We have been going the James Shum since he started his tax business years ago. He is amazing and is always updated to the new tax laws. We trust him. read more

I have been a client for almost 10 years. Very personal, knowledgeable and attentive to my needs. James and his staff are always available for questions. More than I can say for other CPAs that make you feel unimportant and are more concerned about getting paid. I would highly recommend this CPA! read more

I am amazed at the similarities between the previous review, and our experience with James. He came HIGHLY recommended, by a wealthy cousin who is James' client. James appeared engaged and interested in helping us, I asked how much he'd estimate our tax prep would cost and he said "about $400 to $450." We provided all our info by the first week of March 2008. James told us he'd be in touch via email as he started working on our taxes. Well... the first week of April rolled around and still no contact from James. I called and left a message of inquiry. NO reply. I called again in a few days - NO reply. So I started calling daily - NO reply. It took the involvement of the cousin who recommended him to get a reply from his office. And you know what: they needed me to re send all our information because they lost it!! Should have gotten a clue then and there, right?! So I resent our financials, and a week later he mails us the returns. No promised contact, no consultations, nothing... And, wow he got us an unbelievable refund... I still don't know how, or what all he deducted or claimed - BECAUSE HE HAS NEVER RESPONDED to at least a half dozen phone call asking for information, after I got my return!! The last time I spoke to someone in his office the rude bastard actually said "Well if James doesn't call you back that's not my problem." On top of that he charged us twice what he quoted, without an explanation, and refused to provide an itemized bill. So, if you like to be kept in the dark about the contents of your tax returns, enjoy being ignored, and overcharged, and generally prefer an unprofessional and unnerving tax experience, then by all means you should use James Shum, CPA. read more

James got us a nice return, and has a very pleasant demeanor. Unfortunately, the return was filed last minute despite our getting our information to him over a month in advance, and with his commitment to finishing it before our April vacation. Getting through to him on the phone was near impossible. Later this year, when I realized he hadn't provided me with estimated tax info, James continues to be unreachable. Even after calling twice and emailing him about it I received no response. James seems like a really nice, honest guy but for whatever reason my business is never a priority for him so I can't recommend him exactly. read more

HORRIBLE CUSTOMER SERVICE!! At the recommendation of a friend, I have been using James the last several years for my business. He NEVER gets us our taxes on time. Year after year it's the same. Corporate taxes are due March 15, and here it is April and we have nothing. On top of that, he never responds to phone calls or emails. As someone with their own business, I understand the importance of Customer Service and I'm disappointed that James thinks so little about that. Next year, we are moving on. Enough of the stress and the worry about getting things from James so I can file my personal taxes on time. If you can sit in front of him and have him punch your numbers into TurboTax maybe it's worthwhile. If you want to entrust an accountant to communicate with you and help you get your taxes done on time, look somewhere else. read more

I have been very happy with 10 years of tax and tax advice from James. He has deep knowledge and great tax tips. Filing tax with James made a huge impact on my finance. He has been filing my taxes on time. I figure he would be super busy with so many clients (since he is so good), so I make sure I make appointment with him early on, and get all the spreadsheets, numbers ready for the tax appointment. I have referred James to my friends multiple times, and they have been also happy with James. Oh ooops. I am afraid he may become too busy! read more

I really don't understand the poor reviews James receives. He has always been prompt and courteous with outstanding communication. James has been preparing my taxes since 2003 and I wouldn't consider working with anyone else. read more

I am pleased to give James Shum a big thumbs up, and this even after reading every review, good and bad. I have had long-standing relationships with 2 other tax preparers. My previous tax preparer retired so I was forced to change and started with James this year. I can only say -- so far, so good. Our tax returns are rather complicated, and aside from a regular income include income from a consulting business, real estate holdings, a Trust, numerous brokerage accounts, and a Family partnership. There were a total of 4 tax returns resulting. The first tax return was done 2 weeks later, others followed at regular intervals, with the last one expected any day now, a bit shy of 4 weeks since our interview. I had some questions and got answers on each within 24-48 hours. I also called and got a call back from James himself within less than an hour. Clearly James' office is redlining right now as we are in the middle of tax season. So I can easily imagine that I was lucky with the speed of replies and callbacks. Any tax preparer with a solid client base is bound to be frazzled between mid-February and mid-April. Against that expectation, James' composure has been comforting. read more

James is great. He was referred to us by a friend and we have used him for a few years. We have complex taxes with two 'regular' jobs and usually more than a dozen 1099s in a given year. James does a great job of getting us the appropriate deductions, geting us more back than our previous accountant. I have found him to be very available to answer my questions and explain how decisions will impact the bottom line- like buying a home, or paying interest on student loans. I've called him at random times to make sure we aren't over or under-witholding when processing new jobs and have been able to get him on the phone same day or next day. I can't attest to sending him everything early and having to wait, as other reviewers have said because we are not that ahead of the game. But be realistic people, after mid March all CPAs are slammed. read more

