FLINT, Michigan – The month of April has been recognized as Financial literacy month in the United States since 2003.
The purpose of this label is to highlight the importance of solid money management skills and to teach Americans how to create and maintain healthy financial habits.
Antonio Brown, a native Flint who has been a licensed CPA for more than 15 years, recently co-merged his CPA firm The John L Group, LLC create John L Financial Services. The John L Group is led by Brown and his brothers Luther and Jermaine Brown.
John L Financial Services works with individuals, nonprofits, nonprofits, churches, and others in the Flint area to provide tax education, preparation, and other services. He also plans to reach out to young people between the ages of 13 and 18 in the Flint area in April to highlight the importance of financial literacy.
“April is Financial Literacy Month,” he said. “One of the things we try in town is a series of financial education courses for teenagers between the ages of 13 and 18. We are committed to improving the financial literacy of residents and young people in the city of Flint and to attracting, or at least showing an interest in, the accounting industry. We are severely underrepresented and it is a highly respected field and a solid career path. If we can get in more contact with the accounting industry, it will be a good sign for the entire community. “
As an African American licensed CPA, Brown himself represents less than 1 percent of all CPAs in the United States – of the more than 600,000 CPAs in the country, only about 5,000 are black, according to the state National Society of Black Chartered Accountants.
Brown, who was taught by Flint in the public education system from elementary school to his first masters degree, spoke to Flintside about his background in accounting and tax preparation, how the COVID-19 pandemic has changed the industry, and some tips for people in the middle in preparing their taxes this year.
Flintside: What neighborhood or area in Flint did you grow up in and what high school did you graduate from?
Antonio Brown: “I’m from the north side and spent most of my childhood with Garfield and King Elementary. I grew up on Jackson Avenue right next to MLK. I graduated from Flint Northern in 2000, UM-Flint in 2004 and 2009 with an MBA
“That’s what I tell people when I talk about Flint – I was born, raised and educated here in Flint. I went to Flint Public Schools, I went to UM-Flint. I just recently received my second Masters in Education from Wayne State in 2020. But for 20-25 years I was educated directly in the town of Flint, so I’m really a product of Flint – the public education system from elementary school to graduate school. “
Flintside: Why did you want to start your business in the Flint area?
Antonio Brown: “I stayed in Flint. My wife and I, when we got married, stayed in Flint and helped the community. I did my training here. We had really put down roots in Flint, we raised a family.
“I started AC Brown Tax Services in 2005 and levied taxes pretty much outside of my home. In 2007, I passed my CPA license exam, got a license, and started AC Brown CPA and Associates in 2008. I started them because for one thing I lived in Flint and at that point I really didn’t plan to move, so I started the business and still did my job and then worked my business after hours.
“AC Brown CPA and Associates partnered with the John L Group to formulate John L Financial Services. AC Brown CPA and Associates was the only black-owned CPA company in Genesee County for more than 12 years. So why stay in Flint? Since the Flint community needed us, especially if the population (in the city) is 75 to 80 percent African American, it is important to be in the accounting and CPA industries. There are some accountants or registered agents, but when you talk about the services of a CPA, we were the only players in the county for the most part.
“We (The John L Group) are family owned and operated. We are blood brothers, three of us own the company, we were born and raised in Flint and all of us also graduated from UM-Flint. We have all followed the same path of being raised in Flint, growing up in Flint, and giving to the community in unique ways. “
Flintside: What got you into accounting? Have you always had an interest in math and numbers? What did that trigger for you as an adult?
Antonio Brown: “I actually majored in college psychology with child psychology. I wanted to be a child psychologist. I really got into business around my junior year. I did an internship at GMAC in the finance department, which drew me into the financial world. Actually, I’m a finance major, not an accounting major, but a professor named Cathy Miller, when I was taking my accounting class, asked me if I had ever thought about the accountancy and CPA profession because I was good at her class, and then joined me with the Voluntary income tax assistance (VITA) program, it’s a non-profit tax aid program, and I started working on tax returns in college and got more into the accounting industry.
“It wasn’t until I graduated and started working that I looked at my finance options, then accounting options, and had to take some additional accounting courses (in graduate school) that I wasn’t taking in undergraduate studies. That piqued my interest. She asked me about the industry and then about my post graduate options and where I might be if I looked into accounting and decided to take the CPA path. “
Flintside: What tips or advice would you suggest in the middle of the tax season for filing applications this year, especially in a city with a large number of low and middle income residents?
Antonio Brown: “My best advice is, for individuals, I believe the threshold is $ 50,000. In fact, if you’re making less than $ 50,000, you can file your federal income tax for free. Well, you may have to pay your state income taxes for the service, but you can actually file your tax return for free by visiting the IRS website.
“But there is also the VITA program that submits your tax return for you free of charge. These are volunteers who often have years of experience delivering the service. Some of them are seasoned tax professionals who want to give something back to low-income people.
“But most importantly, if you prepare yourself, understand tax law or have a general understanding of reporting, your loved ones, etc. and don’t have that basic experience then you are really looking for a tax advisor to help you with Submission supported. “
Flintside: There are places in Flint, and really everywhere, that often promise faster or greater returns, but sometimes with large hidden prep costs or other pitfalls. What advice would you give people when choosing a tax advisor to ensure that their taxes are both properly prepared and not taken advantage of?
Antonio Brown: “Who do I trust? Who am i going to There are many tax return companies out there, but you pay these outrageous fees. These businesses rely on low- to middle-income families as they qualify for earned income tax credits most of the time. Often times, taxpayers perceive this as some kind of free money when it isn’t. It’s not free money, you qualify because you don’t earn enough to live – the earnings balance is meant to complement low-income earners. If you qualify, it’s not free, it’s designed to help you all year round. “
Flintside: How has the pandemic changed the tax preparation season? Have things like stimulus payments or unemployment benefits created more complications or confusion for people about filing this year?
Antonio Brown: “The IRS reports that more than 6 million tax returns for 2019 have not yet been processed. The second round of economic growth was based solely on your 2019 tax return. Those individuals whose taxes were not processed are missing the refund they should have received and have not yet received, and they have not received their second round of stimulus.
“The changes in the way accountants prepare tax returns this year are almost 100 percent virtual. For me, I’ve switched to a 100 percent virtual process. I had to invest in a secure customer portal and train customers on how to use the portal and upload their sensitive tax information so that they would not transmit that information over a public email or send sensitive documents over a picture and text.
“That was a big change. Then we conduct exit interviews or virtual meetings on Zoom instead of discussing personal tax information in an office. It’s just different and tax professionals across the country are moving towards it. I honestly think it will change the way we do tax preparation in the future. “
For more information on John L Financial Services, visit their website website, Facebook site, or Instagram page.