Why hire

My firm understands YOUR needs and has revised the accounting firm model accordingly. What do you value?

Results should be the focus, not hours spent on a project. Do you really care if someone takes 2 hours to do a task or that the task was done correctly? Actually we believe this model rewards someone for being slow and uncreative. We generally bill based upon set fees. Of course, we will bill by the hour if you prefer that method.

Unique Experiences that you need. When trying to locate your CPA, you will meet the person who has been a CPA all of their lives. That is typical. Tom has been practicing as a CPA for over fifteen years.

However, Tom has also been on the other side working in non-accountant-type functions to see beyond the numbers. Tom has served as a Chief Financial Officer of a management company, a private equity company, real estate development companies, commercial real estate properties and residential real estate properties. He has been a banker so he can see through the eyes of a lender. He has served as an officer or board member of three condominium associations, not for profits and Chambers in his free time. He has lived in the city of Chicago for ten years, five of these years in the Lakeview neighborhood. He understands your needs. See WHO WE ARE for an additional description.

Education and skill tempered with reality. Tom received his CPA in 1990 after passing the examination on the first try. He also received a Masters of Science in Taxation degree from Northern Illinois University with a 4.0 out of 4.0 GPA. Nevertheless, his working as a CPA advisor and serving on boards with non-accountants has helped him to keep his feet on the ground, not tied into theories that do not make sense from an economic or cost benefit standpoint. He has seen financial advisors tell non-accountants to jump through hurdles where the hurdles in time and resources cost more than the benefits derived.

Availability. Tom has his cell phone with him at all times and will call you back or email you within 48 hours.

Confidentiality. Ever heard a business person telling their war stories and including the names of those people or businesses involved? We find that unprofessional. Most of Tom’s friends do not even know what Tom does because he will not gossip client situations to other people.

In addition, we take every reasonable business precaution to protect your information including firewalls, anti-spyware and anti-spam software. Instead of emailing files, we have a secure encryption portal to send information (see the CLIENT ACCOUNTS tab to the left).

In those limited circumstances where a third party may be involved such as a cost segregation study, we will seek your permission prior to submitting information to third parties.

Trust. Tom believes that no commodity is more valuable than a client’s trust. Such trust takes time. Through communication and under-promising and over-delivering, we hope to achieve it one step at a time.

Specializations. We have certain specialties that are typical for families that live in the north side of Chicago. These include:

Business owner advisory services
Real estate owner advisory services
Fiduciary accounting and compliance for trusts and estates
Homeowner associations
Unmarried couple planning

Thomas H. Franklin & Associates, LLC
907 W. Roscoe St., Suite 2
Chicago, Illinois 60657

You can also send us a message directly through the Contact page of this website.