Frequently Asked Questions

RYBD was founded in 1957 as Rhodes and Associates by Don Rhodes. Over the decades, the firm grew through the addition of partners including E. Dale Young, Brian Black, Royce Duncan, Andrew Pourchier, Robin Sansone, AnneMarie Scully, and Josh Fricks. Today, Rhodes, Young, Black and Duncan is one of the most established CPA firms in Georgia, with more than 65 years of experience serving businesses and individuals across the state and the broader Southeast.

RYBD is headquartered in Duluth, Georgia, in Gwinnett County. We serve clients across Georgia and throughout the southeastern United States, including Alabama, Tennessee, Florida, South Carolina, North Carolina, Mississippi, and Louisiana. Through our virtual service model, we also work with businesses and individuals across the country.

Yes. RYBD serves clients across the southeastern United States and nationwide through our virtual and remote service model. As a QuickBooks Certified ProAdvisor firm, we can connect directly to a client's accounting software regardless of their location, delivering the same quality of service to a client in California or New York that we provide to a client five miles from our Duluth office.

Several things, but the most important is our approach to the client relationship. RYBD is built to be a long-term partner, not a once-a-year vendor. Our partners still work directly in client files. We reach out proactively when something is worth your attention rather than waiting for you to call us. We explain things clearly and have difficult conversations when we need to, but we always come with ideas and solutions. And we genuinely care about the financial success of the people we work with. That is not something we can prove in a paragraph, but it is something our clients experience consistently throughout the year.

RYBD has developed specific expertise across a wide range of industries, including manufacturing, transportation and logistics, construction and skilled trades, medical and health services, architecture and engineering, law firms, food and hospitality, real estate investors and holding companies, franchise and multiple business owners, and general and professional service businesses. Each of these industries has its own financial complexity, and we bring industry-specific knowledge to every client relationship.

If you own a business, manage investment properties, have a complex tax situation, are planning a major financial transaction, or simply feel like you do not have a clear picture of your financial position, a CPA relationship is worth considering. The question is not really whether you need a CPA. It is whether the cost of not having one is greater than the cost of having one. For most business owners, the answer is clear once they see what proactive CPA support actually looks like.

A bookkeeper records and organizes financial transactions, maintains accurate records, and keeps the books current. A CPA is a licensed professional who can interpret those records, prepare tax returns, provide financial and business advisory services, perform audits and assurance work, and represent clients before the IRS. Both serve important roles, and many businesses benefit from having both. RYBD provides bookkeeping services as well as the full range of accounting, tax, assurance, and advisory services that go well beyond what bookkeeping alone can offer.

All CPAs are accountants, but not all accountants are CPAs. A Certified Public Accountant has passed the CPA examination, met experience requirements, and holds a license issued by a state board of accountancy. That license authorizes CPAs to perform certain services, including audits and reviews, that unlicensed accountants cannot legally provide. It also represents a commitment to ongoing continuing education and adherence to professional standards.

More often than most people think. For business owners, quarterly conversations at a minimum help ensure that tax obligations are being planned for, financial decisions are being made with current information, and any issues are caught while there is still time to address them. At RYBD, we work with many clients throughout the year, not just at tax time, because we have found that the most valuable CPA relationships are ongoing conversations rather than annual events.

For a first conversation with RYBD, you do not need to bring anything formal. We start with a discussion about your business, your goals, your current situation, and what you are looking for in a CPA relationship. If we move forward together, we will let you know specifically what information and documentation we need. The first conversation is about understanding each other, not about paperwork.

Yes, but with an important distinction. A CPA can help you reduce your tax liability through legal planning strategies, including optimizing your entity structure, timing income and expenses strategically, maximizing retirement plan contributions, identifying available tax credits and deductions, and planning around major transactions before they occur. What a CPA cannot do is eliminate a legitimate tax obligation or take positions that are not supported by the facts and the law. At RYBD, we work to find every legitimate opportunity to reduce your tax burden while making sure every position we take is one we can stand behind.

Tax preparation is the process of organizing your financial information and filing the required tax returns accurately and on time. Tax planning is the forward-looking work that happens throughout the year to reduce your tax liability before the year closes. By the time a return is being prepared, the year is already over and most planning opportunities have passed. The most valuable tax work happens in advance, not in retrospect.

Now. The most effective tax planning happens throughout the year, not in the weeks before a filing deadline. Decisions made about owner compensation, retirement contributions, equipment purchases, entity structure, and major transactions all have tax consequences that are much easier to optimize before the year ends than after.

Estimated tax payments are quarterly payments made to the IRS and applicable state tax authorities by individuals and businesses that expect to owe tax beyond what is withheld from wages. Business owners, self-employed individuals, partners, and S corporation shareholders typically need to make estimated payments to avoid underpayment penalties. RYBD helps clients calculate and plan for estimated payments as part of year-round tax planning.

