Small firms.
Mighty impact.

Justin started his solo practice a year ago to serve queer and LGBTQIA2+ individuals and business owners. Almost entirely through referrals, his practice has grown to several dozen clients. He pays attention to details other providers miss, such as respectfully handling a client’s chosen name alongside the legal name required on a tax return. He has helped clients with years of unfiled returns get back into compliance, and he pairs accessible pricing with a focus on financial education.

In 1985, Lonnie called 15 local CPAs to start a study group. One of the first answers he got was “Why would I want to help you?” He went on to lead the Plano CPA Study Club for 38 years, growing it to more than 150 members, with 70–80 CPAs at a typical meeting.

He deliberately kept CPE at cost so solo practitioners and smaller practices could afford top-tier education. Lonnie passed leadership of the club to Dimple in 2023 and will receive his 50-Year CPA Recognition in April 2027. He was nominated by Favor Lee of Favorly Company.

Kathy spent more than 20 years as a data visualization analyst before becoming an Enrolled Agent. Many of her clients are retirees, and the tax projection tools available to her only looked at one year at a time. So she and her sister, Julie Hayden Wagner, a former mechanical engineer, built their own tools: together they created Tax Mapper, the 401(k) Tax Analyzer and the Social Security Visualizer.

Her tools are already changing the advice retirees get. Using them, Kathy mapped out a multi-year Roth conversion plan for a retired couple with about $2M in pre-tax IRAs, projected to save them roughly $300K in lifetime taxes. Other tax pros and financial advisors now use her tools with their own clients.

Melissa believes a business owner’s financial health and mental health are connected. She grew up in a dairy farming family and saw firsthand how financial pressure affects the people running a business. Today she teaches owners to read their numbers early, so they can make decisions before a crisis forces them.

She also teaches at Concordia College and has set a goal of reaching 100,000 entrepreneurs. When one client suddenly lost 50–60% of its revenue, Melissa’s team ran cash flow scenarios beyond the scope of the engagement. Those numbers gave the owner the confidence not to put his home up as collateral, and the business has since recovered. Melissa was nominated by her teammate, Abby Ball.