About Jeff Rochester | Jeffrey L. Rochester, CPA PC

Growing up was on a farm a few miles outside Eaton Rapids, Michigan. After graduating from Eaton Rapids High School in 1980, I made my way to Hillsdale College. With the completion of my studies in December, 1985, I had earned a Bachelor of Arts with a major in Accounting, and graduated with the honors of Magna Cum Laude. The Hillsdale College experience provided me with the rock solid foundation for the start of my adult life and nine job offers to choose from to start my career.

The journey to be a Certified Public Accountant began in January, 1986 with Arthur Andersen & Company in Grand Rapids, Michigan. At the time, Arthur Andersen was the largest accounting firm in the world and I chose them because I could go directly into the Tax Department, which is where I knew I wanted to be. I began working for some of the wealthiest families in West Michigan, handling their personal tax matters. High net worth individuals, small and medium size businesses and trusts became my primary areas of focus. In my first (and only) attempt, I passed the Fall, 1987 CPA Exam and was officially licensed by the State of Michigan in October, 1988. While living in Grand Rapids was great, the desire to return home was calling. In August, 1989, after 3.5 years, I left Arthur Andersen to join the Tax Department of Dart Container Corporation in Mason, Michigan.

Becoming a Senior Tax Accountant at Dart Container was a great move. I was blessed to work directly with Mr. Dart and for his family. The work was very diverse, even better than working for a CPA firm. Individuals, S corporations, partnerships, trusts and nonprofits were the primary tax returns, with manufacturing and real estate investments the primary business areas. With international operations, I was also exposed to international tax reporting. Dart was “big business” tax compliance, and tax reduction planning was a primary objective every year. The latter part of my Dart career I was solely responsible for a large project involving the family trusts and litigation. This project was a combination of forensic accounting, fiduciary accounting and litigation support.

My CPA practice actually began while at Dart Container. By the late 1990s, I was juggling both a full-time job at Dart and a quickly growing clientele in my CPA practice. In March, 2003, after 13.5 years, I left Dart Container to be a full-time CPA practice owner. The experiences I gained from Arthur Andersen and Dart Container were a great technical foundation for me and for having my own CPA practice. However...

...owning a business is not easy, and that part was not learned while at Arthur Andersen and Dart Container. It has been more “seat of the pants” learning. Over the years, my practice has grown, shrunk, changed locations (although always stayed in Eaton Rapids) and transformed. It is not as big as it used to be, but as my practice has matured, it has certainly become more focused. Value and personal service are now the focal points of my practice.

My practice serves small-to-medium size businesses and their owners, and individuals in the 45-80+ age range. The largest group of business owners are farmers (crop, livestock and landlords), real estate investors, trusts & trustees and service businesses. Hard working families and retirees make up majority of my individual tax clients. Nonprofits and estates and trusts have also become large groups that I work with.

Services include traditional accounting services for businesses and tax compliance for individuals, corporations, partnerships, nonprofits and estates and trusts. Specialized services in proactive tax planning and tax resolution are also substantial areas of my practice.

New clients are accepted primarily through networking and referral. Growth is now very controlled, only accepting clients who fit a certain criteria. After more than 35 years, I bring a vast amount of experience and knowledge for my clients to access and I share as much of that as I can with as many clients as possible.

I have been married to my wife Carol since July, 1985. We have three children and five grandchildren. Eaton Rapids has been our home since returning from Grand Rapids in 1989, and we expect it will be forever.

Finally, I love what I do and love the people I am fortunate to work with.

Thank you for reading this, and may God bless you and your family.