Mark Foat’s work style can be summed up in two words: energy and synergy. If you’ve ever talked with Mark, you already understand the energy part of the equation. He overflows with enthusiasm and ideas, and accomplishes more on Monday than many people achieve in an entire week. The synergy component is more subtle. While you might not know it on the outside, Mark is constantly thinking about how to combine efforts, serve clients better and solve his customers’ big headaches. In fact, synergy was a driving force behind the founding of McCoy Foat back on August 17, 2001, and it continues to be a primary reason for the company’s ongoing success.
Mark earned his Bachelor of Science degree in business at Warner Pacific College while working in the banking industry. For many years he worked as a commercial risk officer in both the retail and commercial sides of the bank – analyzing complex financial issues, ratios and cash flows. That’s how he met Michael McCoy. Mark handled construction loans and lines of credit for Michael’s clients, and it was then that they first noticed an amazing synergy.
In 1998, Mark began working full time for Michael in the business valuation side of his firm. The pair noticed that their skills and abilities were quite complementary and they could achieve far more together than they could separately. And, when they factored their friend and business associate, Dick Gassner, into the equation, the synergy potential was off the charts. The three founded McCoy Foat in 2001, with the goal of offering tax preparation, along with a variety of services to help businesses grow and prosper. Leveraging the unique strengths of each partner, these complementary services include bookkeeping, accounting, business valuation, commercial financing and lending negotiation, succession planning and strategic planning.
Today, Mark is involved in all areas of the firm, with emphasis in commercial finance and business valuation. “We’re different than most CPA firms because the partners have all worked in businesses outside of the traditional CPA firm. We understand what’s going on from more than an accounting perspective. We’re also really interested and engaged in supporting our clients’ business growth,” he says. “In doing so, we take a team approach – business problems tend to be multifaceted. We proactively help our clients solve problems and avoid future issues with a soup-to-nuts approach that conveniently meets all of their needs.”
Mark is a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA), the Oregon Society of Certified Public Accountants (OSCPA) as well as the Institute of Business Appraisers (IBA). He is a Certified Public Accountant and holds the Certified Business Appraisal certification. Mark also holds the Certified in Financial Forensics (CFF) designation from the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants. He lives in Northeast Portland with his wife of 20 years and their youngest son who attends Madison High School. Their oldest son attends the University of Oregon.
Mark enjoys wine tasting, golf, running and just hanging out with his family. He serves on the finance committee for Columbia Edgewater Country Club. He and his wife are co-treasurers for Augustana Lutheran Church.