• Creative Accounting Services

    Creative Financial Services

    Lyle & Associates is a boutique firm offering value-added services such as tax and financial planning, business valuation and profitability improvement strategies and forensic accounting, in addition to the usual complement of accounting and tax preparation services.  We want to be the first call you make when you have questions about your money....

  • Business Accounting

    Business Accounting

    What goals have you set for your business? What growth do you expect this year and next? Lyle & Associates wants to know about your plans for the life of your business. Our clients are from industries such as manufacturing, construction, real estate, contracting, publishing, advertising, printing, package and web design, video production, photography, wholesale ......

  • Personal Accounting

    Personal Accounting

    Achieving business goals is important but so is taking care of your own future. Lyle & Associates is curious about what you want out of life. We offer a number of valuable tax and financial services for individuals and families. Income tax preparation, long-and short-range tax planning, quarterly estimated tax calculations, personal financial planning, estate ......

  • Forensic Accounting

    Forensic Accounting

    In addition to traditional accounting and tax services, we perform business valuations and provide a complementary service focused on engagements that result from actual or anticipated disputes or litigation: Forensic Accounting. Forensic Accounting is said to be the art and science of investigating people and money ©....

  • Creative Accounting Services

    Exit Planning

    Business ownership has its ongoing rewards, but at the end of the day you want to build an asset that has value and can be sold or otherwise transferred to new owners.  Planning a successful exit – whether the transition is to family members, key employees or outside parties – can take years of preparation.  ......

Certified Public Accountants

Located in Chagrin Falls, Ohio, the firm was founded in 1989 to provide accounting and tax planning and preparation services to closely-held companies and their owners. As our business grew, we discovered that our clients were in need of good advice on a variety of business and personal financial planning issues such as cash flow forecasting, process improvement, retirement and education funding, and estate planning, just to name a few.

We have invested resources—time, education and money—to become specialists in helping clients strategically manage and achieve their business and personal goals. In addition to our other services we perform business valuations and conduct forensic accounting engagements.

Our Accreditations

  • Certified Public Accountant/Member AICPA, OSCPA
  • Certified Valuation Analyst/Member NACVA
  • Graduate of Forensic Accounting Academy

Our Services

  • Forensic accounting and litigation support
  • Business valuation for transactions, family law and shareholder disputes, as well as estate and gift tax, and other purposes
  • Strategic and business planning
  • Succession planning and ownership transition strategies
  • Employee compensation and benefits plan design & consulting
  • Accounting systems design & implementation
  • Outsourced controller/CFO services
  • Financial statement compilation & review
  • Ongoing tax planning and return preparation

2011 Year-End Tax Planning Letter

Year-end tax planning is always a challenge, and this year is no exception.

No one likes to pay taxes any sooner than required. So, traditional year-end strategies tend to focus on deferring income from 2011 to future years and accelerating deductions from 2012 into 2011. In recent years, those strategies have been complicated by the uncertainty surrounding the potential for higher tax rates in the future.

Federal and state governments face budget deficits that tend to pressure elected officials to raise taxes. However, 2012 is an election year, so those facing re-election may try to postpone tax increases as long as possible.

The key to success in any year-end tax strategy involves considering at least two years – in this instance, 2011 and 2012  at the same time. Unfortunately, this tactic requires you to predict a series of future events. Despite the difficulties involved, you will need to make educated guesses and reasonable assumptions. Remember, no tax strategy is cast in stone until the time for changing strategies has passed. Tax planning is a dynamic process.

Before going into more specific, detailed planning tips, here are some basic principles that can help guide your overall thinking:

  • If you expect your tax rate will be higher in 2012, you may benefit from accelerating income into 2011 and deferring deductions into 2012.
  • If you think your tax rate might be lower next year, consider deferring income to 2012 and accelerating deductions into 2011.

The second strategy is generally preferred when your tax rate in both years is expected to remain the same.

Remember, the focus is on your marginal tax rate. That is the highest rate at which your last, or marginal, dollar of income will be taxed. Even though overall tax rates may rise in the future, if your income will be substantially lower in 2012 than in 2011, your marginal tax rate may actually decrease because of our graduated tax bracket system.

Download the full 2011 Year-End Tax Planning Letter (PDF)


  • About Us

    Located in Chagrin Falls, Ohio, the firm was founded in 1989 to provide accounting and tax planning and preparation services to closely-held companies and their owners.
  • Testimonial

    "Lyle & Associates has really helped my small business to get organized and become more profitable. Their tax preparation is second-to-none!"

    Paul Mycroft
    Professional Web Designer

  • Contact Us

    Lyle & Associates CPA
    57 E. Washington Street
    Chagrin Falls, OH 44022
    P: (440) 247-1178
    F: (440) 247-6719