Robert Lee Riley

My husband and I first met Lee over 20 years ago when our then accountant messed up our taxes big time and then disappeared. Lee has proved himself over and over as an extremely thorough, knowledgeable, scrupulous and experienced CPA. We have absolute trust in Lee and do not hesitate to recommend him whenever we are asked for a tax accountant referral. He has been a strong guide for us during some trying times and we are forever thankful. Thank you Lee, you are appreciated.

I’m a new small business owner and Lee has been instrumental to getting me started on the right track with my business — he helped me set up my LLC, learn Quickbooks (and guide me along the way to make sure I was doing things correctly), and answer any questions I have.
I have also taken all three of his small business taxes seminars through the SBA which I highly recommend.
He is extremely responsive, personable with a dry sense of humor, and provides sound advice, e.g. recommending that I purchase NeatReceipts which I love!
Thanks, Lee!

I was very fortunate to attend a presentation by my attorney and Lee eight years ago when I was starting my auto broker/​dealer business. I had already formed an LLC which Lee pointed out would have been a HUGE financial mistake. Ever since then he has been my CPA.
Lee’s emphasis on QuickBooks has been instrumental in keeping my business focused and up to date. I find Lee extremely bright and knowledable, and the whole process very easy to work with. I suggest that Lee is THE guy to see, especially if you are in the start-​up stage.

A colleague of mine referred me to Lee for my income tax return preparation. I had some issues involving the taxation of my compensation at work, bonuses, etc., and Lee made the entire process very easy with no hassles to deal with. He was efficient and easy going, a nice guy! I always felt confident that everything would be Ok, and it was. He obviously knows his stuff, and I felt confident that Lee maintains a high degree of security over my personal documents, which is important to me as I work in the tech industry and am aware of the importance of security issues.

We’ve been working with Lee for a number of years now and I feel confidant that he looks at things from every angle to make sure we are getting all the deductions we could possibly qualify for. This is especially important since we run our own small business.
He’s easy to get a hold of if we have any questions, and he is always patient and precise – which is good since I have no idea what I’m doing regarding my bookkeeping half the time!

I have had the opportunity to have Lee as my CPA for over 24 years. He is very professional and the very best at what he does. His passion, attention to detail, forward thinking and understanding of the tax codes puts me at ease as we enter tax time. He handles both my business and personal returns. In three words — simply the best!

I’ve worked with Lee for over 15 years and he is a tax master. He has helped me through some very difficult tax issues involving stocks, change in job status, children’s returns etc. He is VERY responsive and always available to answer questions — no matter what time of year, I highly recommend Lee’s work! Helen

I don’t know anything about taxes – nor do I care to ever really learn much about them. I’d rather have smart people who know about them advise me on what I should be doing – that way I can save valuable space in my brain for more important things likes sleeping, enjoying my life, and milkshakes.
I called Lee because I am in the process of buying my first house and needed advice on how to change my W-​4s so I can actually afford to eat anything besides mac & cheese once I move in. Lee was prompt in returning my email and gave me all the answers I needed within 10 minutes on the phone. He’s a friendly dude, and I’ll definitely be hitting him up this April to do my taxes.
It’s rare someone gives you such a quick response, spends time talking to you (without feeling rushed), and is so down to earth.

Lee is not your typical accountant. That much starts to be obvious when you meet him. First of all, he also has an MBA in tax issues. Secondly, he is incredibly accessible.
I’ve received scary notices from the IRS which freaked me out, but have never seen him panic. He just handles everything with calm and it all works out. He knows all of the ins-​and-​outs of dealing with taxes. He even helped me through our incorporation process. He is incredibly knowledgable, smart, nice and relaxed. I’ve happily referred many, many people to him.

Lee has been great. I met him a couple tax seasons ago giving a seminar at the SBA. Afterwards I told him I needed some serious tax help. We made an appointment to meet up and he helped me clean up my quickbooks accounts. I make very little money, and just thinking about taxes makes me sweat and practically breakout in hives, but Lee’s prices are reasonable and well worth the peace of mind. Whenever I have a question, I email him and he is quick to respond. He explains things in lay terms and is happy to repeat it if you didn’t get it the first time. Nice guy. Knows his stuff.

If you run a business and you subscribe to the automate-​everything philosophy of organizational efficiency (nods to Dave Allen of Getting Things Done and Mark Hurst of Bit Literacy) and you want to bring the same level of sophistication to that anxiety-​driving area of accounting, bookkeeping and tax filing, then Lee Riley of Riley Accounting is your man.
Lee is also your man if you believe that the more data you store and make accessible electronically the more you can find opportunities that wouldn’t exist in a paper-​based process. The IRS is subjecting your returns to these types of analyses to find problems, so why not harness the same concepts to avoid them in the first place? The tax code is more complex and more subject to interpretation than a naïve layperson such as myself might think. The level of knowledge of the tax code is not what distinguishes a good CPA from a bad one. The knowledge of how the taxing authorities apply the code and process returns is what creates this distinction. If you want to hire a man who knows the system and empowers you, the business owner and tax payer, with the knowledge to make smart decisions, then Lee is your man.
Because of the way Lee works, you need to get your systems up to speed. That means to convert from a filing system of receipt-​stuffed drawers and bank statements scattered in random places replete with annual crises at tax time, to a system that holds everything electronically, and minus the crises. Lee recommends QuickBooks (which I had some big resistance to because it looks old and clunky to me – I’m a Web2.0 software consultant) and NeatReceipts to scan your receipts. Both run best on Windows, which was another point of resistance for me, but thanks to virtualization software it became manageable. If you can’t convert to this type of process, you may not be able to leverage its advantages and then Lee may not be your guy. If you can, however, then bookkeeping and accounting loses not only its emotional charge but you get actual tax savings out of it, and Lee can help you most effectively.
Lee teaches seminars how to convert to this process and he’s been exceedingly patient in meeting me for hours of his time to help me get up to speed. He also publishes guidelines, fact sheets and very helpful hints that have been invaluable in guiding me through the myriad of choices of how to do things tax-​wise and business-​wise. He views this as an investment into an effective client relationship. He’s been responsive on email and in person in that regard, I’m aware of the overhead this creates on him, and it’s in my own best interest to need less and less of his time. Lee will tell you how it is, he’s not the one to sugar coat, but he’s friendly and patient. Money and taxes can be a hugely emotional topic for many people, myself included. Ask yourself what you want: a CPA or a psychologist. Choose the best person for each area you need help with. Don’t expect both to come in the same person, because you’d get at best an average of either.
All said and done, his fees are very reasonable.
Update 2÷17÷2014: I’ve had to part ways with Lee in 2012. The reasons were that he didn’t notify me when business deductions that I had been taking in prior years were being phased out in 2011 (regarding medical expenses). That caused my tax bill to be substantially higher than anticipated and I learned about it after the tax year was done and couldn’t make any more changes. The second factor was that his bedside manners deteriorate when he gets stressed which compelled him to charge me $ 50 out of the blue for answering a few questions over email. It’s fine if he wants to charge and increase prices, but it can’t be done in an emotional fit. It’s a shame really, because all that I wrote above previously is still true. He’s a tax technician and knows his craft. I wish his customer service was better.