Smith & Company

Staff Profiles

Lawrence S. Smith, CPA

Principal CPA and Founder
415-458-5100
smith@smithcpas.com

Lawrence S. Smith

EDUCATION

Lawrence Smith earned his BS degree in Business Administration, with an emphasis on finance and accounting, at the University of California, Berkeley in 1985 . 

EXPERIENCE

Lawrence is well versed in helping individuals and small to medium sized businesses (within various industries, including real estate, manufacturing, retail, importing, education and transportation services) with tax planning and compliance, financial planning, litigation support, bookkeeping and resolution of IRS conflicts.  Lawrence also performs audits, reviews, and compilation services for clients. 

For over 22 years, Lawrence has carried on a proud family tradition of accountancy. He worked on staff at Arthur Anderson and Co. from 1986 to 1988, and at Smith, Lange, and Phillips from 1988 to 1989.  He formed Smith and Company in 1989, and his father, the late Herbert Smith, joined him in 1995.

 PROFESSIONAL ASSOCIATIONS

Lawrence is a member of the California State Board of Accountancy, California Society of Certified Public Accountants, and American Institute of Certified Public Accountants.  He is also a member of the Board of Directors of the Center for Environmental Health.

Lawrence's personal interests include his family, golfing, basketball and coaching all his children’s sports teams.

Greg Burglin

Senior Accountant
415-458-5100
gregb@smithcpas.com

Greg Burglin

Greg has over twenty years of tax accounting experience in both the public and private sectors.  While at Ernst & Young and KPMG, he worked extensively with real estate and small business clients while his private experience consists of tax compliance in the oil and gas, real estate, and aircraft leasing industries. Greg received a B.S. in business administration from the University of California at Berkeley in 1982 and an M.S. in taxation from Golden Gate University in 1987.

Margurite Murphy
 
Office Manager
415-458-5100
Mailto:mm@smithcpas.com

Margurite Murphy

Margurite joined Smith and Company in 2000 with a background in production, management and administration. She provides payroll and notary services and also manages workflow and client relations. 

Dea McCarthy

Records Administrator
415-458-5100
dea@smithcpas.com

Dea came to Smith and Company in 1999 and handles our records management as well as performing key administrative work. She has varied backgrounds in customer service, including retail sales and management, and air show and event production.

Deborah Huygen Ward

Certified Public Accountant
Consulting Tax Specialist

415-458-5100
deborah@smithcpas.com 

Debbie began consulting with Smith & Company on a part-time / special project basis in 2006. She brings over 20 years of tax experience with local and national firms, including Kenneth Leventhal & Company, known before its merger with Ernst & Young as the preeminent real estate specialist, where Debbie rose to the level of Senior Tax Manager before leaving to start her family.

During her varied career, Debbie has solved a wide variety of complex and unusual tax issues with respect to partnerships, S corporations, troubled property, property exchanges, individuals, trusts, REITs, multi-state taxation, in-bound foreign investment, consolidated corporations, and Limited Liability Companies.

Debbie has indentified and developed tax planning opportunities, has helped structure entity groups and transactions, and has prepared tax related due diligence evaluations. Debbie has written comprehensive research and tax opinion letters, and has worked with the IRS and Franchise Tax Board to successfully resolve audits and other matters. Debbie has also been published providing tax advice in the Marin IJ and San Francisco Chronicle.

Paul Volstad

Staff Bookkeeper
Quickbooks ProAdvisor

Jon Harris

Staff Accountant/CTEC
415-458-5100
jon@smithcpas.com

Jon joined Smith and Company in the beginning of 2005 and primarily focuses on tax compliance for individual tax returns and IRS correspondence letters. Prior to Smith and Company, Jon has a background in management and sales.

Nevenka Morris

Staff Accountant
415-458-5100
nevenka@smithcpas.com

Nevenka has over twenty years of experience in individual and corporate tax. She has worked at Deloitte & Touche, Ernst & Young, and in the private sector. Nevenka earned her BA and MA degrees from the University of California, Berkeley, followed in 1975 by a JD degree from Boalt Hall School of Law, Berkeley. In her law studies, she emphasized business and taxation.

 Nevenka is fluent in several languages and plays piano and accordion.

Anthem Hill

Records and Payroll Clerk
415-458-5100
anthem@smithcpas.com

 Eli Shlaes

Junior Accountant

415-458-5100
eli@smithcpas.com

Eli has been with Smith & Company since February 2006 and currently works on tax returns and some bookkeeping work.