Small Business Accountants | Kaizen CPAs + Advisors

We don't just work here. We live here, too.

It’s our absolute pleasure for Kaizen CPAs to serve the people and small businesses of Antioch, Illinois, with CPA services for Lake County and the surrounding areas. In 1972, we opened our first CPA office in Antioch, but our relationship with the businesses there goes back even further. Since 1964, we’ve worked with folks to provide CPA services in Antioch, Lake Villa, Libertyville, Fox Lake, Spring Grove, Waukegan, and more.

For small businesses, it’s more than just business growth. It’s the relationships that make a business great. It’s about building a community together. Nowhere is that more evident than Antioch, a great town with so many burgeoning small businesses.

smtown smb-confident

auto repair lift

You don't have to do it all alone.

Most small business owners in Kenosha have to learn their craft, trade, and profession “on the job.” In other words, they learned from working in the business. Often, with small businesses, the owner is the CEO, CFO, HR chief, sales team, and custodian. Many small business owners don’t know how to minimize their taxes or how to best structure their companies – and many don’t handle cash flow well either.

We provide folks in the Kenosha area with proactive advice to keep them informed and give them the best chance of success. We partner with you to keep you inspired along your journey. Our clients in Kenosha tell us our education and guidance provide the kind of confidence that allows them to sleep better at night. That’s priceless.

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Talk With Us

Tell us your story—where you've been, where you are now, and the direction you want to go with your business.

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Design a Plan

Work side-by-side with our experienced CPAs and advisors to create a customized plan for your success.

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Decisions that Win

Manage your business with confidence and make decisions to take your business from surviving to thriving.

It has been a wonderful experience since the beginning. We feel that we have a true partnership. They care about the well-being of our business and keep us up to date on all changes that affect us. Communicating with them is excellent. They are always super responsive and always get our work done in a timely manner. The reporting is superb, and every person that we have dealt with has been great.

Kris January

Omni Salon & Spa

Kelley Landscape and Patio have been using Kaizen CPAs for many years. It's been great having a partner that knows all the ins and outs of Federal and State tax laws. They help me strategize and plan capital expenditures, handle my payroll, file my taxes, and handle all the annoying stuff so I can focus on designing and building awesome backyards. Thanks, Eric for all your help and support!

John Kelley

Kelley Landscape

Clay Hamlin

Clay grew up in Antioch, Illinois, and in a sense, never left. After graduating from Notre Dame with a degree in philosophy and literature and earning his master’s degree in taxation from DePaul University, in 1996 he joined the firm James C. Hamlin & Co., Inc., founded by his parents...

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In 1998, Clay purchased the firm from his father and started businesses in IT, payroll, marketing, financial services, and insurance. Clay is a licensed CPA in Illinois and Wisconsin and has financial services licenses Series 7 and 63, as well as a life insurance license. He served on the board of St. John’s Preparatory School for 8 years, with the last four years as Chair. He played hockey through high school and “men’s league” until the age of 39, and he once even completed the Chicago Marathon. These days he enjoys playing golf with family and friends. An avid lifelong learner, Clay reads books of just about any kind and listens to lecture series from the Teaching Company. (He says – and his two grown children lovingly agree – this puts him in true Geek status, but he doesn’t mind the label.)

Eric Joern

Eric is a graduate of Columbia College of Missouri with a degree in accounting and joined the firm in 2013. He is a licensed CPA and a key business advisor at Kaizen. Coming from generations of entrepreneurs, small business is in his blood, he has spent his working career

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...getting his hands dirty with concrete, increasing profits and efficiency, managing an automotive service department, and currently is a key resource for many small business owners. Eric is currently the lead on our Automotive concentration, with years of experience as an Automotive Service Advisor and connections in the industry to better serve his clients. Eric enjoys live music, working with his hands, and spending time outdoors with his wife and their two pooches. A big fan of the Chicago Bears, Cubs, Bulls, and Blackhawks, he jumps at the chance to catch ‘em live and in person when he can.

Pierre Langlois

Pierre graduated with a degree in accounting from Northeastern University in Boston. Licensed in Wisconsin and Illinois, Pierre has been with the firm since 2003 (he says it seems like only yesterday) and credits his success to having a great team and really getting to know and understand his clients. Pierre has served on various boards of directors...

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Kathy Brinkman

A life-long area resident, Kathy graduated from Illinois Wesleyan University with a degree in accounting. She started her career working at Arthur Andersen for 13 years in their Financial Consulting Services division focused on large litigation and dispute engagements. Kathy co-founded and ran a local 501c3 charity benefiting Chicagoland...

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...pediatric cancer patients and is now an enrolled agent (EA) and Illinois licensed CPA.

It’s important to Kathy that she takes time to know and understand each client’s business. She says it’s each client’s personal story and business goals that inspire her to consistently provide her clients with exceptional service. Kathy and her husband, Mark, are passionate about supporting their community, and they attend local events as often as they get the chance. Kathy also enjoys reading, gardening, and visiting our national parks. The park she’d visit again? Glacier National Park. If you’ve never had an opportunity to stay in a national park lodge, you might want to add it to your bucket list –according to Kathy, they’re all very beautiful!

Antioch
Accounting & Advisory Services

Accounting and advisory services to help businesses in northern Illinois thrive.

We don't just work here. We live here, too.

You don't have to do it all alone.