Michael J. Bergquist, CPA
(1958-2007)

Michael J. Bergquist was a beloved partner with the Erie office of Malin, Bergquist & Company, LLP, a regional certified public accounting firm with offices in Erie and Pittsburgh. Mike was widely known as an established leader in corporate and community-service circles in northwest Pennsylvania. He was valued by clients for his business acumen and financial expertise as well as his depth of audit and accounting skill.

Among other industries, Mike had a myriad of insights in the management and operations of automobile dealers, insurance companies, manufacturers and non-profit associations.

Mike focused on helping organizations achieve their business strategies. He advised clients through the complex maze of corporate transactions such as mergers and acquisitions and public securities as well as internally focused issues such as management succession, ownership transition and profitability improvement. Mike was well-versed in registering public securities with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), working closely with Wall Street investment bankers and blue-chip law firms.

In another niche practice, Mike counted as clients more than 20 other CPA firms, for which he performed peer reviews of audit and accounting practices. These firms often called on him for technical advice.

Mike was a CPA with Malin, Bergquist for a quarter of a century. He also was an audit manager with Coopers & Lybrand in Los Angeles, working extensively on Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) issues and handling engagements for companies in the oil and gas, entertainment, construction and non-profit industries. He received an accounting degree from St. Bonaventure University (1980).

Community Volunteer Leadership

With a zest for community volunteer leadership, Mike was Treasurer of the Erie Zoo, and served on the Advisory Board of the American Automobile Association of Erie County and on the Board of Corporators of Hamot Medical Center.

Earlier, Mike was a board member of the Erie Art Museum, President of the Rotary Scholarship Foundation, member of the Financial Review Committee of the United Way of Erie County, Treasurer of the Lake Shore Country Club and Finance Council Chairman of Holy Cross Church. Active in his profession, he was President of the Erie Chapter of the Pennsylvania Institute of Certified Public Accountants (PICPA) and a member of its Peer Review Board and Accounting and Auditing Technical Committees.