The Due Diligence Project™ Podcast

In this episode of The Due Diligence Project podcast, founder Alex Sonkin interviews elite CPA Jeremy Letter about his journey from recognizing the inefficiencies in tax dollars to becoming a leading tax strategist. Jeremy shares how he transformed his practice to focus on legally eliminating taxes for seven and eight-figure entrepreneurs, and discusses his new book "The Zero Tax Strategy." Key Topics Covered: Career Journey: Jeremy's path from witnessing his entrepreneur father's tax struggles to becoming an elite tax strategist, including his pivotal moment when a managing partner rejected his $100,000 tax-saving idea for a client Practice Philosophy: The fundamental difference between tax preparers and tax strategists, and why reinvesting dollars in local communities multiplies value by 10x versus the 60% efficiency rate of federal tax dollars Due Diligence Project Impact: How joining the DDP community of nearly 1,000 CPA firms transformed Jeremy's capabilities through peer review, collective expertise, and access to vetted strategies The Zero Tax Strategy Book: Jeremy's mission to share transformational tax planning strategies with entrepreneurs, evolving from a technical textbook to an accessible guide with stories and diagrams Implementation Focus: Why proper execution and documentation are critical for converting potential tax savings into realized savings while maintaining audit defense readiness Featured Quotes: "Every dollar that goes into Washington DC, only 60 cents makes it out. They literally destroy dollars. Whereas a dollar reinvested in one's local community can multiply by 10." - Jeremy Letter "There's a huge difference between a tax preparer and a tax strategist... that was the light bulb moment for me." - Jeremy Letter "If you don't know how many pages are in the tax code, then you don't know how many strategies are in the tax code." - Alex Sonkin "Zero tax is possible, it's legal and implementation is the key." - Jeremy Letter Resources Mentioned: www.duediligenceproject.comThis episode highlights how elite tax professionals can save entrepreneurs millions in taxes through proper strategy and implementation, while emphasizing the importance of working with experienced CPAs who have deep knowledge of the tax code and access to peer-reviewed strategies.

Episode Summary: In this revealing interview, Due Diligence Project founder Alex Sonkin speaks with elite CPA Eric Aragon about his journey from Deloitte to running his own successful tax planning practice. Eric shares insights on how he transitioned from compliance work to high-value tax planning, saving clients tens of millions of dollars while maintaining a focus on risk management and due diligence. Key Topics Covered: Career Evolution:Planning vs. Compliance:Client Value Creation:Risk Management:Community Approach:Practice Growth:Business Philosophy:Featured Quotes: "We're in the tens of millions, maybe at least tens of millions of dollars. I can say that conservatively, without doing my audit, that we're in the tens of millions of dollars." - Eric Aragon "Create value first. The money will come later. It just comes up automatically." - Alex Sonkin Resources: https://duediligenceproject.com/This episode provides insights into how tax professionals can transition from compliance-focused work to high-value planning services that deliver exceptional ROI to clients while managing risk through collective expertise.

Episode Summary: In this engaging interview, Due Diligence Project founder Alex Sonkin speaks with elite CPA Laura Dohanes about her journey and approach to tax planning. Laura shares insights from her extensive audit experience and how she helps clients navigate complex tax scenarios, particularly during business exits. She reveals how her firm generated over $11.3 million in tax savings for clients in 2023 alone. Key Topics Covered: Tax Planning Philosophy:Business Exit Expertise:Client Relationships:Tax Savings Impact:Due Diligence Approach:Virtual Family Office:Elite Tax Advising:Featured Quotes: "I think my life's journey is tied to the business owner and those are the people that I serve the most... Give yourself the benefit of the doubt, expand your mind just a little bit so you can have a basic understanding before you dismiss something." - Laura Dohanes "The difference between the top 0.01% of CPAs and the average CPA is the same difference as the top basketball players who are at the NBA all-star game than the guys you see at the pickup games at the YMCA." - Alex Sonkin Resource https://duediligenceproject.com/This episode highlights how experienced tax professionals can deliver extraordinary value by combining specialized knowledge with a relationship-focused approach, particularly for business owners preparing for major transactions.