Yes. RYBD prepares tax returns and provides tax planning guidance for businesses and individuals with multi-state obligations. Multi-state taxation can be complex, particularly for businesses operating across multiple states or individuals who have relocated or have income from multiple states. We help clients understand their filing obligations and manage their multi-state tax position throughout the year.

The credits available to any specific business depend on the facts of that business, including the type of activity, the industry, the state, and the specific expenditures being reviewed. Common credits that many businesses overlook include research and development credits, hiring credits such as the Work Opportunity Tax Credit, energy-related credits for qualifying improvements, and various state-level incentive programs. RYBD helps businesses evaluate potential credits carefully, with the documentation and professional judgment they require, to make sure credits that are claimed can be fully supported.

Do not ignore it. IRS notices are time-sensitive, and failing to respond appropriately can escalate a manageable situation into a more serious one. Contact your CPA as soon as you receive a notice. RYBD can help you understand what the notice is requesting, evaluate your response options, and communicate with the IRS on your behalf where appropriate.

Bookkeeping is the process of recording, organizing, and maintaining the financial activity of your business, including income, expenses, deposits, payments, accounts receivable, accounts payable, and bank reconciliations. Accurate bookkeeping is the foundation of every other financial service your business needs, from tax preparation and planning to financial reporting, cash flow management, and business decision-making. When the books are not current or accurate, everything built on top of them is compromised.

Yes. RYBD provides bookkeeping services for businesses that want ongoing accounting support and accurate, current financial records. As a QuickBooks Certified ProAdvisor firm, we can work directly within your existing QuickBooks Online system or help you get set up with the right accounting software for your business.

A general ledger review is a detailed examination of your financial transactions and account activity to identify misclassifications, duplicate entries, missing documentation, unusual items, and other issues that may affect the accuracy of your financial reports. It is often helpful before tax season, before preparing financial statements, after a change in accounting systems or staff, or when financial reports do not seem to be telling the full story.

Financial statements are formal reports that summarize the financial activity and position of a business. They typically include a balance sheet, an income statement, and a statement of cash flows. Financial statements are used internally to support management decisions and externally to satisfy the requirements of lenders, investors, boards, partners, and other stakeholders. They may also be required for financing, bonding, due diligence, or regulatory purposes.

Cash basis accounting records revenue when cash is received and expenses when cash is paid. Accrual accounting records revenue when it is earned and expenses when they are incurred, regardless of when cash changes hands. Accrual accounting generally provides a more accurate picture of financial performance and is required for businesses that carry inventory, have significant receivables or payables, or need financial statements prepared in accordance with GAAP. RYBD can help you understand which method is appropriate for your business and your reporting needs.

These three services represent increasing levels of assurance about the accuracy of financial statements. A compilation presents financial information in a professional format but provides no assurance that the information is accurate. A review provides limited assurance through analytical procedures and management inquiry. An audit provides the highest level of assurance through detailed testing, third-party confirmations, and independent examination of financial records. The right service depends on who will use the financial statements and what level of confidence they require.

That depends on who is asking for the financial statements and what they need from them. A lender requiring audited financials as part of a loan covenant needs an audit. A business owner who wants cleaner internal reporting may only need a compilation. A company seeking financing may need a review. RYBD can help you understand what your lender, investor, board, or other stakeholder is actually requiring before you invest time and resources in a service that may not fit the request.

Most organizations need an audit because an outside party requires it, not because they choose one voluntarily. Common situations that trigger an audit requirement include lender covenants, board or investor mandates, nonprofit grant or compliance requirements, government contracting obligations, and preparation for a sale, merger, or acquisition. As businesses grow and take on more formal financial relationships, audit requirements often follow.

Pre-audit services are an independent review of your financial records and documentation conducted before your official audit begins. Think of it as a structured dry run. RYBD reviews the same areas your auditors will examine and identifies issues that need to be addressed before fieldwork starts. The result is typically a faster audit, fewer surprises, cleaner adjustments, and in most cases lower total audit fees.

Agreed-upon procedures, often called AUPs, are a focused CPA engagement designed to answer specific financial questions. Rather than reviewing everything broadly like an audit, an AUP engagement examines only the specific areas you and RYBD agree to review in advance. The result is a written report of factual findings, without an audit opinion or overall assurance, that gives you the specific information you need to make a decision or satisfy a stakeholder requirement.

Yes. The legal structure of your business, whether a sole proprietorship, partnership, LLC, S corporation, C corporation, or another form, has significant implications for how income is taxed, how you pay yourself, how losses can be used, and what flexibility you have for planning. RYBD helps business owners evaluate entity structure as part of the broader tax and financial planning conversation, and we coordinate with legal counsel when formal restructuring is needed.

