Locally owned in the Alexandria, Minnesota area
Services

The right level of support for you and your business.

Not every client needs the same thing from their CPA. Some need accurate tax returns, payroll, and accounting support to make sure required work is completed correctly and on time. Others want help planning for important decisions before they're made. And some business owners need an ongoing financial partner who understands both the big picture and the details behind it.

At Odens CPA, services are built around how involved you want your CPA to be.

Whether you need compliance support, big-picture planning, or someone at the table as part of your decision-making team, you'll work directly with me.

Compliance

Take care of what's required.

Compliance is the foundation. It focuses primarily on what has already happened and making sure your tax, payroll, and accounting obligations are completed accurately and on time.

For some clients, that's exactly what they need from their CPA. For others, strong compliance work provides the financial foundation for a broader planning and advisory relationship.

Tax Preparation

Odens CPA provides tax preparation for individuals, businesses, estates, trusts, and nonprofit organizations, with an emphasis on accurate returns, clear communication, and making sure you understand what you're filing.

Trust & Estate Income Tax Returns

Form 1041

Fees based on complexity

Estate & Gift Tax Returns

Forms 706 and 709

Fees based on complexity

Tax-Exempt Organization Returns

Form 990 series

Fees based on complexity
The fees shown are starting points for relatively simple returns. More complex returns are priced based on the time and expertise required, including additional schedules, state filing requirements, quality of records, and other circumstances. We'll discuss the scope of your needs and expected fee before beginning an engagement.

Bookkeeping & Accounting Support

Accurate, timely accounting records are the foundation for tax compliance, planning, and good business decisions.

Odens CPA can provide bookkeeping and accounting support as part of the broader CPA relationship. The right approach will depend on the needs of the business, the complexity of its accounting, and the systems already in place.

For some businesses, it may make sense for Odens CPA to handle the accounting directly. For others, I can work alongside an internal or outside bookkeeper, providing review and support while using the financial information for tax compliance, planning, and advisory services.

The goal is to find an efficient approach that keeps your financial information accurate, useful, and connected to the broader CPA relationship.

Payroll & Payroll Coordination

Payroll is an important part of keeping a business in compliance, but it doesn't always make sense to have your CPA performing every step of the payroll process.

Depending on the needs of the business, payroll may be handled directly or coordinated with a dedicated payroll provider. Either way, my focus is on making sure payroll works together with the client's overall accounting and tax needs.

Payroll support is available as part of a broader Odens CPA tax, accounting, or advisory relationship.

An Ongoing CPA Relationship

Planning and access throughout the year.

Not every client wants their relationship with their CPA to begin and end with an annual tax return.

Odens CPA offers annual service plans for clients who want to combine tax preparation with planning and access throughout the year. The annual engagement is billed in monthly installments, helping make costs predictable while creating an ongoing relationship with your CPA.

Individual Tax & Planning

For individuals and families who want annual tax preparation combined with proactive planning and access to their CPA throughout the year.

  • Annual individual income tax return
  • An annual tax-planning meeting
  • Year-round access for reasonable tax questions
  • Monthly billing throughout the year
Plans starting at $50 per month.

More complex returns or planning needs are priced based on the scope of the engagement.

Business Tax & Planning

For businesses that want annual tax compliance combined with planning and access to their CPA during the year.

  • Annual business income tax return
  • Routine year-end information reporting
  • An annual planning meeting
  • A defined amount of consultation during the year
  • Reasonable access to your CPA for questions
  • Monthly billing throughout the year
Plans starting at $120 per month.

Fees vary based on the complexity of the return and the amount of planning and consultation the business is likely to need.

Monthly billing reflects an annual service relationship rather than month-to-month tax preparation.

Tax preparation and planning services are also available separately. Monthly billing is simply an option for clients who prefer to combine tax preparation, planning, and year-round access into an ongoing annual relationship.

Some decisions deserve more than an answer after the fact. Advisory services provide an opportunity to step back from the day-to-day activity, look at the bigger picture, and consider the financial and tax consequences of important decisions while there's still time to act.

  • Tax planning
  • Budgeting and forecasting
  • Capital purchase planning
  • Business acquisition planning
  • Business exit and succession planning
  • Estate tax planning
  • Entity and ownership planning
  • Other significant business or financial decisions

Sometimes that means answering a specific question. Other times it means looking several years ahead.

Either way, the purpose is to make important decisions with better information and enough time to act on it.

Advisory Relationships

Advisory engagements are tailored to the client's circumstances and the scope of the decisions involved. Some work may center on a particular project or decision. For clients who want continued planning throughout the year, recurring advisory arrangements are also available.

Advisory helps you step back and plan for significant decisions. Fractional CFO services go further by bringing an ongoing financial perspective into the process of running the business and making decisions as they arise.

These relationships are designed for business owners who want someone who understands their financial information, knows what's happening in the business, and can regularly sit down with them to examine both the big picture and the details behind it.

  • Regular, in-depth financial meetings
  • Financial statement analysis
  • Cash-flow management and forecasting
  • Budget-to-actual analysis
  • Profitability and margin analysis
  • Key performance indicators
  • Capital and financing needs
  • Scenario analysis
  • Significant operating and investment decisions
  • Coordination with bankers, attorneys, and other professional advisors
  • Ongoing financial decision support
  • Business income tax compliance
  • Ongoing tax planning

The purpose isn't simply to produce another report.

It's to understand what the numbers are telling you and bring that financial perspective into the decisions you're making as you run the business.

Engagements are tailored to the needs and complexity of the business. Business tax compliance and ongoing tax planning can be incorporated into the relationship, along with the regular financial analysis, meetings, and decision support needed to provide meaningful ongoing value.

Major transactions, acquisitions, sales, restructurings, or other projects requiring substantial work beyond the normal recurring relationship may be separately scoped.

How It All Fits Together

The right relationship depends on where you need your CPA involved.

Compliance

Take care of what's required.

Primarily looking back. What happened? What needs to be recorded, reported, filed, or completed?

Advisory

Plan for what's ahead.

Looking forward. What are you planning? What are your options? What should you consider before making an important decision?

Fractional CFO

Bring financial insight into today's decisions.

Working alongside you. What's happening now? What do the details tell us? What should management be considering as decisions are made?

These aren't intended to be “good, better, and best.” The right relationship is the one that gives you the level of CPA involvement your situation actually requires.

Not sure what level of support you need?

Tell me what's going on, what you're trying to accomplish, and where you could use help. From there, we can determine what level of service makes sense.

Schedule a ConversationCall (320) 805-1982