Courtesy Affirmed
By Susan Elise Campbell
Aleisia Kisel, CPA, has launched Affirmed Accounting & Consulting, LLC, focusing on the accounting needs of small businesses and non-profits.
Kisel has been in the accounting industry for 10 years, most recently with BST in Albany.
“I loved the work but wanted to create a culture of my own that I feel comfortable with,” she said.
She transitioned from the “big, corporate accounting practice” to start her own firm.
Kisel offers an “a la carte menu” of accounting services primarily to service-based businesses and not-for-profit organizations.
“But I don’t say ‘no’ to anybody,” she said. “I started as an auditor in the non-profit sector, then went into consulting, and continue to gravitate to non-profits because they are such good people.”
“I love giving back to the community, which was always a mantra on the Siena College campus,” she said.
Kisel received her CPA license in 2018.
“It was important to me to be a true professional in the field as a certified public accountant,” said Kisel. “It adds to our expertise and inspires client trust and confidence in our commitment.”
Her approach begins with a discovery call to identify “pain points” in the business, the “emergencies that need to be fixed right now,” she said. She then reviews the books to “see what is going right and what processes we can implement to make their life easier,” followed by cleanup and evaluation.
“Clients need to know exactly what should be done on a monthly basis to make sure the business runs efficiently so they can make solid financial decisions,” said Kisel. “Especially if you’re a small business owner, your financial decisions are affecting your personal finances as well.”
She described a client whose bookkeeping had fallen behind as tax season approached.
“I found that items hadn’t been categorized properly for four months, and now it was getting close to April 15th,” she said. “As much as some clients think their books are in order, you have to have clean records to turn over to your tax preparer.”
She recommends monthly cleanup rather than quarterly reviews to avoid larger issues.
“To a successful small business owner, it’s not just a job. It’s your heart and soul,” she said. “If it’s a passion to them, it’s important to me, too.”
“Communication these days is hard for people my age, and I don’t understand it,” she said. “I just pick up the phone and say, let’s talk things through and figure it out.”
Her “audit approach” involves reviewing the full balance sheet, not just isolated issues.
“Is there debt, because we need to tie it to your mortgage statement. Are there fixed assets that need to be depreciated?” she said. “I may come in to fix one pain point, but I let my client know there are other best practices we should look at so everything is operating as smoothly as possible.”
Kisel said building the courage to start her business was her biggest challenge, supported by family, women-based marketing organizations and the Saratoga community.
“I have a great network of female mentors,” she said. “They have been great in advising me how to communicate what I want to do and also in finding clients and selling myself.”
The name Affirmed Accounting connects with her family and the thoroughbred racing community.
“Affirmed is the name of the horse who held the Triple Crown title from 1978 to 2015,” she said. “My Dad breeds thoroughbreds, and I purchased a portrait of Affirmed that hangs in his office.”
“I hope the name of my company shows people that they can trust me to be their partner in the success of their business,” said Kisel.
“In my former career, I just had to be myself and do the good work I do,” said Kisel. “Now I have to prove myself.”
Learn more at affirmedaccounting.com.