Sedona, AZ – If you’re like most Sedona business owners, finding a friendly, reliable and affordable  bookkeeping/accounting firm can be difficult at best….until now.
Monique Stecklein, CPA – a Certified Public Accounting firm specializing in small business and personal tax returns has relocated to Sedona, Arizona with her two adopted children, Ana and Isaac and her husband, Todd.
She brings with her a sterling list of clients and certifications. She is a member of AICPA (American Institute of Certified Public Accountants), FICPA (Florida Institute of CPA’s), past president of the local chapter of  FICPA as well as Treasurer, Secretary and Vice President.

She is also a current member of AZPCA (AZ Society of CPA’s). She has also been published in the FICPA’s journal.

Monique believes in delivering a full spectrum of services to her clients that will typically result in legally paying less on their taxes than they would with another preparer.

“The way most firms are set up is that one group does corporate returns, another does partnerships, another does individual returns, etc.,” she said. “The problem with this approach is no one looks at the full picture.  Planning how the corporate returns were prepared directly impacts the amount of tax an individual has to pay.  I really think my strongest strength is planning and working with a client so that they pay the least amount of taxes legally due.”

Crucial to her providing the best service possible for her clients is knowing who they are and establishing a relationship.

“I pride myself on knowing my clients well,” she said. “I only accept new clients after first meeting with them and making sure that our philosophies and personalities mesh.  It is a very special relationship. People tell their CPA’s things they would never dream of discussing with anyone else.”

Presently, her client list includes national and local companies like Kenner Kentucky Fried Chicken that owns 10 KFC franchises, construction corporations, doctors of various specialties, manufacturing companies and the individuals that own them.  However, it is not necessary to own a company to benefit from the services of a CPA.

As an individual CPA, Monique believes she can deliver better services at a lower and more competitive rate and in less time.

“Not only am I less expensive than a typical CPA firm due to my lower overhead, it is also due to the fact that I have longstanding relationships with several bookkeepers that I trust implicitly,” she said. “They run their own small bookkeeping companies. While I can perform bookkeeping activities for clients, with the client’s permission, having one of my associates keep the books or payroll is more cost effective because their fees are much lower than mine. The additional benefit is that when I receive the year end information, it is much neater and cleaner and reduces the amount of time that it takes to prepare the return. This results in the lowest possible fee to the client without sacrificing quality.”

She said her fees are not written in stone.

“I really don’t have specific amounts,” she said. “Once I talk to a client and have an idea of the business and the depth of work to be performed, I give them a range that I expect my fee to fall into. If something unexpected comes up, the client is called prior to incurring additional costs. Nobody likes the unexpected.”

On taxes, she gives priority to clients in the order that they come in.

“My philosophy is first in, first out,” she said.  “My turn around time for a return is about 1-2 weeks in January, maybe 3 weeks in March.  Business returns are due by March 15th without an extension.”

People are more mobile now than in the past or have multiple home bases.  But with today’s technology, it is truly just as easy to share documents and to communicate as if you were there in person.

She said clients can upload tax information or download an organizer through her Web site.

“My Web site is www.moniquecpa.com and I set that up so that if they so choose to do so clients could securely upload documents to me,” she said. “The beauty of that is I can look at the files within minutes and answer questions.”

The relationship is like that of an extended family.  This is what motivates me to do the best I can for the person.

To contact Monique for a consultation, please feel free to call her at (928) 282-2882 or visit her website at www.moniquecpa.com .