FAQ

What is a CPA (Certified Public Accountant)?

A CPA is a person who is certified to practice public accounting.  CPAs can operate in virtually any area of finance.  Qualifying for certification is three pronged: Education, Examination and Experience. The education requirement is typically met as part of the eligibility criteria to sit for the Uniform CPA Exam. The examination component is the Uniform CPA Exam itself. The experience component involves years of work experience performed under the supervision of a licensed CPA.

What is an EA (Enrolled Agent)?

An Enrolled Agent (EA) is a federally-authorized tax practitioner who has technical expertise in the field of taxation and who is empowered by the U.S. Department of the Treasury to represent taxpayers before all administrative levels of the Internal Revenue Service for audits, collections, and appeals.

How do you stay current with constantly changing tax laws and accounting rules?

CPAs and EAs are required to take continuing professional education (CPE) courses in order to renew their license. California CPAs are required to earn 80 hours of CPE every two years in ethics, fraud detection, new accounting pronouncements, tax strategies and planning, new tax laws, and quality control.  CPAs who prepare financial statements also undergo mandatory peer review every three years.  EAs are required to complete 72 hours of federal tax and ethics courses every three years.

What fees do you charge?

Our rates are competitive.  Our clients receive value from our services, and we strive for satisfied clients who fully understand and appreciate the value they receive.  Before beginning our engagement, we obtain documents from you to help us understand your data organization and engagement complexities.  We estimate the time required, upon which our fees are based.   We communicate and form an agreement with you about our estimated fee and the services to be provided before commencing work.  Should we encounter circumstances that require us to expend time in excess of our estimate, we will contact you for approval prior to proceeding.

How long should I keep my documents?

See our Retention Guide under the Resources tab of this Website.

Do I have to retain paper documents or are scanned documents sufficient?

The IRS has stated that scanned documents are acceptable substantiation so if you’re thinking of going paperless just make sure you have a digital backup system in place.

I made (or another preparer made) mistakes on my past returns, can you correct them?

Yes, we can work with you and the IRS or any state Tax Department to correct past returns.

I received a letter from the IRS- can you help me resolve it?

Yes, we can work with you and the IRS or any state Tax Department to resolve tax issues.

My spouse or parents passed away last year, can you do their return?

Yes, we can work with the surviving spouse or the executor of the estate to complete necessary tax returns.