A clear view of your finances and a plan for the year ahead
Personal financial statements and tax planning, prepared by a Certified Public Accountant for individuals and families with significant income and assets.
- Direct CPA workA CPA performs the professional work from scoping through delivery.
- Fee agreed in advanceThe engagement letter sets the work and the fee before anything begins, and any change is agreed first.
- Reporting and planning togetherA statement shows where things stand, and a tax plan uses much of the same information to decide what to do before the year ends.
- Confidentiality and discretionInquiries are handled with discretion, and records are exchanged through a secure client portal rather than by email.
Aurora is based in Bozeman, Montana, and is available to clients in Montana and beyond.
Financial Reporting and Tax Planning
A personal financial statement brings accounts, property, business interests, and debts into one presentation as of a date, including estimated income taxes on the differences between the amounts shown and their tax bases. Tax planning starts from much of the same information and looks ahead to the decisions to make before the year ends. Each service can be engaged on its own, and when both are engaged, the plan begins from a picture that is already organized.
Financial Reporting
A Statement of Financial Condition and related notes, prepared for a defined date and intended use such as financing, estate or trust work, or a transition. Quarterly reporting keeps the statement current and adds a Statement of Changes in Net Worth and a concise memo each quarter.
Tax Planning
A projection for the current tax year and a written plan setting out each recommended action, the reasoning behind it, and its deadline, reviewed together in a working meeting and renewable each year. The plan is written to carry into your return, whoever prepares it.
Why Aurora Exists
Aurora was founded to bring a career in technical accounting and private-client reporting to individuals and families, through personal financial statements and the tax planning that builds on them.
Working With Your Advisors
With your authorization, Aurora coordinates with your attorney, return preparer, banker, and wealth advisor to gather information and to share the finished statement or plan.
Aurora’s work is designed to fit alongside theirs, and introductions from advisors are welcome.
Frequently asked questions
These answers describe Aurora’s services and how a conversation can begin.
Common questions
8 questions
A personal financial statement presents assets, liabilities, estimated income taxes, and net worth as of a date, with related notes about significant amounts and valuation approaches. A tax return reports tax information for a prior period, and investment reporting typically covers the accounts under one advisor’s care.
A review of recent returns and current-year information, a projection for the tax year, and a written plan setting out each recommended action, the reasoning behind it, and its deadline. The plan is reviewed with you in a working meeting, and the engagement can be renewed for the next tax year. See tax planning.
No. Either service can be engaged on its own. When both are engaged, planning begins from information already organized for the statement.
The plan is written to carry into your return, whoever prepares it. With your authorization, Aurora can walk your current preparer through it, or return preparation can be scoped as a separate engagement.
Preparation means Aurora organizes and presents the information provided for the agreed statement and related notes under the applicable accounting framework. Prepared statements do not include an audit, review, or compilation report, and no assurance is provided on them. A compilation is a separate engagement with a report. Aurora does not provide audit or review services.
It is not a tax currently due. It presents the estimated tax effect of the differences between the values and amounts shown in the statement and their tax bases. It is a financial-statement measurement, not a tax-return calculation, and tax planning is a separate engagement.
After an engagement begins, Aurora sends an invitation to a secure client portal, provided by Liscio, where records are uploaded and messages are exchanged. Ordinary email and the inquiry form are not document-intake channels; how the portal works is described on the contact page.
The fee and defined deliverable are set in an engagement letter before work begins. If the scope changes, the change and any related fee are agreed before Aurora proceeds.
Professional affiliations
Michelle Wilz, CPA, is a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants and serves as president of the Bozeman chapter of the Montana Society of Certified Public Accountants.
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America Counts on CPAs®
Michelle Wilz, CPA — licensed in Montana -
Michelle Wilz, CPA — President, Bozeman Chapter
Montana Society of Certified Public Accountants