A Father/Son Team That’s More Alike Than Different
With their six-week-old son in tow, E. Krasnomowitz, CPA, and his wife,
LouAnn, made the trek from New Jersey to the University of Montana for Alex to complete a program to become a forest ranger. That career path wasn’t exactly conducive to raising a family and LouAnn also missed New Jersey. So, after a year, they headed home, Alex enrolled in accounting at William
Paterson University, and he never looked back — though he still enjoys the outdoors.
Those twists and turns come naturally to Alex, who spent years working at Deloitte and other accounting firms in the greater New York area. He eventually founded his own company, Alex E. Krasnomowitz, CPA, LLC, in West Caldwell, whose clients run the gamut from music entrepreneurs and landscapers to cannabis market participants. In describing the new cannabis market, Alex, now the leader of the NJCPA Cannabis Interest Group, says, “It’s like packing up the wagons and going west. There’s absolutely no playbook.”
The flexibility in running his own
practice also helped in raising his children.
“My dad died when I was four, and I wanted
to be with my children growing up. The
industry was all about facetime. The profession
has certainly changed — recognizing that family life contributes to your professional life as well,” he says.
He also never gave up on his passion for the outdoors — he just plans that around tax season. Alex and his now-grown son, Alex L. Krasnomowitz, CPA, CVA, MBA, member of the firm at Smolin LLC, always make time for their yearly ski trip with friends and family — this year it was to Montana. The two also share a passion for baseball, softball and soccer. Alex E. was a coach for 25 years for all of his three sons’ (one now deceased) teams and his daughter’s teams. To him, coaching was simply a part of helping to raise kids. “I have a right hand and if somebody needs something done, it goes up. It’s just my nature. I love being around kids,” he explains. Following that philosophy, Alex L. also coaches soccer
and softball for his daughters — he has five to choose from, ranging in ages from 19 to 9 months.
Forging His Own Path
There are some differences between the father and son, however. While they share a love of accounting, they both decided not to work together. As Alex E. notes, it’s best for his son to “set his own path in life.” And, when reflecting on those choices, he admits, “My son is a rainmaker.”
Having focused on baseball at St. Bonaventure, Alex L. eventually realized that accounting was a good path to take. “Between the distractions of college and
injuries, I realized that dream wasn’t going to last forever,” he explains. Alex L. received good grades in his accounting classes, which led him to his first job as an auditor with BDO Seidman in New York. He then moved to Denver for a job in
forensic accounting, where he could also ski,
and eventually San Diego, as a controller. His first daughter was born in San Diego, but after two years, Alex L. moved back to New Jersey to be closer to his family.
For now, he’s content to keep on making a name for himself on Smolin’s Forensic
& Valuation team, where it comes in handy having a background as an auditor, controller and litigation consultant. “My job is primarily matrimonial matters and shareholder disputes,” he explains.
Opting to follow his dad into accounting
was an easy decision. “Mostly, as he said, he was around a lot. He consistently coached our teams and skied with us. Not many traditional CPAs with tax practices did much skiing. That had something to
do with it,” he adds.