Yes. RYBD provides due diligence support, agreed-upon procedures, financial statement preparation, tax planning for transaction structures, and advisory guidance for businesses evaluating acquisitions, sales, mergers, or other major transactions. The financial side of a transaction needs to be understood before commitments are made, not after documents are signed.

RYBD has built a network of trusted professionals across legal, banking, insurance, wealth management, and other disciplines so that our clients always have access to the right expertise when the answer to their question is not a CPA. When your needs go beyond our practice, we make the introduction to someone we trust.

Yes. RYBD works with real estate investors, holding companies, and property owners on property-level and portfolio-level accounting, depreciation planning, entity structure, 1031 exchange planning support, passive activity analysis, and the financial reporting that lenders, partners, and advisors require. Real estate investing creates specific tax and accounting complexity that benefits from year-round CPA support rather than annual tax preparation alone.

A 1031 exchange allows a real estate investor to sell one investment property and reinvest the proceeds into another like-kind property while deferring the capital gains tax that would normally be due on the sale. The exchange involves strict timing rules, qualified intermediary requirements, and careful coordination with attorneys, lenders, and advisors. RYBD does not serve as a qualified intermediary but can help investors understand the tax and accounting implications of a 1031 exchange before decisions are made.

Real estate professional status is a tax designation that allows qualifying taxpayers to treat their rental activities as non-passive, which can allow rental losses to offset ordinary income rather than being suspended until future passive income is available. Qualifying requires meeting two specific tests related to hours spent in real property trades or businesses, and the determination depends heavily on the specific facts of each taxpayer's situation. RYBD helps real estate investors evaluate whether they may qualify and what documentation is required to support the position.

Yes. RYBD works extensively with general contractors, subcontractors, and construction-related businesses. Our construction-specific services include job costing review, WIP schedule support, bonding and lender financial statement preparation, general ledger review, tax planning, and internal controls assessment. We understand that construction accounting is different from accounting in most other industries and approach it accordingly.

Yes. RYBD works with medical practices, dental practices, therapy clinics, specialty practices, and healthcare service companies on accounting, tax planning, financial reporting, revenue cycle visibility, provider compensation planning, and internal controls. We understand the specific financial complexity of healthcare businesses, including the connection between revenue cycle performance and cash flow.

Yes. RYBD works with law firm owners on partner compensation planning, trust account controls, practice area profitability reporting, entity structure, succession planning, and the full range of accounting and tax services that growing legal practices require.

Yes. RYBD works with restaurants, cafes, caterers, bars, hotels, event venues, food trucks, and food service businesses on bookkeeping, financial statement preparation, food cost and prime cost reporting, sales tax compliance, tip reporting coordination, payroll support, and internal controls. We understand the tight margins, high volume, and specific accounting demands of food and hospitality operations.

Yes. RYBD works with franchise owners and multi-location business owners on location-level reporting, multi-entity tax planning, entity structure, internal controls, and the financial due diligence that should precede any franchise purchase. We help franchise owners understand the true financial picture beneath the top-line revenue number, including the full impact of royalties, advertising fees, and overhead on actual profitability.

Yes. RYBD serves clients across the country through our virtual and remote service model. As a QuickBooks Certified ProAdvisor firm, we can connect directly to your accounting software regardless of your location. Tax planning, bookkeeping, financial reporting, advisory services, and assurance work are all fully deliverable without an in-person meeting.

RYBD is a QuickBooks Certified ProAdvisor firm and works directly within QuickBooks Online for clients who use that platform. We also work with other cloud-based accounting and financial platforms that support remote access and real-time collaboration. If you are not currently using accounting software or are evaluating a change, RYBD can help you assess your options and get set up correctly from the beginning.

For most services, yes. The quality of a CPA relationship is determined by the expertise of the team, the proactiveness of the communication, and the depth of understanding of your business, none of which require physical proximity. RYBD's virtual clients receive the same year-round attention, the same quality of work, and the same level of communication as clients who are located near our Duluth office.

The first step is a consultation. We start every new client relationship with a conversation focused on understanding your goals, your current situation, and what you are looking for in a CPA relationship. From there, we can recommend the right services, outline what the engagement would look like, and answer any questions you have about working with us.

RYBD works with businesses at every stage of growth, from startups building their financial foundation to established companies preparing for transition or expansion. We are particularly well suited to small and mid-sized businesses that have outgrown basic tax preparation and need more proactive, integrated financial support.

Pricing varies depending on the services needed, the complexity of the engagement, and the size and stage of the business. We are glad to discuss fees as part of the initial consultation so there are no surprises. Our goal is to make sure the value of the relationship is clear before we begin.