Dick A. Arakelian, CPA

Unfortunately, I can't recommend this accountant - we hired Susan Kazanjian, GABCO, Inc. (she works under this CPA firm) to do our 2023 taxes. When I met Susie at her home, she asked what we have been paying for our taxes and I told her. We agreed on that amount and to move forward with working together. I was excited since, she and I played on a skate board together when we were really young and a good friend had recommended her since she worked on a project for him, so the trust factor was there.Once Susan submitted our taxes, we signed the papers and I enclosed the check that we agreed upon. Then, when I went to sign and pickup everything at Dick A. Arakelian's office on Palm, there was another invoice for tax prep. I asked one of the office personnel and no one in the office could help me.When I emailed Susie, this was her response, "it appears that my fee structure is not what you and Ted are accustomed to so the $450 invoice will go away and it's probably best that if my fee structure isn't suitable to you and Ted you should look elsewhere for accounting services - take care."This took me off guard. I did not see this one coming. Unfortunately, we had questions about our refund, since her numbers do not match what we received. We emailed her and her answer was very non-committal. In other words, we are on our own. Lesson learned - get everything in writing and evaluate reviews, even if someone is recommended. If there aren't any reviews, consider that as a yellow flag.She has no reviews on Yelp and Google since she does not have a website, but she has been doing this for a long time, and there should be one review out there.The only link Susan Kazanjian has on line is "Christians in Business" about her company and there are no reviews and you can't add one:https://christiansinbusiness.com/business/49486/gabco-inc/testimonials

I am sitting in my car writing this review, trying not to be overreactive, but you can decide for yourself. On January 29, 2021, I dropped off all the necessary documents for this firm to do my 2019 Personal and Corporate Tax Returns. My accountant for over 30 years had been diagnosed with a terminal disease and was unable to finish our returns. I was referred to this company, spoke to the CPA Jeff H.and explained our situation. Over the past 5 months I have CALLED, TEXTED, and EMAILED every other week for an update, to no avail. Every time i spoke to his assistant Olivia, it was the same thing, it's not ready, he is not in the office, I will give him your message(s), and still no return calls. Obviously we fell though their cracks and I still didn't receive any explanation as to WHY? So I drove up this morning, gave them a courtesy call that I was coming (which I never received) and was handed a box of my documents. No apology, NO NOTHING. Here is your box. It is hard to imagine a company like this treating a potential client in such total disregard but they did. I have no other words to describe my dissatisfaction.

Dick and his staff are extremely professional and have always handled my taxes on time and have been more than fair with any charges. Dick keeps things professional but not stuffy when meeting to go over what sometimes can be a uncomfortable conversation with my taxes. I highly recommend using Dick Arakelian and Associates for all of your business needs. I've been a client for 10years and he has a client for life.

We have been using Dick for our taxes for a few years now and we love him he is very professional and extremely knowledgeable. He also has a great sense of humor which is nice when your dealing with stressful financial stuff. He is very prompt and answering emails any time year round. Highly recommend for anyone looking for a CPA.

I was referred to Dick by a friend from work after I told her that I was worried about how much I was going to owe the IRS for my 2013 taxes. Dick was a smart, funny, and informative professional who answered all of my questions. Throughout our meeting he listened to my needs and offered advice and solutions on how to address upcoming life events that will impact my family's finances. I've never discussed my finances with a "professional" and left feeling informed or optimistic, but Dick's advice and guidance definitely made this a positive experience. I would recommend his firm to anyone who's ready to trade in their "drive thru" tax place (no Statue of Liberty sign twirlers here) and prepackaged software for an honest, informative, and professional accountant.

Dick is incredible. A long time family friend referred him to us and we are so happy! We had a very complicated out of state real estate sale where the state withheld over $16,000 and we had talked to the, written to them and they claimed it was appropriate. Dick was able to help us retrieve this money and has been a godsend all the years since. There is no other accountant I would ever recommend over Dick. He is extremely organized, friendly and always happy to answer questions throughout the year. You will NOT be disappointed using Dick.

If you expect competitive fees you may be disappointed. In 2019 I paid approx. $8,000 in fees to Arakelian. In 2020 I went with a new CPA firm and saved approx. 30% in fees. If you expect good service you may be disappointed as the service is dependent on Dick's availability as his staff is very limited in what service they can provide. Note: Dick's availability during tax season is very limited. If you think that clients have a right to expect good service you'll be very disappointed as Dick has a very poor attitude about client's expecting good service. If professionalism is important to you you may be disappointed.