William R.
Patterson, CTP
Ranch Dude
Bill Patterson, CTP, is a principal with Bridgepoint Consulting LLC in Austin, Texas. He has 30 years
of financial experience, having spent
10 years with Big Four firms and served
as CFO and consulted with a number of
early-stage and mid-market companies.
Patterson has extensive transaction
experience, particularly in bankruptcy
and turnaround situations. In addition,
he has led companies through
Sarbanes-Oxley compliance and risk
abatement. During his career, he has
managed and overseen corporate
operations, vendors, and consulting
projects in Eastern Europe, the Middle
East, and the Pacific Rim. Patterson
holds a bachelor’s degree from
Baylor University and, in addition to
being a CTP, is a CPA and a CIRA.
Q How did you gravitate into turnaround/restructuring work?
PAT TERSON I graduated from Baylor
in 1985, and worked in the audit division
of Price Waterhouse for three years. At
the time, the price of oil was about $25
per barrel. By August 1986, the price had
fallen to about $10 a barrel. Combined
with the Tax Reform Act in 1986 and the
savings and loan debacle in Texas,
business failures were prevalent and
lending credit was in high demand.
Then, in 1988, I joined the Dispute
Analysis/Corporate Recovery practice
at Price Waterhouse and quickly
moved into restructuring/workout/
bankruptcy. The decline of the real
estate and energy industries in Texas
in the ‘80s that culminated in all the