Heroux & Company, LLP

Tax work at the center of the practice

Heroux & Company, LLP works from Raleigh, North Carolina, as a CPA practice. Tax preparation, planning and strategy make up the bulk of its work, and its clients include individuals, small firms and nonprofit organizations. The firm says its grounding in tax law and in changing regulatory requirements lets it guide clients on profitability, growth and capital, as well as on reducing tax while staying compliant.

Services for businesses, households and estates

The firm prepares corporate, partnership, individual, estate and trust tax returns, and it plans for each of them. Payroll and financial statement work runs from compilation through review to audit. It also offers accounting system consultation and analysis, including help with QuickBooks, along with strategic planning for individuals and companies and profitability analysis. Its list of services ends with other advisory and management support and assurance work.

Records to gather before a return is prepared

Individual clients usually bring prior-year returns and tax information forms, such as W-2s, 1099s, 1098s and K-1s, together with brokerage summaries that show cost basis. They also supply a summary of deductions covering business expenses, charitable gifts, property taxes, job costs and medical costs. The firm mails a tax organizer each January to help clients collect this material, and asks anyone who has not received one to contact the office.

Bookkeeping hand-off for business clients

Most businesses keep their accounts in QuickBooks or similar software. The firm asks them to reconcile every bank, credit card and other financial account, and to review their financial reports, before sending back-up files. A business that does not use packaged software is asked to summarize its activity as carefully as it can, on a spreadsheet or a simple list, and to provide monthly bank statements. For simple operations the firm can supply a format for listing revenues and expenses.

A permanent file for each business

The firm keeps a permanent file for every business client. It may hold documents such as the operating agreement, bylaws, the approval of S corporation status, loan documents and amortization schedules, correspondence with the IRS, and asset listings that show depreciation to date. Keeping these together means that each year's return can be prepared against the full history of the entity.

Filing calendar and payroll obligations

The firm's site sets out the usual due dates for individual, partnership, corporate, county business property and payroll returns, together with the extended dates that apply where an extension is filed. Payroll filings depend on whether a business must report monthly, quarterly or semi-weekly, and the firm reminds clients to check their own filing requirements for payroll against that schedule.

Ownership, affiliations and certification

The practice dates from 1998, when it was set up under a different name. The present name was adopted in 2006, and the firm became employee-owned in 2007, which the firm describes as a way of giving staff a stake in the business's continuity. It was awarded the Green Plus sustainable business certification in 2010. The firm belongs to the North Carolina Association of Certified Public Accountants and to the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants.

Heroux & Company, LLP is a certified public accounting firm in Raleigh, North Carolina. Most of its work is tax preparation, planning and strategy, and it serves individuals, small businesses and nonprofit organisations.

John Heroux founded the practice in 1998 and turned it into an employee-owned company in 2007.

Services

• Tax services: preparation and planning for corporations, partnerships, individuals, estates and trusts.
• Payroll and financial statements: including compilation, review and audit work.
• Accounting systems advice: consultation and analysis, including QuickBooks.
• Planning and profitability analysis: strategic planning for individuals and companies.
• Advisory and assurance support: management support and other assurance work.

Customers and markets

Individuals, small businesses and nonprofit organisations, mainly in the Raleigh area.

Key facts

• Based in: Raleigh, North Carolina
• Founded: 1998
• Ownership: employee-owned since 2007
• Affiliations: NCACPA and AICPA
• Certification: Green Plus sustainable business, awarded 2010