Debra Franks is a founding member of Fortitude CPA and has been practicing in public accounting since 2006; she’s a certified public accountant, a chartered global management accountant and a QuickBooks Certified ProAdvisor. Her extensive practice in accounting and taxes for corporate, individual, trust, and non-profit sectors has enabled her to help many small business clients, in fields such as manufacturing, construction, real estate, restaurants, retail, and various types of professional services, including health based firms. She has proven results while acting as an interim CFO/controller for different companies on various occasions. Prior to moving to New England, she was the founder and general manager of a small IT firm.
Her dedication to her clients and her profession is to be noted, as she is a member of several professional associations, including the AICPA and MSCPA, and a member of the MSCPA Tax Committee, IT Committee and Management of an Accounting Practice committee. She holds an MSA with Tax Certification from Bentley University, and an MBA from the University of Arkansas.
Our goal is to be the financial partner you can trust to serve you in the most accurate, efficient, and cost-effective ways possible. When your financial concerns are taken care of, you’re free to run your business or simply live your best life.
Fortitude CPA
In 2017, two friends decided that working at an old-school. traditional CPA firm wasn’t how they envisioned the best use of their particular set of skills and talents. As CPAs themselves, they decided to strike out on their own, launching a women-owned firm that has redefined and stream-lined the standard client-accountant relationship, wholly beneficial to busy individuals and owners of small-businesses.
As most small business owners have experienced, growth and development of a new venture is not usually a smooth path, but it’s through this process that businesses are refined into success stories. The implementation of cutting-edge processes to communicate and manage tax return preparation stemmed from a desire to lead the industry in technologically advanced ways, but soon proved to be crucial to best serve a diverse client base. Many of the original clients are still here today – honored and cherished relationships.
Clients have largely embraced shifts of these processes that accommodate improved efficiency and accuracy. While tax law and accounting rules like GAAP (Generally Accepted Accounting Principles) leave little room for change or interpretation, the ways of doing business to keep clients happy and meet their needs can always be improved. This perspective encourages and accommodates a growing group of clients that is not pleased with “The Way Things Have Always Been Done.” Things can almost always be done better; the smart individual or small business owner knows it and so does this firm.
Those first years added more weight to the chosen name of the firm: Fortitude. Merriam-Webster’s website describes the word Fortitude as coming from the Latin word fortis, meaning ‘strong,’ and further states: “in English it has always been used primarily to describe strength of mind.” This strength of mind is what sets Fortitude CPA apart from many other accounting firms. Our CPAs won’t rest until you have the tools you need to succeed. They find solutions that others in their field miss or don’t think to implement. They have the knowledge, experience, and ideas to help you or your business grow and see a healthier bottom line.
