Laciak Accountancy Group

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For many entrepreneurial fathers, the dream of having their children one day take over the family business is one of the driving factors behind the start of the business. Joe Laciak, owner and president of Laciak>cpa, definitely had that dream back in 1983, but wanted his twin sons, then busy 5 year olds, to make their own decision about the accounting profession and joining their father in business. Flash forward to 2014, and Geoff and Brian, now 36, have offices of their own just a few steps from Joe’s at the Schererville location of Laciak>cpa. The team consists of 7 CPAs as well as 3 office support staff members. Laciak>cpa has two offices in Schererville and Valparaiso and serves businesses all over Northwest Indiana, Chicago, and beyond. The dream that Joe had back in 1983 is now a reality better than he could have imagined. “When we started, we had no clients,” says Joe. “I knew what it would take to live off of hot dogs and peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. But we’ve been blessed. The phone rang the first day we opened our doors and it never stopped.” For anyone who knows Joe and his team, blessed is part of the equation, combined with hard work and a commitment to clients that goes far beyond traditional accountancy services. It’s tough to get Joe, Geoff, or Brian to talk about anything other than clients and the industry (except those grandkids Joe can’t help but beam about). “In addition to being a CPA, I’ve been accused of practicing law for the past 30 years,” smiles Joe. “If it has to do with our client, we will always have their back. We consider every implication of every financial decision that’s made. We take multiple passes at everything we do, and 2 CPAs always review every document.” It’s this kind of tenacity that can pay off in big ways for clients of Laciak. The team recently took on a client who was told he owed $15,000 in taxes. The first review by team Laciak resulted in a $3,000 refund for the client. Upon additional research, digging, review, and more, the client walked away with a $27,000 refund. While those results aren’t a typical daily occurrence, they are representative of the larger picture for Laciak, which is to do everything they can to support their clients within the letter of the law. That’s the only way they can imagine doing business. And they prefer to work with people who feel the same. “The financial world underwent some big changes in the last five years,” says Joe. “Interestingly enough, what we’ve done really hasn’t changed here at Laciak. We’ve always gone those extra steps to be thorough.” What has changed at Laciak in the last 5 years, were Geoff and Brian’s decision to join their father at the family firm after 10 year careers with the likes of Deloitte & Touche, Harris Associates, and UBS Alternative and Quantitative Investments. Aside from bringing their energy and specialty expertise to the team, Geoff and Brian have been especially focused on growing the business for another 30 years and beyond. Will those plans include their own growing families? Geoff and Brian can’t help but smile when asked that question. But, like Joe, Geoff and Brian want their children to discover their career paths on their own. In true Laciak form, their minds go right back to the task at hand. “We want to continue what our father started, to be able to offer our clients a well-rounded portfolio of services,” says Brian. Geoff agrees, and acknowledges that growth means continued staff growth – something he’s interested in doing with candidates from Northwest Indiana. “There’s a lot of great talent here in Northwest Indiana, but too often those people