Paramount Tax & Accounting Silicon Valley Central - San Jose, California

Stephanie S (ErgoMageSteph)

This was for 2024, filing for 2023. I was in dire need of accounting assistance given I had a significant job change, and was starting to take off as a self-proprietor contractor business, and was recommended Elayne through a networking friend who specialized with small businesses like me. I thought this would be perfect, and all the reviews on here were glowing...but to my utter disappointment, she and her company fell short of these lofty expectations.

At first it seemed promising, we had a Zoom call to talk about my goals and how the tax season would go...but the first troubling indicator that something was up was that she mixed up whether I was a self proprietor or an S-corp, and gave me the wrong advice. But, I felt at the time that was an honest misunderstanding since I did state that my ultimate goal was to become an S-Corp eventually, and she might have misinterpreted that to mean I was already one. And she was responsive during Jan and Feb to my questions.

Then, as I got my forms and information to her, I was promised that it would be done within 1-2 weeks. I submitted all of them beginning of March 2024, a couple weeks pass and...nothing. Odd, but I thought since my own dad was a CPA, I remembered how long it took him to do tax returns as it got closer to 4/15, and my situation was a little more complex, I figured it just would take a little longer to complete mine along with however many clients she had. So I waited...then beginning of April rolled around, and I still hadn't heard or seen anything new come up, and I'm beginning to sweat. And of course, I sent a message, called, emailed...and heard nothing. Finally on 4/13, I decided I did not want to risk late fees, and just completed the tax return myself, and sent a message to Elayne asking to terminate our professional relationship. To my shock, I got a message right back from Elayne about 7 hours later saying it was ready to be uploaded, they've just had a lot of staffing issues in the last month. And to my great confusion, I got another message, seemingly auto-generated to send out to ALL her clients about half an hour later about how the new influx of 200+ clients caused unforeseen obstacles and delays in getting tax returns completed.

I...did not know how to take this conflicting information. On the one hand, I understand how horribly busy tax season is for accountants. But on the other hand, it was terribly irresponsible and unprofessional to take on so many new clients when your team was clearly unequipped to handle the workload. The biggest kicker was I still never received my tax return to review before 4/15 until I chased after her about it in May, a month AFTER to see how it differed from my own. I would have been more appeased and respected them more if they told me that since I was a new client and they were in this situation, it would be in my best interest to look elsewhere for tax help so they could prioritize their returning clients, and let me be to submit my own tax return. However, I am more severely disappointed by the promise of it being "done" right after I stated I wanted to end our professional connection...then never hearing any communication about it until I had to chase after them long after the deadline. I luckily decided to submit my own before the deadline since by this point my trust in them was basically gone.

I genuinely hope they've learned from this experience and do better by their long-time clients, and greater client base in the future. As a new client, I felt overlooked and forgotten, and lied to. I do not recommend working with them unless they've really proven they've changed and improved their work ethic and integrity. I certainly do not plan to work with them again.

Allen Francis

I’m very happy with Elayne’s attention to detail and how quickly she was able to help me with my business and personal returns. Her pricing is very fair as well!
I was with my passed accountant for over 30 years and was nervous about finding a replacement after he retired but I’m very comfortable with Elayne at Paramount.

Nadya V

We had the pleasure of working with Elayne for our 2022 tax return and we couldn't be happier with the level of service she provided. Elayne was knowledgeable, professional, and always responsive to our questions and concerns. She made the process of filing our tax return a breeze, and we were thrilled to hear that it was accepted by both the IRS and CA Franchise Tax Board.

We appreciate Elayne's attention to detail and willingness to go above and beyond to ensure our taxes were done correctly. We have no doubt that we will continue to rely on her expertise in the future and would highly recommend her services to anyone in need of a reliable and trustworthy tax advisor.

Denise Gershenson

I've known Elayne Pace for many years and always have been impressed with her professionalism and kindness. She really cares about her clients and their needs. She will go the extra mile to accommodate the client. I would truly recommend her and her staff with all my financial needs.

Nikki Garland

Elayne was a delight to work with. I was way behind, she not only was supportive she got me on track, she was prompt with my taxes, her system to upload documents are user friendly! I will definitely be using her for upcoming tax years. She is professional and knowledgeable with great communication.

Divya Jadeja Rathore

Absolutely awful. I have no words to describe how terrible the experience has been with this practice.
If you want to skip the full review, here's a summary: As of early morning 4/16, my taxes were not filed and I am unsure an extension was filed. AVOID THIS PRACTICE IF YOU WANT YOUR SANITY AND TAXES FILED!
***
The accountant I have been with for 8 or 9 years, sold to Paramount and Elayne and her team took over the accounts. After doing my diligence on Elayne, I did a quick zoom meet n greet call with her in March. She seemed responsive and competent, and it was easy to reach her office. I specifically asked Elayne about what measures she had taken to set up an infrastructure to handle the increase in client volume, and her answers were believable.
Soon after our call I submitted all my information for tax prep, 3+ weeks prior to the 4/15 deadline. I sent an email to alert them I had uploaded docs etc.
Weeks go by and no word. No news is good news ? I finally start to follow up 1.5 weeks prior to the tax deadline because not a single call or email has been answered since I submitted. Then a week prior, then Friday the 12th and over the weekend. Now we are at tax day, and I called all THREE numbers for the practice. I finally reached "Julia" around noon, who assured me she would get back to me ASAP. At this point I have cancelled my travel plans for the day to stay close for an update. Keep in mind I have NO idea if any additional information is needed for my taxes.

As we get close to the end of the business day. I contacted an accountant owning a Paramount franchise in SoCal. She managed to reach the Campbell office and was told my taxes were completed and they would be in touch. That was around 6p. We are now into April 16th and I have no word from Elayne Pace and her team.

This is hands down one of the worst, most egregious, stressful, and blatantly incompetent experiences of my life, and it will LITERALLY cost me money due to late filing fees. This was 110% avoidable had they exhibited the minimum standards of good business practices and communicated my taxes were not done.

Is this place is a scam? Were the positive reviews paid for? There are other accountants. Find someone else and save yourself the time, stress, and money.

Rosewynde Silverthorne

While I haven't used this service, I do know Elayne personally. I have no doubt she will do her utmost to help each of her clients. She is a hardworking, honest individual, with good people skills and has many years worth of experience in accounting.

Vinney Arora

2023 Update: It's been many years and Elayne and her team are still the best and the gold standard.

I've worked with Elayne at Paramount over the years on many many financial guidance and tax issues. Elayne is an incredibly smart, saavy, and client centric CPA and I trust her and refer her out all the time. She was able to find ways for me to receive a tax refund using her wealth of knowledge about IRS and FTB tax laws. You're in good hands with Elayne and her team and you can count on her to be a great accountant.