We're one team handling your bookkeeping, tax filing, and tax planning together, for small business owners in the San Fernando Valley. We work your numbers down all year, so you keep more of what you make and always know where you stand.
7+ years in accounting, audit, and transaction advisory
Trained in big public-accounting firms, built for small business
California tax expertise, based in the San Fernando Valley
Bookkeeping · Tax Preparation · Tax Planning · Advisory
Most accountants file your return once a year and go quiet. We're not most accountants. We handle your books, your taxes, and your tax reduction all year long, so you can focus on running your business and keeping more of what you earn.
all in one place
No more juggling a bookkeeper, a tax preparer, and a planner who never talk to each other. We run it all together, so nothing falls through the cracks.
Monthly bookkeeping kept current, not scrambled at year-end
Catch-up and cleanup when your books are behind or messy
Plain-English reporting on where your cash is going
Business and personal tax preparation, filed on time
Estimated tax payments planned so there are no April surprises
Estimated tax payments handled, so nothing slips through the cracks
Year-round tax reduction planning, not once-a-year filing
S-Corp strategy reviewed to see if it saves you money
Retirement and depreciation planning worked in all year
Defensible to the IRS and the state of California
Ongoing advisory in language you can use
Your numbers turned into decisions, not jargon
A partner in the room when the big money decisions come up
If more than two of these are true, you're almost certainly overpaying in taxes and running your business with less information than you deserve.
Your accountant only calls you in March
Your emails sit for days before you hear back
You get a tax return but never a plan to pay less tax
You're not sure if an S-Corp would save you money
Your books are weeks or months behind
You can't name your top revenue drivers
You wonder if your accountant is just too busy for you
The Comparison
You've got two options. Piece it together yourself, or hand it to one team that does it all. Here's the difference.
Overpaid taxes
Messy accounting and mistakes
Wasted man-hours
Too much head count
People filling hours instead of delivering the outcome
More benefits costs on every hire
Your processes locked in your team’s heads
A full tax and accounting team for less than one part-time hire
Tax reduction worked all year
Clean books, on time, every month
Systems and SOPs that live in your business, not in someone’s head
One point of contact who handles all of it
Why Athena
Most owners are stuck with one of three bad options. Doing the books themselves. An amateur bookkeeper who can reconcile but was never trained. Or a typical firm too buried in returns to plan ahead. We're the upgrade from all three.
We keep your books clean and current, so you stop guessing at cash flow.
Bookkeeping, tax prep, planning, and advisory under one roof, so nothing falls through the cracks between a bookkeeper and a tax guy who never speak.
Seven-plus years in audit, transaction advisory, and public accounting, brought down to small-business scale. And when you call, you get Edmond.
I kept hearing the same thing from every owner I talked to. My accountant's too busy for me. They don't pick up. They filed my estimates late. They tell me one thing and do another. I started Athena Tax & Advisory to be the opposite of that.
I spent 7+ years in public accounting and private industry, working audit and financial due diligence for big firms on medium and large businesses. I saw where owners were missing tax advantages, and I watched sell-side deals fall apart because owners didn't truly know their own numbers. Now I bring that same caliber of work down to small business owners, without the big-firm price tag or the big-firm runaround.
My approach is simple. Compliance first, so your books and taxes are handled. Then advisory, so you understand your numbers and keep more of your money. And communication the whole way through, because you should be able to reach the person doing your accounting.
I want you to know your numbers and feel confident, without spending all your time in the books.
— Edmond Petrosyan · Founder & CEO
What We Do
This isn't a menu to pick from. It's one relationship that keeps your books, your taxes, and your strategy working together.
One team running your books, your taxes, and your strategy together, so nothing falls through the cracks.
We work year-round to find real tax savings, from S-Corp strategy to retirement planning.
We file your business and personal returns accurately and on time, with no last-minute scramble.
We keep your books clean and current every month, plus catch-up and cleanup when you're behind.
The Cost of the Wrong Accountant
This is what compounds when nobody's watching your numbers all year, not what to expect from working with us.
Thousands in tax you never had to pay, gone every April
S-Corp elections, retirement write-offs, and depreciation left on the table
Books so far behind that you're making six-figure decisions blind
LLC fees and estimates filed late, with penalties stacking up
A year-end tax bomb because nobody planned ahead
Messy books that tank your valuation if you ever try to sell
What Changes for You
Here's the difference proactive accounting makes across your whole business, not just your tax return.
