CPA · MSTRobert Stennett
Managing Partner
Founded the practice in 1998. Signs every assurance engagement the firm issues and still keeps Friday mornings open for client calls.
4.9/5.01,200+ Google reviews
Top-Rated CPA Firm in Madison, WI
Licensed CPAs and enrolled agents for households, owner-operators, and growing companies across Dane County. Fixed fees quoted in writing before any work begins — and a partner who answers in July, not just April.
- Licensed CPAs & Enrolled Agents
- Fixed Fees, Quoted in Writing
- Free 30-Minute Consultation
- In practice on the Capitol Square
- 28 yrs
- Returns filed last season
- 3,412
- Client tax savings identified, 5 yrs
- $18.6M
- Client retention, year over year
- 98.2%
- Licensed CPA firm — WI Lic. #4172-F
- Enrolled agents admitted to practice before the IRS
- 40+ hours continuing education per CPA, every year
- Errors & omissions insured
Schedule of Services
What we take off your plate
Every engagement below is delivered by licensed staff and quoted as a fixed written fee — the way LedgerStone has worked since 1998.
Tax Preparation & PlanningIndividual and business returns prepared by licensed staff — with a planning memo after filing, so next year’s bill is designed, not discovered.
Bookkeeping & Monthly CloseReconciled books delivered by the 10th, every month — clean statements your banker, your board, and your future buyer will actually trust.
Payroll & Contractor ComplianceOn-time payroll, filings, and 1099s handled end to end. Your people get paid correctly; the notices stop arriving.
Audit & AssuranceReviews, compilations, and agreed-upon procedures for lenders, grantors, and boards — evidence-first work that stands up to scrutiny.
Fractional CFO & AdvisoryForecasts, pricing models, and a standing monthly meeting with a partner — CFO judgment at a line-item fee, not an executive salary.
Business Formation & Entity StrategyLLC, S-corp, or partnership — chosen on the math, filed correctly the first time, and revisited as the business grows.Bring us last year’s return. The second opinion is free — and it’s in writing.
Articles of Engagement
Why Madison keeps its books with LedgerStone
Four working rules, printed in every engagement letter we sign. They are not slogans — clients can quote them back to us, and do.
Start with a free consultationThe fee is fixed before the work begins
Every engagement is scoped and quoted in writing up front. If it takes us longer than we estimated, that’s our cost — your invoice matches the letter you signed.
A partner answers in July
Tax-season-only firms disappear on April 16. Your partner holds standing office hours all year, because the decisions that change your tax bill happen in June, not at the filing deadline.
Licensed staff on every engagement
Every return, close, and report is prepared and reviewed by a licensed CPA or enrolled agent. Nobody learns the profession on your books.
Plain-English deliverables
Each engagement ends with a one-page memo in ordinary language: what we found, what it means, what to do next quarter. The jargon stays in our workpapers.
The Register of Partners
The people who sign your work
Every engagement at LedgerStone is prepared and reviewed by the licensed professionals below — not routed to a seasonal pool.
CPA · MST
CPA · PFSMiriam Calloway
Tax Partner
Leads individual and fiduciary tax. Twenty-one seasons in; wrote the firm’s plain-English memo standard clients cite in reviews.
CPA · CFEMarcus Ellison
Audit & Assurance Lead
Runs reviews, compilations, and fraud examinations. The person your lender is quietly relieved to see on the engagement letter.
EA · QuickBooks ProAdvisorGrace Yun
Director, Client Accounting
Owns the monthly close calendar for ninety businesses. Her team’s rule: books delivered by the 10th or she calls you herself.
Reserved slot: 60-second partner introduction video (see guide).
Order of Proceedings
What to expect, start to finish
No mystery, no meter running. The engagement follows four steps, and you approve the fee before step three begins.
Book a consultation
Thirty minutes with a partner — free. Bring last year’s return or your current books; we’ll tell you plainly whether we can help and what it would cost.
Records review & fixed quote
We examine what exists today and put a fixed fee in writing. You approve the engagement letter before any billable work begins.
The work, on a calendar
Filings, closes, and reports land on the dates in your engagement letter. You can see status at any point — no chasing, no surprises in March.
Year-round counsel
Quarterly check-ins and a standing invitation: call before you sign, sell, hire, or buy. Ten minutes of advice beats ten hours of cleanup.
Statement of Results
Outcomes, entered on the record
Demo figures shown the way we report them to clients: plainly, in aligned columns, with the method available on request.
$4,180
Median first-year savings, new business clients
11 days
Average books-to-close time after cleanup
214
IRS & state notices resolved for clients, 3 yrs
Entered in the Minutes
Rated 4.9 across 1,200+ Google reviews
What households and owners across Madison say about working with LedgerStone.
