From 1977 to 1992 – John Schmitz, CPA, CGMA was a manager and partner at several mid-size CPA firms in the greater Denver area. He performed audits, peer reviews for the Colorado Society of CPA’s and is a current member of the Society’s Professional Ethics Board, completed taxes, and was a management consultant to a variety of businesses of all sizes.
- John was an Employee Owner and CFO for Horan & McConaty Funeral Service/Cremation, in Denver Colorado from 1986 to 2000 helping the company
grow over the years to serving over 5,000 families annually. He was responsible for managing a growing business office of accountants, payable and receivable staff. He oversaw all aspects of the financial operations, provided evaluations and represented the firm in real estate negotiations and zoning changes. He continued as a quarterly consultant to the business after he moved to Florida. - He was the owner of a CPA firm Wheeler / Schmitz accountants in Daytona Beach, Florida for over 11 years until 2021. His company provided Tax Services and Consulting to individuals and businesses. During the ownership of his firm, he consulted with a variety of funeral home and cemetery companies, serving in the capacity of a contract CFO as well as a financial, tax consultant and educator to the owners and managers.
*For over 30 years, John has served as the CFO, consultant and board member for various cemeteries during his career. He was instrumental in creating The Cremation Gardens at Rocky Mountain Memorial Parks and the Seven Stones botanical garden and cemetery both in Denver area. He was a consultant to the Baue group of companies including their cemetery in St. Charles, MO. He mentored with Lowell Lowman regarding cemetery valuations in Daytona Beach.
Lowell has bought and sold over 15 cemeteries in his professional life. John’s knowledge of cemetery best practices is well known in the profession. - He served as an outside consultant for Selected Independent Funeral Homes for 7 years. John helped established a study group program where funeral businesses joined together to study best practices and worked on their financial performance. He was responsible for over 60 firms and assisted their owners and managers on how to better understand their finances. He also oversaw and managed the Management Comparative Program for Selected Independent Funeral Homes. This program captured and reported financial best practices and provided performance comparisons for firms to study and learn from those similar to them in size and region.
During the last 10 years, John has conducted funeral and cemetery company valuations and assisted firms in the sale, merger and acquisition field. He represents a solid list of satisfied owners who have sold or transitioned their business. John prides himself in maintaining a fair price for his clients while at the same time ensures they receive the very top dollar for their businesses. He helps them ensure their presentation package is top notch and assists with communications, the bidding process and negotiations with entities who desire to purchase a firm. John also is a shrewd negotiator who will represent owners to ensure their goals are maximized.
*Whether is it an inter-family or inter-company sale or a sale to an outside entity, you will find no one more qualified who always has the owners back.
*If you desire to acquire or merge a funeral home or cemetery, John will ensure you will have a thorough financial analysis and will speak his truth whether the price offered is a fair and reasonable one for the current market conditions.
*As a CPA and former CFO, John with his tax and business background, remains current on tax and estate tax laws and will work along with your legal and accounting council to ensure that you benefit from all advantages possible
Daniel P. Densow
Wichmann Fargo Funeral Homes and Crematories Appleton , Wisconsin
John Horan
Senior Vice President Park Lawn Corporation