Karen Linn | Topeka Business Hall of Fame
By LISA LOEWEN | Photos by JOHN BURNS
Karen Linn belongs to the nearly extinct group of professionals who have spent their entire careers with one company. Over the past 40 years, Karen has helped Berberich Trahan & Co., P.A., better known as BT&Co., grow into one of the largest independent public accounting firms in Northeast Kansas through her work in various roles.
Karen attributes her loyalty to BT&Co. to working with people who not only treat each other with respect, but also reward hard work.
When Junior Achievement nominated Karen to be inducted to the Topeka Business Hall of Fame in recognition of her contributions to both BT&Co. and the community, Karen says it came as a bit of a surprise.
“At first, I was shocked. Then as I looked at the list of former laureates and the names of the other three honorees this year, I felt honored and humbled to receive this recognition,” Karen said.
PLAYING THE NUMBERS GAME
Karen spent the first 10 years of her life in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, until her father’s work with the Mennonite Church brought their family to Chicago.
Her religious background naturally piqued her interest in attending a Mennonite college after high school. In 1979, after a process of elimination, Karen found herself at the Mennonite-affiliated Bethel College located in North Newton.
“I ended up choosing Bethel because it had a football program, and I’ve always loved football,” Karen said. “I moved to North Newton with the expectation that I would go to school for a year and then move back to Chicago. Apparently I loved it because the next thing I knew, I was graduating.”
While in school, she worked as the college’s football secretary.
“I loved the energy that came with being involved with the football program,” she said. “From recruiting, which allowed me to learn the name of every high school in Kansas, to recording live-action stats at the football games, I was right in my element.”
Whether it was because Bethel College was smaller than her high school graduating class or because she had happily spent four years serving as their football secretary, Karen walked out of Bethel’s doors with a business degree.
Karen had always loved working with numbers, but her interest in public accounting was sparked at age 14 by her sister’s boyfriend, who was studying accounting at the time.
“They would come home from college and he would sit at the table and study. I found myself fascinated with accounting and knew right then that I wanted to be a public accountant,” Karen said.
With her career dreams top of mind, Karen applied to every public accounting firm in the Wichita area but received no offers.
“I couldn’t get anybody to bite,” Karen said. “At that time, those larger CPA firms were recruiting from larger universities such as the University of Kansas, Kansas State University and Wichita State University, and graduates from smaller colleges weren’t even being considered. Fortunately, that has since changed.”
Karen went to work for the Wichita State Endowment Association as a bookkeeper. She enjoyed the work but didn’t find it challenging enough, so she began studying for the Certified Public Accountant (CPA) exam — a rigorous two-and-a-half-day professional certification test offered twice a year.
When they published the results of the exam, all of a sudden those firms that wouldn’t hire me began to call,” Karen said.
In turn, she has plenty of advice for young students preparing to take the CPA exam.
“Take the exam as soon as possible after graduation,” she said. “As you progress in your career and personal life, you will find you have less time for studying and there will be more distractions. Passing the CPA exam and getting your license will open doors in your career, and the opportunities are endless. Even in my 40th year in public accounting, I found that I continued to have opportunities every day to learn something new. Information is constantly changing in the accounting industry. It is valuable to have a mindset that you always have something to learn. Be ready to absorb every bit of information that comes your way.”
ACCOUNTING FOR SUCCESS
Karen landed a position with an accounting firm in Wichita, never dreaming that she would spend the next 40 years with the same firm. In 1986, she transferred to the firm’s Topeka office. The firm broke away from its parent company a few years later and formed BT&Co.
When one of her clients offered her an accounting job with a different firm on the East Coast, Karen grappled with indecision because she knew that taking the job could potentially advance her career. So she turned to John Berberich, one of the firm’s partners, for advice.
“I walked into John’s office and told him I had this job offer and that I was considering taking it,” Karen said. “John just stared at me for a minute and then replied, ‘Do you want to be a manager here?’ That was all I needed to convince me to stay.”
Karen says Berberich mentored her during her time at BT&Co., serving as both a technical guide and a model of strong, professional leadership.
“I never really faced any roadblocks throughout my career at BT&Co.,” Karen said. “I always felt challenged, supported and rewarded for the work I did.”
In 1996, Karen became a BT&Co. partner. She was promoted to head of the audit department when Berberich retired in 1997, holding the position for 15 years before accepting her current role as managing director.
After working at the firm for almost 30 years, Karen entered the role of managing director in 2013 with a clear vision for growth.
“As new leadership, sometimes you worry that people will balk at change. But everyone at BT&Co. was excited to help craft a vision for the future,” Karen said.
She launched a strategic planning and visioning process to establish priorities and make intentional changes within the firm.
“We evaluated eight aspects of our firm including our succession strategy, our technological savvy and our engagement with clients and others,” she said. “Based on that evaluation, we prioritized the most critical areas to focus on. The biggest impact overall was the knowledge everyone gained from the analysis of our strengths and weaknesses in all eight areas. We were able to use that knowledge to focus on our clients and create an employee-centered culture.”
In 2019, she oversaw the firm’s merger with the Topeka CBIZ/Mayer Hoffman McCann office and the subsequent purchase and renovation of the new BT&Co. office building on Huntoon Street. Under Karen’s leadership, BT&Co. doubled its revenue and grew to 65 employees.
She retired from BT&Co. in December 2024.
“When I decided that it was time to retire, it was a culmination of things. The process of the merger was difficult. Renovating the building was a challenge. Navigating through COVID-19 was taxing. And I was nearing my 40th year with the company,” Karen said. “It was just time to let someone else take over the responsibilities.”
VALUE BEYOND NUMBERS
While she may not be a Kansas native, Karen has spent most of her life here and is proud to call Topeka home.
“For its size, Topeka offers a lot of great experiences. We have the symphony, the Performing Arts Center, the Topeka Civic Theatre, a great library, a fabulous university in Washburn and so much more,” Karen said. “We are all community here and should be helping each other in any way we can.”
Karen has done her part by volunteering in numerous capacities over the years. Because of her accounting background, she has been asked to serve as treasurer on several boards.
“I seem to have fallen into a pattern. Once I agree to serve as treasurer, I subsequently find myself taking on even more responsibility,” Karen said.
In the past, she has served as both treasurer and later president of Topeka Collegiate School, where her daughter attended from pre-K through eighth grade; treasurer and president of the Kaw Valley Girl Scout Council; treasurer, vice president and president of Topeka South Rotary Club; treasurer and board member of Topeka Independent Business Association; and treasurer of I Care, Inc.
Karen is the current treasurer of Rotary International District 5710, a position she has held since 2012. She won the Experienced Leader Award from The Kansas Society of Certified Public Accountants’ Women to Watch Awards in 2013.
ADDING IT ALL UP
Karen isn’t worried about feeling bored in retirement. Through a consulting agreement with BT&Co., she’ll continue working with those numbers she loves while also checking off bucket list items after 40 rewarding but busy years.
“I want to start playing the piano again. I’ve already started lessons. I want to teach myself to play the guitar. I want to finally sit down and read some good books, I have already started learning and playing table Mah Jong, I want to travel with my husband and I want to continue to volunteer. There are so many things, I have a spreadsheet for that,” Karen said. “What I am not going to do is clean my house.”
But with her teenage daughter still at home, Karen may not have as much time for retirement activities now as she’d hoped.
“I haven’t had any downtime yet,” Karen said.
Once her daughter Josie heads off to college next year, Karen plans to curl up with her three cats — Thomas O’Malley, Sebastian and Heathcliff — and goldendoodle Luka, and finally pick up a book.
