Cicely Jones with MPA Financials

Magic City Radar Report: MPA Financials
Submitted by Ted D. Davis
Date: 02/07/2022
Cicely Jones is founder and CEO of MPA Financials, a Full-Service Accounting Firm specializing in Accounting/Bookkeeping, Corporation Formation, Full-Service Payroll, 1099/1096 Processing, Financial Consultation, Credit Restoration and Notary Services. Jones notonly runs one of the fastest growing accounting firms in Birmingham, but she is also a local Philanthropist, honoree and award winner of Top 40 Under 40, Who’s Who in Bham Accounting,NextGen Bham: Accounting recipient to name a few as well as an Author that has penned “FromPennies to Prosperity: How to have a Healthy Relationship with your Money.”

10 years after working as a bookkeeper in the accounting department of a local executive suite firm, and earning a degree in accounting, she parlayed that experience into the birth of her firm,

MPA Financials. Says Jones, “I really enjoyed working for my previous boss. I learned a lot being under her leadership. I enjoyed it so much it inspired me to pursue an accountingdegree”. With 20 years of experience and a passion for sharing knowledge of all things financial, Jones understands the importance of imparting consumers and businesses principles of financial freedom.
Chief among her responsibilities is her commitment to minimizing tax liability for her clients, which financial glossary Bankrate defines as, “the total amount of tax owed in a given period, by individuals and organizations, to federal, state, and local governments”. Business liability encompasses short-term liabilities paid each year. Individual liability encompasses withholdings from wages and salaries and are paid out of pocket. When I asked Jones what minimizing liability means in her practice she said, “It means helping clients take advantage of all tax deductions possible. We aid clients in obtaining and thus owning the knowledge of their finances and tax needs, and the need to take advantage of tax shelters, which saves them money”.Who of us doesn’t want to save money during tax season?
As a burgeoning founder of what I hope will be a successful start-up, I asked Jones what Ineed to know. I know that beneath the likes and advertisements and membership, the business of a startup is the foundation upon which it stands. She told me that what a founder, the creator of any app/social media company, needs to know is how to properly form a Limited Liability Corporation (LLC). Size is the determining factor, whether your startup is a sole proprietorship, owned and operated by an individual, or an organization composed of more than one person, which determines a business’ entity, or identity apart from its members.
I asked Jones what consumers and businesses need to be concerned with in the face of a global pandemic. Her advice? “Think outside the box”. She says that the pandemic should teach us to not put all our eggs in one basket, and to try to create multiple streams of income. She points out that many have thrived despite the pandemic, especially in business, largely because they’ve learned to earn differently and save more. Which brings us to the topic of a “cashless society”. We’ve all seen signs in stores that warn that customers need exact change because those businesses can’t make any. Jones says that consumers should be open to what could happen, and that we research and prepare to use digital currency, such as cryptocurrency, with anemphasis on buying and investing it in the face of dwindling cash supplies.

Those interested in accounting, tax and financial services can reach Cicely Jones of MPAFinancials at (205) 848-7888. Her firm is located at 47 Park Road, Suite B3, Pleasant Grove, Alabama. On social medial MPA Financials can be found at @mpafinancials on Facebook,Twitter and Instagram. You can email her at cjones@mpafinancials.com.