How long have you been working for Licari Larsen? What made you decide to go into the Accounting field?

I started working for George F. Maruska, LTD in October of 1993. George Maruska sold his tax preparation business to Licari, Larsen & Co. in December of 2015 and I was lucky enough to be hired by the new owners-same job, same office, and same desk. It was a perfect fit for me.

From the time I was in high school and took accounting courses, I knew that I liked working with numbers and that accounting would be a good fit for me. I don't do as much accounting anymore because I am now focused on tax preparation. Don't get me wrong, I still have my fingers in the accounting aspect of the business but it is not my primary responsibility.

Do you mind sharing a bit about your military background?

I enlisted in the United States Marine Corps in April 1973. I chose the Marines because my dad was a Marine. My MOS {job) was as a legal clerk/court reporter. I consider it an honor and a privilege to have served in the Marine Corps and was discharged in April 1975. Unfortunately, the court reporter training was using a dictaphone not a steno-type machine so was not very practical for the real world. I am proud to say that I am now part of the American Legion honor guard in Grand Marais. We present the flag to deceased veterans' families at funerals, participate in parades, Veteran's Day ceremonies, and Memorial Day services.

Any family information that you would like to share?

I was born in North Dakota but we moved to Minnesota when I was 2 and to Grand Marais when I was going into fifth grade. I raised my son and daughter in Grand Marais as a single parent and I am glad to say that they both live in Cook County with their significant other and they are the parents of my two wonderful granddaughters.

You put in incredibly long hours during tax season. How many hours a week do you work during peak season? What are your duties during the rest of the year?

Starting about the second week in January until April 15th, I usually work between 10 and 11 hours a day, seven days a week. After the 15th I go back to working 8 hours a day, five days a week. There are still a lot of returns to do during the off-season, i.e. clients for which we filed extensions, responding to IRS and Minnesota letters for clients, catching clients up on old untiled returns, tax consultations, answering new business startup questions relating to taxes, etc. Then there is also monthly accounting clients and payroll clients to keep up on. My main focus is taxes but I help wherever needed.

The average number of tax returns that you personally prepare for others during tax season?

During the tax year 2019, I filed a little over 600 tax returns. That number does not include the returns that I may have prepared that were prior to tax year 2019. So I probably average between 600 and 625 per tax year.