Episode Summary: In this interview, Due Diligence Project founder Alex Sonkin speaks with CPA Josh Dixon about his journey from traditional tax preparation to high-value tax planning. Josh shares how he transformed his practice to focus on strategies that deliver significant tax savings to clients while improving his own work-life balance and revenue. Key Topics Covered: Career Evolution: Practice Transformation: Client Success Stories: ROI Comparison: Due Diligence Approach: Work-Life Balance: Implementation Tips: Featured Quotes: "I enjoy being more of a partner with them rather than just somebody who fills out their forms. I enjoy working with my clients throughout the year and being able to make more of an impact in their lives." - Josh Dixon "You save him $260,000 a year. Four years, that's over a million bucks. That's a million bucks. Whether you're Bill Gates or whether you're Joe Smith, a million bucks is a million bucks." - Alex Sonkin Resources https://duediligenceproject.com/This episode provides insights into how tax professionals can shift from compliance work to advisory services that deliver significant value to clients while improving their own practice profitability and work-life balance.

Episode Summary: In this March 2025 "State of the Union" address, Due Diligence Project founder Alex Sonkin joins host Paul G McManus to discuss the growth and achievements of their tax professional community. They explore how their network of 847 independent CPA firms collaborates to vet tax strategies for ultra-high-net-worth clients, delivering significant tax savings while maintaining compliance. Key Topics Covered: Community GrowthMember Success StoriesInvestment ProjectsCharitable ImpactAI and Tax PlanningTax System PerspectivesUpcoming EventsFeatured Quotes: "For the last 30, 40 years, the computer geeks have ruled the world... The tax geeks are helping business owners eliminate costs, become more efficient, eliminate unnecessary tax, and then save that money to create more jobs." - Alex Sonkin "We're a community of accountants. These are risk-averse people. We are not here to break laws. We're here to stay within the black and white lines." - Alex Sonkin Resources Mentioned: he Due Diligence Project SummitThe Due Diligence Project Book:www.duediligenceproject.comThis episode highlights the achievements of the Due Diligence Project community over the past year and provides insights into how their collective approach to tax strategy vetting continues to benefit wealthy clients and their communities.

The CPA community has thrived throughout this time due to their diversified portfolio and ability to bring value to businesses in all sectors of the economy. At Virtual Family Office Hub, we are proud to have supported hundreds of CPA firms and family offices around the country. We have helped them mitigate complex income tax situations involving high net worth individuals and CPAs. We are continuing to grow our CPA community by introducing resources such as experienced CPA firms, law firms and unique leaders with plenty of experience in tax audits and court cases. In addition, our network has been able to vet out strategies from the last 10-15 years which give us an edge when it comes to delivering a value proposition and ROI that other companies may not be able to offer. Overall, 2022 has proven itself to be a successful year for our network as we have worked with billionaire clients, millionaires, celebrities, NBA players and more – even though we may never speak directly with these clients. The CPAs in our community can further benefit from these relationships knowing that they are providing their clients with some of the highest quality services available on the market today. As we continue into 2023, we look forward to refining existing strategies while introducing new ones that promise even greater returns without compromising risk or cost efficiency!

Alex Sonkin founded the Due Diligence Project, the Virtual Family Office Hub, and originated the idea that sparked GoMacro. The Due Diligence Project is an open-source, global community of 500+ peer-selected CPA Firms, Law Firms, Family Offices, and Specialists who participate in a revolutionary vetting system to independently analyze, rate, rank, and make ongoing improvements to sophisticated tax strategies and world-class resources designed for the most discerning Tax Advisors and CPAs on the planet. What you will learn from this episode: Connect with Alex Sonkin LinkedIn Learn more about The Due Diligence Project™ at: https://duediligenceproject.com/

Alex Sonkin founded the Due Diligence Project, the Virtual Family Office Hub, and originated the idea that sparked GoMacro. The Due Diligence Project is an open-source, global community of 500+ peer-selected CPA Firms, Law Firms, Family Offices, and Specialists who participate in a revolutionary vetting system to independently analyze, rate, rank, and make ongoing improvements to sophisticated tax strategies and world-class resources designed for the most discerning Tax Advisors and CPAs on the planet. What you will learn from this episode: Connect with Alex Sonkin LinkedIn Learn more about The Due Diligence Project™ at: https://duediligenceproject.com/

Richard Wilson is the founder and head of the Family Office Club, the largest membership-based family office association with over 1,750 registered family office members and 25 live events per year. He helps implement performance-based family office solutions for $100M+ net worth families through his company Centimillionaire Advisors. What you will learn from this episode: Connect with Richard Wilson LinkedIn Website Learn more about The Due Diligence Project™ at: https://duediligenceproject.com/

