Ara Haddadian, CPA

Great CPA — always there to answer questions, give you insight, lead you in the right direction, and ensure compliance. And at the end of the year, his office HANDLES your tax needs through and through.

This review is a follow up to my original post and in response to my second visit to him as my CPA.
Going back to Ara after my first time with him was like going back to see an old friend. We talked about our families, what is happening in our lives and how much has changed in the past year. All the stuff that makes it personal and a real relationship.
I cannot emphasize enough how wonderful it is to work with him. His knowledge of tax standards is current (very important) and first rate. And most importantly, as a CPA he works on your behalf, not the government’s.

I have a small production business and have had Ara doing all my taxes for the last 3yrs. I have gone through several CPA’s over the 9yr period of owning my business and have never found someone that is consitant year around. Ara is very informative and knows his stuff, always giving me good advice on which route to take. When it comes to taxes im lost as can be, Ara has helped over the years in guiding me in the right direction! Thanks Ara and keep up the great work!

I’m gonna make it short and sweet as how all tax should be done. If you’re doing your taxes, whether individually or as a business go see Ara you will not be disappointed. If I could give him 6 stars I would. Great work and on time.

I love Ara! I’ve been going to him the last two years, since I moved to LA. I have a rental property in another state, a day job, and I’m an actor, and he handles it all! I use to do my own taxes and no joke, Ara has gotten me double what I use to get back on my own! I found him on Unilocal.So thank you Unilocalers for reviewing him! I’ve referred friends to him and they also rave about him. He will take care of you!

Ara is very professional and pleasure to work with. He is knowledgeable and will answer all your questions. He is also very organized and I love using the electronic portal which lets me upload my docs without going to his office. Everything can be done on line — easy, efficient and aquatically saved into your virtual profile! Taxes made simple, thank you Ara!

People need to understand the difference between a typical Bookkeeper and an actual CPA. Ara is brilliant at what he does. He explains everything, answers all your questions promptly, and follows up with you even after everything has been completed. I filed my taxes with him last year and I will be back again this year. Overall work and service was exceptional!

At first it looks impressive with all the 5 stars, but for some reason it was surprising to me, but decided to give him a try.
First of all the online reservation is a joke, we booked online, received no confirmation after the site announced that «you’ll receive a confirmation e-​mail», later on we called him to either confirm the appointment or book one.
Long story short, after questioning and talking in rude manner, he is telling on the phone that my fee is $ 400 if you want I’ll call you back!
Well, this guy on the phone does not worth even a few cents of my unlimited cellphone minutes that we spent talking to him!
Like other two negative reviewers commented, he is a total rude asshole.
If you want to waste your time and probably money, go through all the reviews which there is not even an average one see how many repetitive, emphasizing on certain words/​phrases and similar comments you’ll find and then try to do business with him.

Being in the creative industry, taxes are definitely something that I don’t easily understand. This year was my first time filing independently, and so I wanted to make sure I was in good hands. After doing some research, I ended up here. Three words to sum it all up: easy, quick and efficient. I walked in expecting to ask and answer a few questions, drop off my tax forms and return a few days later to pick them up. Instead, I was asked a few questions about myself, my occupation and past returns, and within 30 minutes, he was hitting the submit button. So grateful for the help!

Ara is an extremely professional CPA. I have been dealing with an entity issue regarding my business for quite some time now and where most CPAs would not handle this, for Ara it is a walk in the park! His pricing is very reasonable as well. Contact him and you will be glad you did!

I can happily say I’m starting the new year off with a clean slate thanks to Ara! Ara is a fantastic accountant and wonderful guy. He was able to help me and guide me with my tax issues, while talking me through any questions I had in terms I could actually comprehend. He’s my go-​to guy from now on and I couldn’t recommend him enough!

I can’t express to you how grateful I am for Ara’s help.
I have two businesses and had a very late return. I was receiving all sorts of scary letters from the state. They said I owed them a huge sum! Ara was absolutely professional – and comforting without sugar-​coating anything – throughout every step of getting my very late return completed.
My accountant of nearly 12 years died unexpectedly when I had several outstanding and relatively complex issues in play with the IRS. I made the leap to go with Ara – a bit in duress – and entirely due to how positive his reviews are here on Unilocal.I don’t regret it at all. If you’re uncertain whether or not to use Ara, don’t be. If you think all the five stars are somehow bogus – they are not. This guy is gold. E-​mail him. Make an appointment. Have him do your taxes. If you’re still uncertain, private message me here… and I’ll give you even more info or answer any questions about my experience with Ara that you might have.
Here’s how things went down…
You’ve got to jump through a few easy hoops with regard to setting up a meeting via his website… but when you get to his nicely appointed and well organized office, the details of his intake process and working environment help instill confidence that this is a careful guy who won’t forget to dot the i’s and cross the t’s on your tax return.
Upon meeting him, you note he’s a very affable man. There’s nothing shifty about Ara. Nothing that makes you think he might be bending the rules a little too far. He gives it to you straight and simple… and you can really tell he’s attempting to represent your circumstances on the tax form legally, and to your best advantage. You’ll sleep better knowing he’s doing your taxes… because he does them right.
Ara first provided me with an initial consultation for a modest fee. He sent me home with a worksheet to fill out, to get him up to speed with my situation.
As mentioned, I have two businesses – one of which is a start-​up – with very odd expenses that needed to be categorized very carefully… and so, where the worksheet would likely work for most circumstances, I found it a bit daunting. Instead, when I returned to his office, Ara took the time to carefully walk through the income and expenses for both businesses. It was an extensive and comprehensive process, and Ara was very patient throughout.
Because I have two businesses, my tax return is probably a bit more involved than most… not something that could have been done with Turbo Tax or on my own. Moreover: because of the subtleties with a start-​up AND a separate older/​on-​going enterprise, there were a few pitfalls that I was aware needed to be avoided. Ara helped me navigate through that very tricky stuff. I was nearly in tears with regard to how frightening and complicated things were. But Ara managed the nuances of my circumstance very well… and left me feeling like I was in good hands.
The net result was: the state recalculated what they said I owed them, and my liability was reduced to a refund. Likewise, in the end – and due to the fact that he prepared a well defensible return – the feds owed me, too. Hands down, and without a doubt: getting my taxes done by Ara was the single best investment I made for my businesses this year… and probably one of the more fortuitous decisions I’ve made in a long time.
Stop wasting time: go see Ara!!!