After reading the 2 negative reviews, I feel compelled to offer my experience with James. He was recommended to us by a close friend to help my husband & I with our 2007 taxes. We had previously used a friend, however, he was going out of the tax industry, so we had to find another tax accountant. At our appointment, James was very professional and knowledgeable. He completed our taxes with plenty of time for us to file and got us an OUTRAGEOUS refund. When it came time for our 2008 taxes, we received a postcard in the mail with an appointment already made for us, which was great! We didn't even have to call up and make an appt. Again, we received our documents within a few weeks with a fabulous refund! Both times, his rate has been less than I anticipated. read more

James came highly recommended to us as well. He was very attentive at first and was instrumental in setting up our S-Corp. Not long after, we fell off his radar. From the beginning, he recommended a practice of filing for the longest extensions possible on our tax returns. Despite receiving the necessary inputs from us months in advance, James produced every tax return literally 1-2 days before the IRS's absolute final October deadline. These returns came too late for us to audit or correct, and always came with very surprising taxes due in the tens of thousands of dollars. When the IRS or FTB began having issues with our returns, James was nowhere to be found. I scanned and emailed and re-emailed 39 separate issues for him to resolve 2005-2007. When he failed to reply, I decided I must have been a fool all these years to pay attention to IRS and FTB correspondence. Was I ever wrong! When the IRS and FTB finally threatened a lien on our primary household and closure of our corporation, I had to start managing James like he was a child. It's taken dozens of hours of my time, hundreds of dollars paying tax disputes I knew we didn't owe but decided were cheaper to pay than to spend time attempting to get James' attention, and for the biggest tax penalties, my finally threatening legal action against James' practice to get him to sit up and take notice. While his practice has now paid over $2K in penalties to the IRS and FTB since I started managing him, I'm still chasing James down for the 2006 and 2007 FTB corporate tax forms he forgot to complete. James may be well-intentioned, but he has no processes for keeping much of anything straight. Not only did he forget to complete the 2006 and 2007 corporate tax forms, he even forgot to file his cherished tax extensions for our 2007 returns, which is why his practice is now paying penalties. By comparison, the accountant I retained for our 2008 returns got everything done on time. Our returns were mailed April 8 this year. What a relief to not have this kind of thing hanging over our head year after year! read more

I have been using this firm for a few years. Every year he will get us a good return. But it is impossible to get hold of anyone in his office. He rarely return his email or voicemail. His fee goes up a couple of hundreds every year. A simple tax return will now cost you $750! I have to say, no matter who refer you to his firm, be careful and be prepared for no communication. I am moving on to a different CPA. read more

I'm going to have to agree with the earlier reviewers. He's always late on filing returns, and if you actually need to speak with him, forget about it. He will return your calls one out of 15 times. I was referred to him by other people who have stopped using him. Go see an accountant that you can actually speak with. read more

He is ok but not great. We decided to try other CPAs.

James is doing my taxes for years and I never had a problem. My appointment with him is always pretty early, like end of January, beginning of February. Once he has all my information he promptly files the return. read more

My experience with James was very different from the other reviews. He was friendly and got me a great return. In addition, he also found an error in my 2007 tax return that H&R Block had filed for us -- and he charged me WAY less than H&R Block! He finished my return in 10 working days, which was really important because I had to meet a FAFSA deadline by the beginning of March too. His office staff was very courteous and responsive to my calls and emails. I will definitely be returning to his office next year! read more

I am a new customer with James Shum and reading the previous reviews I am moved to add mine. I have found him very available, by phone and short notice appointments. He has mentioned times of past issues with support staff and this may provide an explanation, but I don't know. Yesterday we spoke on the phone and he was willing to meet over the weekend to make a Tuesday deadline. I'd encourage anyone interested to ask him about these issues before making a judgement. Also I found him to be knowledgeable, down to earth, engaged when listening to my tax and business issues, and as I said, available. read more

I have been using James for my taxes and tax advice for a dozen years and there is simply no one better -- and I feel as if I have tried 'em all. I always believed I was financially savvy and that I knew all the magic tricks to minimize my taxes, but after numerous meetings with James, I've come to believe I'm a novice. There is a reviewer here that rates James with a single star and in his review says "wow, he got us an unbelievable refund" and then blasts him because he didn't sit down and go through his return line by line. Well, if you understand you're not the only client with a deadline and you'll have your time with him once tax season passes, you cannot go wrong with James. He has delivered for me on time and has been incredibly helpful in so many ways. Oh, and by the way, he has a helpful, professional and courteous staff on board. read more