Man Nguyen, CPA

Perspective

How I Think About AI

Where I started. A year ago I thought AI was still far from replacing CPAs. Hallucinations, security issues, firm policies. Plenty of reasons to wait.

I was wrong.

What changed. AI moved fast. Research tool, then workflow tool, now agents that actually execute. I stopped watching and started building.

Where I am now. I built the same systems I wish I had when I started running businesses. Clean books. Real-time P&L. Tax planned in advance. A team that actually communicates. That is the baseline here, not the premium.

Active Stack

Tax Research Bloomberg Tax, TaxGPT, Checkpoint — fast, accurate, defensible answers

AI Workflows Claude, Anthropic API, custom agents — memos, alerts, client comms, anomaly detection

Accounting QuickBooks — real-time books, payroll, reconciliation, cash flow

Practice Ops Automated reporting, status updates, document delivery

Expertise

What I Do

I work at the intersection of tax, capital, and operators.

My experience spans three environments that rarely overlap:

01

Large firm tax advisory

02

Venture capital fund operations

03

Building and running real businesses

That combination shapes how I approach every engagement.

Career

Experience

BDO USA #5 Global Accounting Firm

2025 — Now

Senior Manager, Alternative Investments · Greater DC

Lead tax advisory for prominent DC-area real estate operators, developers, NYSE-listed REITs, and alternative investment clients on complex transactions, restructurings, and partnership structures. Lead engagement teams and apply AI tools to accelerate research, reporting, and technical analysis.

PROOF Venture Capital

2021 — 2024

Tax Manager · Reston, VA

Internal tax lead for three venture funds (~$300M AUM), the GP, and 100+ SPVs with ~$400M in co-invest capital. Built the fund’s tax and reporting infrastructure and supported partners across investor reporting, fund structures, and cross-border tax matters.

KPMG #4 Global Accounting Firm · Big 4

2019 — 2021

Tax Manager, Asset Management · McLean, VA

Advised institutional private equity and venture capital clients on complex partnership tax matters, including work with top-tier global private equity platforms. Contributed to the firm’s Asset Management Platform supporting large-scale fund compliance and automation.

CLA Top 20 US Accounting Firm

2015 — 2018

Senior Tax Associate · Baltimore, MD

Started my career preparing complex returns for HNW individuals and business clients across real estate and distribution. Selected for CLA's East Coast KAIZEN team to drive firm-wide process improvements.

Private Practice

Viet CPA

Real accounting for real businesses.

We started Viet CPA in 2021 because good operators deserve better than a once-a-year tax preparer. We work with boba shops, restaurants, and nail salons — businesses that run on tight margins, long hours, and decisions that can't wait. Big 4 training. A lean team that actually picks up the phone. Built to move at the speed your business runs.

01 Books & Payroll

⌄

The foundation. Clean books every month, payroll handled, W-2s and 1099s filed. Most clients start here.

Monthly bookkeeping in QuickBooks

Payroll processing and compliance

W-2 and 1099 preparation

Bank and credit card reconciliation

Monthly P&L and balance sheet

02 Operator Dashboard

⌄

Know your numbers in real time. Labor percentages, average ticket, utilization, anomaly alerts. Everything a real operator needs to make decisions fast.

Real-time P&L by category

KPI tracking: labor %, avg ticket, utilization

Auto transaction categorization

Spend controls and anomaly detection

Monthly ops summary

03 Tax & Cash Planning

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No April surprises. Quarterly estimates, S-Corp planning, deduction strategy, and both business and personal returns filed.

Quarterly estimated tax payments

S-Corp election and owner comp strategy

Business and personal tax return filing

Deduction optimization

Year-round cash flow planning

04 Wealth & Tax Strategy

⌄

Multi-year tax planning, real estate structuring, retirement accounts, entity restructuring, and exit planning. For clients who are building something serious.

Multi-year tax projection and planning

Real estate and cost segregation strategy

Solo 401(k), SEP-IRA, and retirement planning

Entity restructuring and holding company setup

Exit planning and wealth roadmap

Get Started

Most clients start with Tier 1 and add on as they grow. No long-term contracts. Straightforward pricing.

Email Me LinkedIn

Entrepreneurship

Ventures

I don't just advise businesses. I build them too.

DMV Slots ↗ 35K+ Customers

Tech-driven platform that monitors DMV systems and alerts customers when appointments open up in real time. Operating across TX, NC, NJ, NY, FL, NV, and Ontario.

Call V247 ↗ $3M+ Revenue

Co-founded as a UTA sophomore to help US families call Vietnam affordably. One of the first platforms to let customers recharge phone credit online automatically, long before FaceTime existed.

Kentucky Academy ↗

State-licensed CE school approved by TDLR Texas. Practical, modern courses for licensed professionals, starting with cosmetology and expanding into skilled trades.

Aventus Nail Spa ↗

Luxury nail spa in Columbus. The nail industry built the Vietnamese-American community, raised our families, and created our foundation. Carrying that legacy forward and raising the bar.

Personal