We hunt tax reduction all year with S-Corp strategy, retirement planning, and depreciation, so you keep more of what you make and build wealth for your family, not the IRS.
We keep your books and filings right and on time, so you stop worrying about a year-end tax bomb or a bad answer to the IRS.
We replace one to two internal roles for a fraction of the cost, so you and your team get your hours back for the work that grows the business.
We give you big-firm guidance and pick up the phone, so you get a clear answer from someone who knows your business, not a voicemail in April.
Do the Math
Upload your last two years of tax returns to our secure portal. We'll investigate your accounting and your systems, find where you're overpaying, and show you exactly how to reduce your taxes, scale your business, and protect yourself from rising IRS and state audits.
No cost, no pressure. We'll show you what we find before you ever pay a dime.
Should You Be an S-Corp?
An S-Corp election can save you real money, but only if someone runs the numbers and sets it up right.
Self-employment tax paid on money that didn't need to be taxed that way
A missed election window, and another full year of overpaying
Retirement contribution room you never got to use
Reasonable compensation set wrong, risking a real IRS challenge
Ongoing payroll and compliance that nobody is actively managing
Real dollars, gone every year the decision sits unmade
For Owners Paying Themselves the Hard Way
If you're profitable and still taxed as a sole prop or single-member LLC, an S-Corp election could save you thousands in tax a year. We'll run your numbers and tell you straight, worth it or not.
If an S-Corp won't save you money, we'll tell you. No games.
By the Numbers
typical tax a small business recovers in a first-year tax reduction review
the internal roles our retainer replaces, at a fraction of the loaded payroll cost
admin time we hand back once the books and filings leave your plate
Local Roots
We know California tax inside and out, from Franchise Tax Board rules to sales tax nexus to the audits the state is running more of every year.
We're based right in Northridge, in the San Fernando Valley, not a call center across the country.
We track California's annual LLC fee deadline, a trap that catches business owners every year.
We know Franchise Tax Board rules inside and out, so state compliance never catches you off guard.
We watch for sales tax nexus issues as your business grows, so expansion doesn't create a new tax problem.
We keep an eye on the audits California is running more of every year, so you're never caught unprepared.
Yes. Most clients come to us mid-year, not at a clean calendar-year start.
We begin by getting caught up on whatever's already in place before moving into regular ongoing work, so switching mid-year is normal, not a problem.
Sales tax isn't a core specialty of ours, but we keep an eye on nexus issues as your business grows.
If a dedicated sales tax filing becomes necessary, we'll flag it and point you toward the right resource rather than let it become a surprise.
Start with a conversation. We talk through your business, where your books and taxes currently stand, and what you need help with.
From there, we put together a plan and get you onboarded, starting with organizing whatever is already in place before moving into regular monthly work.
Same day, in most cases. Being easy to reach is one of the specific things Athena is built around, since it's the most common complaint business owners have about their previous accountant.
Yes. A lot of the value in working with Athena comes from setting things up right from the start, your entity structure, your bookkeeping system, and your tax strategy, instead of fixing mistakes later.
If you're just getting started, that's often the easiest time for us to help.
Athena Tax & Advisory is based in Northridge and focuses on small business owners throughout the San Fernando Valley in Los Angeles.
If you're outside that immediate area but still in Southern California, reach out and we can talk through whether it's a good fit.
We keep your books and filings clean and well-documented all year, so if an audit ever comes up, you're not scrambling to reconstruct records under pressure.
Having organized, current books from the start is the single biggest thing that makes an audit manageable instead of stressful.
Athena focuses on service-based small businesses, generally in the range of $100,000 to $400,000 in annual revenue.
Food service and businesses with heavy inventory tracking aren't a strong fit for how we operate, since those bring a different kind of bookkeeping complexity than what we specialize in.
Most accountants get overloaded, take on too many clients, and become too busy to pay attention to any one business. Every owner we've talked to has the same complaint about their previous accountant.
Athena is built to stay available year-round, not just during tax season, and to run your bookkeeping, tax filing, and tax planning as one connected relationship instead of three separate vendors.