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5.0 out of 5 based on 41 reviewsAbout Stronghold

About Stronghold Accounting

A CPA-led accounting team for small businesses, founded in 2017 to raise the standard of accounting service. We do bookkeeping, monthly close, payroll, tax planning and business advisory for small businesses, generally at or above $200,000 in revenue.
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Alex M. Riccio, CPA, founder and CEO of Stronghold Accounting
Alex M. Riccio, CPAFounder & CEO
From the founder

About the Founder

Alex left his W-2 career auditing Fortune 500 companies to bring that same level of financial expertise to small business owners. After graduating from the University of Tampa with a 4.0 major GPA, supported by over $100,000 in scholarships, Alex went on to become a licensed CPA. But his career actually started with small businesses, his first accounting role was working directly with a group of 20 small businesses: from local bars, to restaurants, and retail stores across the US.

From there, he became an auditor for the Federal Government and later joined Ernst & Young, learning how some of the largest organizations in the world manage their financials. Eventually, he decided to use the knowledge learned from Fortune 500 companies to bring it back to where it all started: small businesses. Today, Alex uses the expertise gained analyzing public-company financials and working in government audit to help business owners understand their numbers, make better decisions, and keep more of their hard-earned profits.
Book a call with Alex →
Why the firm exists

Stronghold Accounting was started to disrupt the low standards of accounting services.

Two gaps drove it: communication, and the quality of the financials themselves.

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Exceptional communicationA named person who answers, and a monthly conversation about what the numbers mean.

Most small business owners have had the same experience. Numbers arrive late, in a format nobody explains, from someone who does not answer the phone. The books are technically done and nobody is any wiser.
High-quality financials & strategic insightStatements a lender or buyer would accept, reviewed by a licensed CPA before they reach you.

Our mission is to change the old-school client relationship so every client is heard, understood, and given the expertise to reach their financial goals.

Meet the team

A small Florida firm. You will know exactly who is handling your books.
Alex M. Riccio, CPA, founder and CEO of Stronghold Accounting
Alex M. Riccio, CPAFounder & CEO
Alex leads the strategic component of our CPASystem™, which includes the Profit & Tax Strategy Meetings, where profit leaks and overpaid taxes are identified. Alex also helps owners evaluate key financial trends, establish performance targets, and understand the numbers driving their business. His focus is ensuring clients receive more than compliance, but having a clear strategy for improving profitability, minimizing taxes, and making confident financial decisions.
Co-founder
Mariela O. GonzalezAccounting Manager
Mariela oversees the quality and accuracy of our clients’ financial reporting including the weekly bookkeeping, monthly financial statements, account reconciliations, and other key financial processes to ensure each client’s books are complete and reliable. In addition to providing controllership-level oversight, helping identify reporting issues, improving accounting processes, and ensuring financials are structured to give business owners a clear picture of their company’s performance.
Luisito
Luisito Jr. A. Tinagsa, CPASenior Accountant
Luis manages the day-to-day accounting and bookkeeping operations for our clients, ensuring transactions are accurately recorded, reconciled, and up to date. He oversees the weekly accounting workflow, reviews activity for accuracy and consistency, and works directly with clients to resolve questions, gather needed information, and keep their books moving smoothly. His focus is maintaining clean, reliable financial data so clients always have an accurate foundation for reporting, analysis, and strategic decision-making.
The CPASystem™

How we work

Three things are true of every engagement:

1Free Discovery CallIdentify compliance red flagsUncover missed profit opportunities
2Foundation BuildoutEliminate costly compliance risksCapture missed profit opportunitiesEstablish peace of mind processes
3Ongoing CPASystem™Books are worked weekly, not monthly. A file touched once at month end produces a close that is a scramble and a problem found twelve weeks late.A licensed CPA analyzes the close every month, not only the year-end file.Pricing is flat-rate. No hourly billing, so we are not paid more for taking longer, and you can budget it.More on the CPASystem™ →

Why weekly matters. A file touched once at month end means an error made in week two of January gets reported to you eleven more times before anyone catches it. Working weekly turns most problems into corrections rather than cleanups, and it is the biggest operational difference between us and a typical provider.

Why the analysis happens monthly. CPA-level judgment is most useful while a correction can still be made, not after the same issue has flowed through twelve reports.

Credentials
Alex M. Riccio, CPA presenting Stronghold Accounting's approach to a room of small business owners
5.0 ★41 Google reviews
$10K–$100KStronghold's tax-planning work is designed to identify opportunities that can range from $10,000 to $100,000, depending on the business and its circumstances. Results vary, and every recommendation is based on the client's actual books and tax position.
Licensed CPAState of Florida
ProAdvisorQuickBooks certified
Video resources

Watch before you book

What the CPASystem™ actually delivers
When it's time to hire an accountant
S-Corp: when the election pays for itself
Where we are
Tampa, FL1646 W Snow Ave, Tampa, FL 33606(813) 336-1498
Lake Mary, FL1540 International Pkwy STE 2000-242, Lake Mary, FL 32746(407) 431-0348
Virtual, nationwideServing clients virtually across the US.Both locations →
Scope

What we do and what we do not

We do bookkeeping, monthly close, payroll, tax planning and business advisory for small businesses, generally from around $200,000 in revenue.

Stronghold handles proactive tax planning and works with an integrated tax-preparation partner for filing. We coordinate the year-end handoff so the books, planning, and return preparation stay connected. Fractional CFO services are available through an integrated partner. Stronghold handles the books, monthly close, and controller-level process; the CFO partner can support forecasting, fundraising, and board reporting when the business needs it.

We also work with other accounting firms, providing bookkeeping capacity behind their brand. See white-label bookkeeping for CPA firms.

Clients

Who we work with

Owner-operated small businesses, generally from around $200,000 in revenue. We go deepest in law firms, medical and dental practices, creative agencies, contractors, professional services firms, consultants and IT businesses.

The common thread is not industry. It is an owner who has outgrown a part-time bookkeeper, is nowhere near needing a finance department, and wants to use the numbers rather than just file them.

Industries we serve →

Talk to us

Book a free discovery call.