Karen Montano works in the PGM-LLC office on Main Street in downtown Biddeford. The new accounting firm specializes in the financial needs of the nonprofit community. GRACE LAVERRIERE/Journal Tribune
BIDDEFORD — Main Street in Biddeford is the new home of a unique firm that assists those who help others.
PGM-LLC opened its doors this past April and is thought to be Maine’s first accounting firm to specialize in the financial needs of the nonprofit community.
Peter Montano, a certified public accountant, is the owner and director of PGM-LLC and has more than 30 years of nonprofit accounting specialization, including dedicating the entirety of his professional career to supporting this vital sector of Maine’s communities.
“I love working with them [nonprofits],” said Montano. “It’s a way for me to give back to society.”
Maine’s nonprofit agencies are the state’s single largest employer. In fact, according to the Maine Association of Nonprofits, one out of every six working people in Maine work for a nonprofit. Each of these organizations contributes to the quality of life around the state, according to the association.
“I work with a food pantry in New Hampshire,” said Montano. “When I was down there one day, I was so impressed with how all the employees treated their people in the line with respect.”
Many of these nonprofits are small and have limited budgets. Their funding is often strained, in jeopardy or cut in the government’s fiscal spending cycle.
“The people are so dedicated to what they’re working on, even though they’re making a fraction of what they’d make in the corporate world,” Montano said.
PGM-LLC, named after owner Peter Montano’s initials, has the goal of providing nonprofits, statewide, expert direction, education, and a full menu of financial services, including audits, so that more of a nonprofit’s staff time is free to focus on what they do best; provide quality programs for Maine people throughout the state.
“As he [Peter Montano] has hired people, they all have strong backgrounds in nonprofits,” said Montano’s wife and business manager Karen Montano. “It really is a special financial approach to business.”
The five employees at PGM-LLC have been positively impacted by their work with the nonprofit community, they say.
“I think one major draw [for working here] is the accountants see the love the people who devote their lives to working in the nonprofits [have],” Karen Montano said.
The PGM-LLC office space, located above Elements coffee bar at 265 Main St. in Biddeford, offers a conference space for the nonprofit community to use, free of charge. It’s conference room has seating for 20, a kitchenette, bathrooms, and is handicap accessible.
“This conference room is here for the nonprofit community to host meetings,” said Karen Montano. “We’re working on putting in a projector soon as well.”
PGM-LLC is located in the heart of Biddeford, easily accessible for clients and convenient for the owners.
“Peter and I still have kids in high school in Saco, so we wanted to have an office close to home for them,” said Karen Montano. “Truthfully, we love Biddeford and the direction the city is going in.”
According to the Montanos, the business has one main concentration: meeting the financial needs of the nonprofit community and it’s a unique business whose philosophy is definitely one to stand behind.
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