People want to know
about their accounting professionals.
Not just their professional credentials and academic degrees. You can
get that anywhere. People want to know the “person.” We’ll spotlight the person behind the 1040 at
Fong & Associates in each newsletter issue.
Contact Information: Juliet A. Jakosalem, CPA,
MBT Senior Tax Manager
Juliet
Jakosalem does not like losing. It has rarely happened in the numerous IRS
audits in which she’s been involved. “I have a pretty good track record when it
comes to protecting clients from tax penalties,” says Juliet. “But winning
before the IRS isn’t like scoring the game-winning goal in one of my son’s hockey
games. It’s much more subtle. When the IRS finally stipulates that there is no change to the amount owed—when you
finally receive that determination letter—you know that you won one for the
team. That’s as good as it gets for me.”
Juliet
has headed the tax department at Fong & Associates since 2011. She is the
firm’s go-to person for all
tax-related matters involving both corporate entities and personal tax issues.
Her background at the international giant, KPMG Peat Marwick, an undergrad
degree from Cal and a Masters from USC along with 20 years in the public
accounting field have prepared her well for this role.
A multi-cultural
approach
Juliet’s
sensitivity to people’s different orientations and mindsets comes from a
variety of sources. Her father, a US Naval veteran, moved the family to Long
Beach where she grew up. Her family is originally from the Philippines. “Both
cities you have a melting pot of cultures: American, Latino, Japanese, Chinese
and Pilipino. The languages are different and so are the customs.” She carried
this passion for diversity with her to Berkeley where she majored in
international history and French. She studied in Strasbourg, France.“ I thought
I was headed for a career in international business or international education.
I did land there—sort of—I do a lot of work in foreign taxation matters. I love
it. Everyone’s business interests are
now globalized. If you’re contemplating
a foreign transaction and ignore the tax implications in both countries, you
may be in for an unpleasant surprise. The challenge for me is to identify
what’s at stake and educate myself and the taxpayer to make it in compliance.”
Finding inspiration
in an unlikely place
I
asked Juliet where she finds the inspiration to do a job as demanding and
meticulous in its detail as hers. “Really, it’s the clients who inspire me,”
she says. “My clients have run the gamut from a Super Bowl winning quarterback,
academy award winning actors, exciting super food distributors, pilots,
lighting manufacturers, toy producers, and the sweetest nonagenarians ever (I
had to look this one up—those between 90-99 years old). You name it, I’ve seen
it. At Fong & Associates, our
clients are real people and the companies they own are all equally important.
The money on the table with the thorny tax issues I’m responsible for solving
means something very real to them and to me. The margin of error is much less
if they make the wrong decision.
A 360-view of
personal and corporate finance
It’s
true that domestic and international tax matters soak up much of Juliet’s time.
However, she does come up for air. She says, “I’ve always thought of myself as
a full service financial advisor. My clients look to me for advice and
decisions regarding book keeping and tax planning as well as representing them
before the IRS. One of the most gratifying cases involved the sale of a company
that was stalled because of uncertainty over a possible future tax liability.
We stepped in and requested a ruling changed. The IRS reconsidered, ruled no
change in taxes owed and the sale went through.
Challenging the
800-pound guerilla
Juliet
is not that imposing a person in physical stature. She makes up for it in
tenacity. She says, “The IRS is not the monster everyone thinks. Sure, they can
be tough. But most of their people are individuals just like us with families,
mortgages and a job to do. My strategy when working with their agents is to
treat them as a person—not an adversary or a friend. Before every meeting or
conversation with the IRS I have a definite goal to achieve. I make my case
using precise and accurate accounting and tax theory as well as analytical
procedures. Eventually I work the conversation and the conclusion around to
achieving my goal.
After hours
Like
everyone, down time is precious to Juliet. “I am lucky to have a wide circle of
friends whom I have known for years—decades in many cases. No matter how busy I
get between work, my husband of 23 years and our son, I carve out time to
connect. Long-term relationships have a grounding effect in terms of keeping in
mind what’s truly important in life.
Through her long career in public
accounting, Juliet has trained and worked with a number of now highly placed
and extraordinarily successful people. “I absolutely keep in touch with each
one of them. When they pick up the phone all I have to say is, Hi, it’s Juliet. The fun comes in
knowing that I had just a little something to do with their success.”
Why?
You’ve probably guessed that this
is always the last question I ask all whom I profile. Why are you here? What’s
your passion? Your cause? I’ve found Juliet Jakosalem to be an intensely
private person. Indeed, you cannot imagine what it took to drag this much out
of her. So, I wondered, how is she going to explain, why? Juliet takes it from here. “I’m a teacher. Giving people the
tools to improve themselves is my cause. It is why I am here. Public accounting
allows me to do that in a highly quantifiable, measurable way. When I am
finished with your project, you are in a better position than you would have
been without my help. Moving people into this greener pasture is my passion.”
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