhoods, where Black-owned businesses grew and thrived until the city, now controversially, decided to raze the area for roads and other developments.