Matthew Fargo is an elite virtual family office, elite CPA firm out of Boulder, Colorado. They serve ultra-high net worth business owners. He specializes in providing assurance, tax and business advisory services to emerging growth, small and mid-sized businesses. What you will learn from this episode: Connect with Matt Fargo: LinkedIn Website Learn more about The Due Diligence Project™ at: https://duediligenceproject.com/

Brian Kerrigan is an elite virtual family office professional, elite CPA with a tax focus serving ultra-high net worth business owners. He's also a specialist as part of The Due Diligence Project, Virtual Family Office hub. He has provided tax compliance and consulting services for large public and privately held companies throughout New England for more than 17 years. What you will learn from this episode: Connect with Brian Kerrigan: LinkedIn Website Learn more about The Due Diligence Project™ at: https://duediligenceproject.com/

Herman Cardenas is an elite real estate developer and a very successful technology business owner that has sold companies to GE, Microsoft, and Clear One. Herman is investing in and applying his expertise to the development of real estate projects in and around Austin, Texas. His latest companies, IMPACT Developers and M Builders, specialize in the development and construction of mid-to-large multifamily and mixed-use projects and communities. What you will learn from this episode: Connect with Herman: LinkedIn Website Learn more about The Due Diligence Project™ at: https://duediligenceproject.com/

Learn more by going to https://duediligenceproject.com/

To learn more go to https://duediligenceproject.com/

Elliott Holland is a graduate from Harvard Business School. He is an elite professional that founded Guardian Due Diligence, a boutique firm that leads due diligence processes for family offices, investors and private equity firms. What you will learn from this episode: Connect with Elliott Holland: LinkedIn Website Learn more about The Due Diligence Project™ at: https://duediligenceproject.com/

Mr. Roy farmer, is the top ESOP specialist in the country, part of the virtual family office hub and part of the due diligence project. He serves elite, ultra-high net worth business owners and differentiates himself from his competition. Roy Farmer is also a Managing Director of BTA Inc. and has been actively involved in the financial industry since the mid ’70′s. What you will learn from this episode: Connect with Roy Farmer: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rofarmer/ Website: https://businesstransitionadvisors.com/about/ Learn more about The Due Diligence Project™ at: https://duediligenceproject.com/

Valerie Colin is a senior tax shareholder with Gumbiner Savett Inc. in Santa Monica. She has over 30 years of experience in tax, accounting and business consulting. A former auditor turned tax practitioner, she helps her clients optimize their tax situations with an emphasis on recognizing income and deductions for tax purposes, maximizing available employment credits and other incentives. She mostly serves high net worth individuals as well as privately held companies and helps them with all their tax work, planning, and compliance. What you will learn from this episode: Connect with Valerie Colin: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/valcolin/ Learn more about The Due Diligence Project™ at: https://duediligenceproject.com/

Sherry Tolbert, President at The Tolbert VFO, is a Certified Virtual Family Office (VFO) Professional and CPA with 27+years of hands-on-experience helping business owners, entrepreneurs, and real estate investors rescue millions of dollars in unnecessary taxes. She helps affluent business owners significantly reduce their tax bill using the same strategies that Jeff Bezos and Mark Zuckerberg have access to via their Private Family Offices. What you will learn from this episode: Connect with Sherry Tolbert: LinkedIn Website Email: sherry@tolbertcpa.com Learn more about The Due Diligence Project™ at: ​Website

Mike Jesowshek heads an elite virtual family office and is an elite CPA. He serves high net worth individuals and business owners around the country. Mike is a managing partner of JETRO and Associates. He works to help small business owners with accounting methods and taxes tailored to their businesses. Mike specializes in helping law firms, fitness studios, and general professional services such as marking companies, digital agencies, etc. His approach is fresh, innovative, and up-to-date. What you will learn from this episode: Connect with Mike Jesowshek: Website: www.mikejesowshek.com/home-page31543172 LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/mikejesowshek/ Facebook: www.facebook.com/groups/jetroinc/ Twitter: twitter.com/mjesowshek Learn more about The Due Diligence Project™ at: https://duediligenceproject.com/

Dale Spradling Ph.D., CPA, provides elite, virtual family office services. He worked in the IRS for 10 years, then in private practice and as a college professor. Dale currently works with ultra-wealthy business owners and families. He offers unique value to the Due Diligence Project. What you will learn from this episode: Connect with Dale Spradling: LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/dale-spradling-550abb3/ Email: dale.spradling@gmail.com Learn more about The Due Diligence Project™ at: https://duediligenceproject.com/