Linares & Associates

What Linares & Associates does

Linares & Associates, Inc. is a privately held CPA and business consulting firm headquartered at 9023 W Cermak Rd, North Riverside, Illinois, serving clients in the greater Chicago metropolitan area. The firm delivers a portfolio of professional services including tax preparation and planning, financial accounting, IRS representation, employee benefit plan review, executive compensation design, corporate reorganization planning, business and real estate planning, and acquisition/sale consultation. It also provides turnaround and restructuring advisory, including pre- and post-bankruptcy assistance, debtor accounting functions, and viability projections for lenders, creditors, and their counsel. The client base spans small businesses, individuals, troubled businesses, and institutional stakeholders (lenders, creditors, counsel), with a documented bilingual (English/Spanish) capability under the "Linares y Asociados" brand.

The firm operates on a fee-for-service professional services model with revenue generated through client consultations and engagements rather than product or subscription fees. Service delivery is office-based with year-round availability (365 days, including outside traditional business hours) and is supplemented by a third-party secure client portal (securefilepro.com) for document exchange plus a website-hosted library of federal tax forms. The firm is staffed by five named professionals led by Marylou Linares, C.P.A., with no disclosed parent company, institutional investors, or external capital. Marketing is conducted principally through referrals, reputation, and a basic informational website; no paid digital channels, partnerships, or alliances are disclosed.

The technology stack is conventional for a small professional services firm: no proprietary platforms, no AI/ML capabilities, and no integrations beyond the hosted client portal and Roundcube webmail. The strategic positioning is built on personalized service, bilingual reach into the Hispanic community in the Chicago metro, and willingness to handle distressed-business engagements that larger CPA firms may deprioritize.

Name

Linares & Associates

Legal name

Linares & Associates, Inc.

Website

https://linaresassociates.com

Company type

Private

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Linares & Associates is a private CPA firm in North Riverside, Illinois providing accounting, tax preparation, tax planning, and business consulting services to small businesses, individuals, and troubled businesses in the Chicago metro area.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Accounting & Tax Services

NAICS

Management, Scientific, and Technical Consulting Services (5416), Management Consulting Services (54161)

SIC

Services-Engineering, Accounting, Research, Management (8700), Services-Management Consulting Services (8742)

akta.pro industry

PRIMARYFSAEAFAK

Insolvency & Turnaround Advisory (SME/Mid-Market Debtor-Side)

Financial & Insurance/Financial Advisory, Brokerage & Intermediation/Credit & Debt Advisory (Restructuring, Counseling & Settlement)

SECONDARYFSAEABAE

Employer Retirement Plan Advisory (401(k)/Pension)

Financial & Insurance/Financial Advisory, Brokerage & Intermediation/Wealth & Retirement Advisory

SECONDARYFSAEADAC

Employee Benefits Brokerage & Consulting

Financial & Insurance/Financial Advisory, Brokerage & Intermediation/Insurance Brokerage & Risk Advisory

Keywords

• Accounting services
• Tax preparation
• Business consulting
• Financial advisory
• IRS representation

Headquarters

HQ city

Riverside

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Accounting and Tax Preparation Services: The firm provides accounting, income tax preparation, and tax planning services to small businesses and individuals on a fee-for-service basis. Revenue is generated through professional service fees for tax preparation, accounting assistance, and advisory consultations.
2. Business Consulting and Turnaround Services: The firm assists troubled businesses, lenders, creditors, and their counsel with management advice, accounting functions, financial projections, and viability reviews. These consulting engagements generate professional service fees.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels2 records

Core offering

Linares & Associates provides professional accounting, tax preparation and planning, and business consulting services to small businesses, individuals, and troubled businesses. Core offerings include IRS representation, employee benefit plan review, executive compensation design, corporate reorganization planning, Buy-Sell agreement review, pension and profit-sharing plan installation, business and real estate planning, and turnaround/restructuring advisory for distressed firms and their lenders and creditors.

Product overview

Linares & Associates is a CPA firm offering a portfolio of professional accounting and consulting services. The core offerings consist of Tax Services (tax preparation, planning, and IRS representation) and Business Services (strategic consulting, market research, and operational analysis), supplemented by a Secure Client Portal for document access and downloadable Federal Tax Filing Forms. The firm serves small businesses, individuals, and troubled businesses requiring bankruptcy assistance or turnaround consulting.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Tax Services Comprehensive tax preparation, planning, and advisory services for small businesses and individuals, including IRS representation, employee benefit plan review, executive compensation design, corporate reorganization tax planning, business and real estate planning, Buy-Sell agreement reviews, acquisition/sale consultation, and pension/profit sharing plan installation.
• Business Services Business consulting services providing risk assessment, strategic planning, market research, and operational analysis to help clients navigate business challenges and improve productivity.
• Accounting Services Financial accounting services including updating books and records, preparing current financial information, accounts receivable/payable management, and debtor accounting department functions for troubled businesses.
• Troubled Business Turnaround and Creditor Advisory Pre- and post-bankruptcy advisory services: helping firms in trouble, management advice on sacrifices and more efficient accounting/internal controls, performing or assisting debtor accounting department functions, and preparing/reviewing projections, forecasts, and budgets for creditor presentation.

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Scale indicators1 record

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights3 records

Direct peers

• 1-800Accountant: 1-800Accountant provides accounting, tax preparation, and advisory services to U.S. small businesses and individuals via a virtual delivery model, overlapping with Linares's core SMB and individual tax/accounting practice.
• Padgett Business Services: Padgett is a North American franchise network of small-business accounting, tax, and advisory offices serving SMBs and individuals — directly comparable to Linares & Associates in target customer, service mix (tax, accounting, advisory), and local-office delivery model.

Broad incumbents

• Baker Tilly US: Baker Tilly is a Top-15 U.S. advisory, tax, and accounting firm serving mid-market clients with tax, advisory, and consulting services — directly comparable in service mix to Linares but with national scale.
• Marcum LLP: Marcum is a Top-15 U.S. accounting and advisory firm with strong mid-market tax, audit, and consulting practices, comparable to Linares in service breadth but operating at significantly greater scale.
• H&R Block: H&R Block is a national tax preparation and small-business accounting franchise that competes in the same individual and SMB tax-preparation market as Linares & Associates, but at vastly larger scale and with a retail footprint.
• BDO USA: BDO USA is a Top-10 U.S. accounting and advisory firm serving mid-market businesses, overlapping with Linares in tax, accounting, and business advisory services but at substantially larger scale.
• Liberty Tax: Liberty Tax is a national retail tax preparation chain serving individual taxpayers and small businesses, overlapping directly with Linares's individual and SMB tax services.
• CBIZ, Inc. CBIZ is a U.S. professional services firm offering tax, accounting, and advisory services to mid-market and SMB clients, with overlapping service lines to Linares & Associates and broader geographic reach.

Emerging players

• Pilot.com: Pilot is a tech-enabled bookkeeping, accounting, and CFO services firm targeting U.S. startups and SMBs — comparable to Linares's small-business accounting practice but delivered through a modern software platform.
• Bench (now part of Pilot): Bench is a tech-enabled bookkeeping and accounting service for U.S. small businesses, competing with Linares in the SMB accounting niche but with a software-driven delivery model that the traditional CPA firm lacks.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/Linares-Associates-Inc-100567292321219
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/linares-and-associates-inc

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Linares & Associates