Who We Are

Our clients are typically small to mid-sized closely held companies and family business owners with annual revenues up to $300 million, both nationally and internationally, with operations or activities in almost every state in the United States. We have found that many of our clients turn to us when they struggle with the feeling that they have outgrown their small practice CPA, or when they feel under-served by their current accounting firm.

WFY works with business owners who want to avoid year-end surprises. Who struggle with non-responsive accounting partners who are slow to return phone calls. Who doesn’t feel they are receiving the time and attention they deserve from their current CPA firm. Who desires to have a personal relationship with their CPA partner not shielded with layers of staff. Who wants proactive ideas on easing the tax burden throughout the year, not just at tax time. Who struggle with the feeling that they are overpaying for the amount of accounting value they actually receive. Who want to be taken care of better than what they have experienced in the past.

Our primary goal is to help each client leverage all available resources to pursue their specific goals and objectives and to successfully accomplish their desired outcome.  As a result of our personalized approach to accounting, we are able to deliver the agility and attention of a local CPA firm while maintaining the expertise and worldwide network reach of a national firm.

Here is how Wright Ford Young & Co. is different:

• We are one of the largest local full-service accounting firms in Orange County.
• We are one of only 133 CPA firms nationwide that audit more than 100 employee benefit plans annually.
• We have the largest dedicated estate and trust tax department among local CPA firms.
• We are a lifestyle firm that is committed to our employees by focusing our services on privately held companies, family businesses, and private foundations.
• We have committed to giving 1% of our firm’s gross revenues to local charities every year.

Our competitors generally range from local small office practices to mid-tier and national firms. We offer you the best of both. Being the largest single office CPA firm in OC means that WFY can deliver big firm expertise with local office service delivery and competitive fees. Many of our partners have substantial prior experience with large international accounting firms. We are large and deep enough to be highly effective in delivering business results, but local enough to make fast decisions and move quickly for you.  To better serve our clients with national and international operations, we have affiliated with MGI, one of the world’s largest and fastest growing associations of independent auditing, accounting, and consulting firms. By this partnership, we can offer the benefits of a multinational accounting firm while maintaining the “people first” practices of a local firm. WFY, through its affiliation with MGI, has a presence in over 80 countries with 165 member firms in 280 offices.

• Our primary responsibility as a 401(k) auditor is to protect our client’s fiduciary duty to serve the interests of the Plan participants, and to minimize the risk of an audit failure. WFY is one of only 133 CPA firms in the United States that audit in excess of 100 plans on an annual basis. According to the most recent DOL survey, if a CPA firm audits less than 100 plans on an annual basis, the failure rate of these audits is approximately 30%. The bottom line is that if you’re selecting a CPA firm that audits less than 100 plans annually, you have a greater than 30% chance of an audit failure and up to $50,000 in DOL penalties for every year the audit is disqualified.

• By having a dedicated estates & trusts tax department means that WFY has a specialized team of experts capable of recognizing opportunities to reduce or mitigate current and future tax liabilities. Because of the ever-changing tax laws, we continue to monitor and update your estate plan as necessary. We have more than 40 years of combined experience in estates and trusts tax compliance, thus we are skilled at resolving complex issues in the individual, estate, trust and gift tax areas.

• You will benefit from our employees’ years of continuous service. Our employee retention rate is higher than most other CPA firms in the area. We compete for and retain our talented employees by offering all of the benefits of public accounting without the levels of overtime incurred by other firms who serve SEC reporting companies. Therefore, our engagement teams turn over significantly less than other firms, leading to a more efficient and cost effective level of service. Our clients enjoy the benefits of having continuity of their audit and tax teams over several years, thus avoiding the hassle and delays of retraining new staff every year on your business processes. We have happy people, which translates into greater client service.

• Close to 90% of our clients are headquartered in Orange County, so we take great pride in serving our local community. We commit to giving 1% of our firm’s gross revenues to local charities every year. Since its formation in 2007, our charitable giving committee has donated over $1.25 million to Orange County charities. A portion of your engagement fees every year contributes to the needs of worthy charitable causes in your community.

Please visit our Case Studies, Testimonials, and Awards pages for a representative summary of our delivered business results and recognition.