For over 30 years, Maria has served clients in a variety of areas including financial statement audits, reviews and compilations as well as business and individual taxation. Maria excels working with clients in the real estate, and healthcare industries, along with employee benefit plans.

Maria manages our not-for-profit and ERISA Pension Plan Audit Department. She has experience auditing labor unions, associations and 401(k) plans. Maria leads her department in staying up to date on the ever-changing trends, laws and Department of Labor regulations.

As an expert in the real estate industry Maria brings tax strategies such as Cost Segregation, 1031 exchanges, debt restructuring, capital financing and cash flow projections to the table. Maria manages LSL’s Cost Segregation department and is responsible for the implementation and completion of all Cost Segregation studies. Maria is involved with Commercial Real Estate Women of Orange County (CREW-OC), one of the leading commercial real estate organizations for executive women in Orange County.

Maria’s passion is to help run manufacturing and distribution businesses with specialization in international business entering the US market. Her focus is on overseas production including business expansions. Maria understands the complexities of manufacturing accounting and business advice in such a unique industry.

Great Clients for Maria…value a partner in their business to help guide them to greater success.
LSL candidate tip… Ask her about her kids and traveling and her big fat Cuban Family.
Personal… Her son, Kyle, was married in August 2018.

Professional and Civic Involvement:

Firm member, PrimeGlobal
Member, American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA)
Member, California Society of Certified Public Accountants (CalCPA)
Member, Commercial Real Estate Women of Orange County (CREW-OC)
Member, Western Pension & Benefits Association
Licensed as a Registered Representative and Life Agent

Education:

B.A. degree in Business Administration with an Accounting emphasis, California State University, Fullerton

Pam brings with her over 30 years of taxation and consulting experience. Pam’s areas of expertise include tax compliance for complex high net worth individuals and pass-through entities including partnerships, limited liability companies, S corporations and C corporations. She has extensive experience in providing tax planning for multi-state high net worth individuals and their closely held businesses. She also has significant experience in handling federal and state tax audits. Pam has worked with companies in a variety of industries including real estate, professional services and wholesale manufacturing.

Great Clients for Pam…entrepreneurial clients who do a little bit of everything. She likes the challenge of clients that need a variety of advice and services.
LSL candidate tip… Ask Pam about what she likes most about serving her clients or her latest favorite music. She really enjoys being more than just an advisor to her clients. She likes a wide variety of music types and often has something unexpected playing in her office.
Personal… Pam is married with adult children. In her free time, she likes to read, spend time with family & friends, and keep up on current news.

Professional and Civic Involvement:

Firm member, PrimeGlobal
Member, American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA)
Member, California Society of Certified Public Accountants (CalCPA)

Education:

M.S. degree in Taxation, Golden Gate University
B.A. degree in Business Administration with Accounting emphasis, California State University, Fullerton

Being a CPA means constantly encountering new opportunities. Where some people might see a problem, Mark sees an opportunity get to the root of the issue and come up with a creative solution or process that will optimize his client’s results. Mark’s goal at the end of every project is a happy client who has the tools and information they need to take on their next challenge.

Mark relies on his broad background in public accounting and private industry to help him meet this goal. He has performed a variety of tax compliance and planning projects, including estate planning, for clients that have ranged from individuals with a small rental real estate portfolio, to businesses with sales of several hundred million dollars. In addition, Mark has structured business entities, created and installed accounting and information systems, obtained financing, and managed the attest process, both as auditor and client. In his over 30 years as a CPA, Mark has gained experience and expertise in diverse industries including real estate development, construction, property management, manufacturing, healthcare, and automotive dealership accounting.

Great clients for Mark… wish to add additional perspective or expertise to their team. Perhaps it’s time to tackle that stubbornly persistent problem.
LSL candidate tip… Mark is proud of his two Eagle Scouts and Mark was an Assistant Scoutmaster for many years. Share one of your own adventure stories with him.
Personal… Mark is happily married to his high school sweetheart, Laurie, who still puts up with his “all things tech” obsession.

Professional and Civic Involvement:

Firm member, PrimeGlobal
American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA)
California Society of Certified Public Accountants (CalCPA)
American Bar Association
Orange County Bar Association

Education:

Juris Doctor/Master of Real Estate Development, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, California
Bachelor of Arts in Business Administration, Concentration in Accounting, Minors in Mathematics and Computer Science, California State University, Fullerton, California

Mark is also a member of our Automotive Accounting Team

Chris has over 15 years of experience in public accounting. He joined the LSL team in 2002.

Chris has a broad range of industry experience including manufacturing, real estate, and service companies. His areas of expertise include complex audit, review, and financial reporting issues and ERISA employee benefit plan audits.

Chris manages the majority of the firms’ review and audit engagements.

Professional and Civic Involvement:

Firm member, PrimeGlobal
Member, American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA)
Member, California Society of Certified Public Accountants (CalCPA)
Member, Western Pension & Benefits Association

Education:

Bachelor of Science in Accounting, Chapman University

Kiyomi Shiota has a green thumb. Her knack for growth, however, is with people and businesses.

As a senior assurance manager, Kiyomi oversees audit engagements and completes technical reviews of financial statements. She also assists with staff training and development. Kiyomi is known for being patient and flexible. She is proud to help others become successful, and is a high performer herself.

Kiyomi started her audit career at a Big Four firm and worked in the assurance department for 16 years, including an overseas tour to Japan. She joined ELLS Certified Public Accountants and Business Advisors in 2017 and continued with the firm after it merged with LSL CPAs and Advisors in January 2018. She primarily works with clients in construction, healthcare, distribution and not-for-profit. Clients have access to a wealth of resources and experience through Kiyomi and her colleagues.

Great Clients for Kiyomi… are open to new ideas that will benefit their business.
LSL candidate tip… Talk about your resiliency and ability to embrace change.
Personal… Kiyomi is an animal lover and known by her friends as being reliable. She’s often the first person they call for help.

Professional and Civic Involvement:

Firm member, PrimeGlobal
American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA),
Member, California Society of Certified Public Accountants (CalCPA)
Member, Supervisory Committee for Altura Credit Union
Volunteer, Red Bucket Equine Rescue

Education:

B.S. in Accounting, California State University, San Bernardino