★★★★★June 2026“Three years of messy self-filed returns, one rental, and a new S-corp. LedgerStone untangled all of it, amended two years, and found $6,900 we’d overpaid. The fee was quoted up front and never moved.”
★★★★★May 2026“They took over our startup’s books mid-year. First clean close landed nine days after handoff, and our board packet went from embarrassing to boring — which is exactly what you want.”
★★★★★April 2026“Got an IRS notice that made my stomach drop. My partner at LedgerStone had already seen it, drafted the response, and called ME first. Resolved in six weeks, zero penalty.”
★★★★★February 2026“The one-page memo after filing is worth the fee by itself. Plain English: here’s what changed, here’s what to do before Q3. No other accountant ever explained anything.”
★★★★★January 2026“Excellent, thorough work on a complicated exit — they modeled three sale structures and the tax difference was six figures. Only note: February response times stretch to a couple of days. Book early.”
★★★★★November 2025“Eleven years with this firm across a home business, a college fund, and retirement. Same partner the whole time. Every fee in writing, every deadline met. They’re simply how it should be done.”
The Client Register
2,060+ client engagements on the register
Engagements currently on the books across greater Madison — plotted by community, counted the way we count everything.
CommunityEngagements
- Downtown Madison412
- Middleton268
- Fitchburg231
- Sun Prairie204
- Verona156
- Waunakee141
- Monona173
- McFarland118
- Maple Bluff96
- Cottage Grove102
- DeForest88
- Stoughton79
Total on the register2,068
Tariff of Fees
Fees you can read before you call
We publish starting fees because "it depends" is not a price. Every engagement is quoted as a fixed fee in writing after a records review — the letter you sign is the invoice you receive.
Annual fees can be spread across twelve monthly payments at no added cost. Nonprofit and first-year-business rates available — ask during your consultation.
Get my fixed quoteSchedule A — Starting Fees
- Individual return (Form 1040)from $260
- Business return (1120-S / 1065)from $780
- Monthly bookkeeping & closefrom $395/mo
- Payroll, per runfrom $85
- Fractional CFO engagementfrom $1,850/mo
- Initial 30-minute consultation$0
Fixed fee confirmed in writing · LedgerStone · WI CPA Firm Lic. #4172-F
Onboarding for next season opens now. The client list is capped; reserve your seat.
Jurisdiction of Practice
Serving greater Madison
In person at 212 Capitol Mews, Suite 400, or by secure portal and video anywhere in Madison. Local means we know your assessor, your bank, and your downtown parking.
- Downtown Madison
- Middleton
- Fitchburg
- Sun Prairie
- Verona
- Waunakee
- Monona
- McFarland
- Maple Bluff
- Cottage Grove
- DeForest
- Stoughton
Not on the list? See every community we serve — or call (608) 555-0147.
Questions of Record
Asked before every engagement
Straight answers to the things people actually want to know before hiring an accountant.
How much will my taxes or bookkeeping actually cost?
You’ll know before we start. After a free consultation and a look at your records, we quote a fixed fee in writing — individual returns from $260, business returns from $780, monthly bookkeeping from $395. The engagement letter you sign is the invoice you receive; there is no hourly meter.
Can you fix several years of messy or unfiled books?
Yes — cleanup and catch-up work is a standing part of the practice. We reconstruct the books, amend or file the missing returns, and set up a monthly close so it never piles up again. Cleanup is quoted as its own fixed fee, so the past doesn’t inflate your ongoing rate.
What happens if I get an IRS or state notice?
Send it to us unopened if you like. Notice response is included for returns we prepared, and our enrolled agents are admitted to practice before the IRS, so we correspond and represent you directly. Most notices we handle are resolved in writing without you ever making a call.
Are you taking new clients during tax season?
We cap the client list so licensed staff review every engagement, and the calendar does fill from mid-February. Book a consultation early; if we’re at capacity we’ll say so honestly and offer the first available onboarding date rather than rushing your work.
Who actually does the work on my account?
A licensed CPA or enrolled agent prepares and a second one reviews — on every return, close, and report. You’re assigned one partner as your point of contact, and that person stays with your account year over year.
Do you work with businesses outside your immediate area?
Yes. Most clients are spread across the surrounding county and region, and secure document exchange plus video consultations mean distance rarely matters. Multi-locality payroll and sales-tax filings are routine for us.
What do I need to bring to the first consultation?
Last year’s tax return and, if you run a business, access to your current books — that’s enough for us to spot the obvious opportunities and quote a fee. The first 30 minutes are free and carry no obligation either way.
In Closing
Put your books in better hands
Book a free 30-minute consultation — a partner will review your situation and quote a fixed fee in writing. No obligation, no hourly meter.
212 Capitol Mews, Suite 400 · Madison, WI 53703