I recently meet with Ara and he helped me save a lot on my 2012 taxes. He also found an error where Turbo Tax wasn’t properly carrying forward some deductions from a previous tax year and I didn’t catch it.
As a former financial advisor/​money manager I thought I didn’t really need a CPA, I could just do it myself using Turbo Tax, but going forward I will work with Ara to not only do my returns but help set up an S Corporation for my business.

This guy is not just an accountant, he’s a superhero. At least, that’s how I see him, after he heroically saved me from a scary IRS review that could have cost me upwards of $ 15K and a slog through the Tax Court.
I came to Ara in a state of anxiety after receiving a notice from the IRS that I needed to provide documentation for an exemption I claimed in 2010. I won’t get into the whole story here, but let’s just say it had the potential to be a very complicated and dicey situation. Ara gave me a FREE one-​hour consultation where he absorbed everything I told him and calmly explained my options. He was very personable and helpful, and I could tell that he really knew his stuff.
After following his advice and doing some more legwork (and paperwork), I was ready to send my response to the IRS, which would then go to Tax Court. I came back to Ara to have him look everything over before I sent it off to IRS purgatory. He reviewed everything carefully and efficiently in a very friendly manner. Once all the papers were in order, he could have easily sent me on my way. Instead he paused and said, «You don’t want to go to Tax Court. Let’s see if we can settle this over the phone.»
Then he picked up the phone and called a special line to the IRS that only tax professionals can use. and waited on hold for 40 minutes (this is peak tax season). While we waited, we chatted about my 2012 tax return and his family vacations to Hawaii, where I used to live. Finally we got through. only to find out we had to call another office. Ara was patient and persistent. He got the right person on the phone and then proceeded to explain my situation in a very simple, straightforward and convincing manner. The IRS guy on the other end was like «Sure, we can take care of this today.» I could hardly believe it — after five months of this hanging over my head, multiple calls to that same IRS office and being told that I had to send in a lot more documentation than was actually necessary.
If you’re having an issue with the IRS, I would highly recommend a visit to Ara. Not only is he very friendly, patient, and knowledgeable about every item on your tax return, he also knows how to talk to the IRS. Of course, everyone’s situation is different, but in my case, Ara totally saved the day. Hooray!

My fiancé and I both made appointments with Ara to get our taxes done based on his Unilocal reviews. We have a general partnership, as well as other work on our own. We’ve tried several other accountants over the last few years and ended up waiting forever and paying too much.
Our experience with Ara was exceptional. He was extremely friendly, organized, helpful, and fast. We met with him early in the tax season, and he had our taxes done and filed after only one week.
I would recommend Ara for all of your tax services and finally we have an accountant we can trust year after year.

I hadn’t filed my taxes in 2008, 2010 and 2011. I went to see Ara having already accepted major interest and penalty fees. Boy was I wrong.
Ara was able to secure me refunds for all three years. Big refunds. He’s more expensive than what I am used too but the quality of service is worth it. Definitely get what you pay for.
I’ll be back.

I have been in business for over 17 years. A couple years back, I encountered problems with the State Board of Equalization. I thought I was doing everything correctly with my prevous bookeeper. When an audit was conducted 2 years ago things were not so good. Ara helped me out tremendously with my audit problems. I reccommend Ara’s services and trust his expert advice for all tax needs.

Just had a fantastic consultation with Ara, and (pending wife approval) I think we found our first actual tax person. We used
for years, but there’s just no substitute for personal guidance from a living, breathing human being.
Not only does he clearly know his stuff, he’s just pleasant to be around: warm, non-​judgemental, and with a good sense of humor about the whole thing. None of that «dreading a visit to the dentist» type situation I hear from a lot of people about their finances.
I’m a big believer in relationship-​building as the heartbeat of any business venture, and it’s nice to know that, as a CPA, if and when the time comes that I have need of more complex financial advice, I have a number to call and a friendly voice at the other end ready to help.
Thanks Ara!

I would strongly recommend Ara as a great CPA.
I found Ara’s listing on Unilocal along with others while looking for someone to handle my tax filing this year. Not only is he exceptionally responsive, he is also extremely professional and easy to work with. I had a complicated tax situation being newly divorced and Ara helped me understand my tax scenario and help me determine the best way forward. He is very knowledgable and experienced and when faced with a tax nuance, he ensured he found the right answer before moving forward. All in all, I am extremely satisfied and happy that I have a new CPA.

Great CPA… takes his time with all of his clients and is very easy and friendly to talk to…
I loved how he would always be in contact with me and communicated with me the whole time while helping me with my taxes
I would highly recommend him as I am a satisfied client