I Started This the Same Way You Did
AE Financial Services started in 2014 as a side hustle doing tax prep. But it didn't take long to see that the people I was working with needed way more than just an end-of-year filing. No clean books. No plan. Just a shoebox of receipts and a prayer that they wouldn't owe too much in April. Most of them didn't even know if they were making money. And the ones who were couldn't prove it on paper.
Every Role Taught Me Something I Bring to This Firm
That's when I decided to go back to school for accounting. While running this business on the side. While working a regular 9-to-5. While raising two kids. I did it because I enjoyed it and because it served a purpose. My clients needed more than I could give them at the time, and I wasn't going to send them somewhere else.
Along the way, I've worked across industries that sharpened every part of how I run this firm. I started in banking, working directly with individuals and families on their accounts, lending, and financial goals. From there, I managed payroll and financial operations at a manufacturing company producing thousands of units a month. I handled accounting for a government IT contractor working with the Navy, Coast Guard, Army, and HUD, including converting their entire accounting system and cutting outstanding receivables nearly in half. I managed international tax filings across 30+ countries for the world's largest mass participation sports organization. And I've advised on federal employment tax compliance for small and midsize businesses through one of the largest professional employer organizations in the country.
Every role taught me something different, but the thread was always the same: take complex financial situations and make them clean, organized, and understandable. That experience is exactly what I bring to AE.
Meet Chris Anderson
I Built This Firm for People Like the Ones I Was Already Helping
Barbers, freelancers, resellers, contractors, small business owners who are making real money and need someone to help them organize it, file it right, and plan for what's next. Whether you're still working your day job or you've gone full-time, if you want someone who actually explains what's happening with your money, that's what we do.
I'm not the kind of accountant who sends you a bill and disappears until next April. I want you to understand what's being filed and why. I want your books to be clean enough that when an opportunity shows up, a loan, a new hire, a big purchase, you're ready. And I want you to feel like you have someone in your corner who actually gets where you are because I've been there.
Based in Orlando. Working with clients nationwide.
Three Things We Prioritize Every Time
Working with AE means knowing what to expect at every step. These aren't just words on a wall. They're how every client interaction actually works.
We Explain Everything. In Plain English
You'll never get a finished return dropped in your inbox with no context. Every client gets a walkthrough, either recorded or live, where we go line by line through what was filed and why. No tax code. No jargon. If you don't understand something, that's on us, not you.
There's a System for Everything
Questionnaire, intake call, data entry, follow-up meeting, estimate, quote, filing. Every engagement follows the same steps so nothing gets missed and you always know where things stand. We use the same approach for bookkeeping: connect your accounts, track your receipts, and review your numbers on a set schedule. Structure isn't a buzzword here. It's literally how we operate.
You're Not Behind. You Just Haven't Had the Right Setup Yet
Most clients come to us with messy books, missing receipts, or years of doing it themselves and hoping for the best. That's not a problem. That's the starting point. We don't judge where you are. We figure out what needs to happen next and walk you through it one step at a time. Start simple. See what you need from there.