Portney & Co. CPA and Business Managers

The Portneys themselves are kind and nice. They will win you over with their professionalism and charm. Then your taxes will be passed on to their staff, who were rude, uncommunicative and downright incompetent.
My business partner and I had Portney & Co handle each of our personal income taxes, as well as the taxes for our LLC business. Not only did their staff constantly confuse my partner’s personal and business taxes, but when we would ask questions, we would receive emails that were condescending and defensive.
Twice they sent us an invoice for services with no details. When we asked what one invoice was for, they said they’d look into it. Then we never heard back from them until later when they sent us another invoice, this time with late payment charges. We asked again what the invoice was for. They were only able to guess what it was services it was probably for. But they were not sure.
Ultimately they cleared the charge but not before sending us a patronizing email saying they were doing it out of the goodness of their heart, not at all because they couldn’t account for their own accounting.
They also filed a tax extension for us WITHOUT CONSULTING US. If you’re going to manage many thousands of someone’s dollars in taxes, you should probably ask that someone first.
Ultimately, it comes down to the personality of the staff. Unprofessionalism abounds here with anyone not named Portney. You’ll rarely be informed of what’s happening with your taxes, and when you are, it is in the most condescending and defensive way possible.
I should add here, that Mary Lou directly handled finalization of the incorporation of our LLC, which we did a poor job of initiating. She did great work and was communicative and efficient. Well worth it all and the main reason we wanted to make this relationship work.
So if you’re lucky enough to have Mary Lou or Jack handle your account directly, this is probably a 4 or 5 star review. Otherwise, stay away.

The Portneys have been my accountants for near 25 years. I cannot say enough good things about this husband-​wife team. From the start, they gave us sound financial advice that allowed my husband and I to save for our kids’ college education in a consistent, sensible manner. When my daughter was gravely sick, and I had neglected the tax preparations, they were able to prepare our personal income taxes within 5 days of the last filing deadline.
Through the years, I have referred family and friends to them — some facing complex financial situations and crises. The Portneys have always given sound advice and laid out workable solutions for them. Although they have a staff — they personally respond to all my many tax questions and concerns. Finally, they are always of good cheer, which makes my yearly tax preparation visit to them, a pleasure.