People in H&S: Henry D. Forer;

              Something new is under way in the Miami
office of Haskins & Sells, and Henry D.
Forer, tax partner and nationally recog­nized
specialist in the savings and loan
industry, is part of it. That he should be is
not surprising, for Henry has always been
interested in the innovative, the unex­plored,
the unique.
The years since World War II have been
ones of spectacular growth for the savings
and loan industry in Florida, where
industry assets now exceed $22 billion.
Over the last ten to fifteen years our
Miami office and the others in Horida
have taken advantage of this growth.
More than 40 of the state's 130 associa­tions
are clients, including 8 of the 10
largest. Twelve audit partners in our
practice offices handle these clients. This
strong position has stimulated the cre­ation
of a Horida Offices Savings and
Loan Services group, conceived by Henry
and partner in charge Larry Walsh. Join­ing
Henry in the group, which began
operating in January, are Lynn Stokes
and Jack Goldstein.
"We are totally immersing ourselves in
S&Ls," says Henry, "to serve our clients
better both in income tax and in regula­tory
accounting. Too often, knowledge is
limited to one or the other of these topics,
and we want to bridge this gap. We also
assist our audit partners and managers in
coordinating financial and tax reporting."
Complementing the three-man Miami-based
team and offering broader geo­graphic
scope are Sergio Fernandez in the
Miami Small Business Department, and
tax specialists such as Pat Dougherty in
Orlando and Bill Rowse in Palm Beach.
Along with several others, these men can
provide on-the-spot assistance to savings-and-
loan clients throughout the state.
For Henry Forer the creation of this
group represents an extension of his
dedication to our savings-and-loan clients
and his commitment to rendering them
high-quality service. His interest in the
S&L industry dates from the time when
he was a graduate student at the Univer­sity
of Horida at Gainesville and wrote his
master's thesis on the subject.
After his senior year at the university,
Henry interned with the Horida firm of
28
Pentland, Purvis, Keller & Co. and was
employed full time after military service.
One of the many outstanding accountants
who joined Haskins & Sells in 1961 with
the PPK merger, Henry became a partner
in 1968. He explains how his specialty
evolved:
"I had worked on the audit of the
Miami office's three S&L clients in the
early sixties at a time when, for all practi­cal
purposes, the associations were still tax
exempt. I then transferred to the Tax
Department to work under Allen Tom-linson
and saw that this exempt status was
about to change. In fact, in 1962 the S&Ls
did become subject to income tax. I've
never been interested in covering what
has already been done, in rehashing old
ground. This was the virgin territory I was
looking for, something new which pre­sented
a challenge."
As his interest grew, Henry began to
study the industry, familiarizing himself
with its many aspects, and the Forer
byline began appearing frequently on
articles in professional and industry pub­lications.
"This was not an academic pur­suit,"
Henry says. "In large part my
background material comes from on-the-job
experience working directly with
clients." While focusing on savings and
loan, he continued to explore other
related areas such as commercial banking
and real-estate transactions. "I may be a
specialist, but I also want to see what I can
glean from these other sources that is
pertinent to my industry," he explains.
Henry believes firmly in specialization,
People in
H&S:
Henry D.
Forer
In photo on facing page, Henry Forer
(center) confers with Jack Goldstein (1.)
and Lynn Stokes about activities of the
recently formed Florida Offices Savings
and Loan Services group. Not shown in
photo is Ralph Wagner of our Fort
Lauderdale office, newly appointed
member of the group.
and it is a belief that is manifested in the
way the Savings and Loan Services group
operates. The three men subdivide cur­rent
S&L topics so that the client can turn
to one person with a question on a partic­ular
matter. "Because there is so much
happening in the industry," Henry says, "I
can't realistically expect to become an
expert in each new development. It is for
this reason that I want the client to know
that he can go to Lynn or Jack or the others
for top-quality information. I also have a
solid commitment to the team effort,
although I mean a team with independent
members. A single mind may not always
be sufficient for finding the best possible
strategy, sol like to bounce my ideas off at
least one other person for his suggestions
and thoughts. I learned this technique
from Allen Tomlinson, and it has stayed
with me ever since."
And Henry has good minds available in
his other "team members." Lynn Stokes
joined Haskins & Sells in 1969 after grad­uation
from the University of Horida.
Having started on the audit staff, he soon
switched to tax. Jack Goldstein, a Univer­sity
of Mami alumnus, spent three years
with IBM before coming to the Firm in
1969. The two were recruited for the
Savings and Loan Services group because
of their experience with clients in the
industry, as well as for their interest and
aptitude. How did they get sufficiently
interested in S&L to make it a specialty?
"I was intrigued by the tax aspects, the
SEC requirements, the whole package of
current developments stemming from the
mutual associations considering going
public," Jack says. "The industry has
enough facets to merit this degree of spe­cialization
and still be interesting," Lynn
adds.
Henry is a man of strong opinions,
articulately voiced. One of his tenets is
that it is essential to know as much about
the industry as the client does—and more.
"To maintain our position I think we must
be able to anticipate what the client will
want to know. We do this by devoting a
substantial amount of time to the
industry. The client spends his entire day
involved in savings-and-loan matters,
and so does our group."