How We Build the Directory

Every listing on accounting8 comes from public records. This page sets out which records, what a firm needs to get its own page, and how the lists are ordered, so that any list on the site can be checked.

The numbers

Sources

• Google Maps business listings. Business fields only: name, address, phone, website, category, opening hours, and the aggregate star rating with its review count. Review text, reviewer names, photos and other personal data are not collected.
• The IRS register of paid tax return preparers (PTIN). Public. Used to flag listed firms that appear in it and to add preparers the map listings miss.
• The California Board of Accountancy public license file.Published by the Department of Consumer Affairs on September 1, 2026. For California firms linked to a CPA through the firm’s website and other public sources, the profile shows the CPA’s name, license number, first issue date, expiration date and status, and the firm’s own board registration where one matches by name and city. The licensee’s address of record is not shown; its city places a firm that publishes no office address.
• Firm websites. For those California firms: the office address, phone, services, office hours and a general mailbox (info@, office@) as the firm publishes them. Personal email addresses are not shown.
• Company LinkedIn pages. Business pages only, linked from a firm’s profile when the website matches. No personal profiles.

Which firms get a profile page

A firm gets its own page if it meets one of these rules:

• at least 5 Google reviews and a website;
• a match in the IRS preparer register, a website, and at least 1 Google review;
• in California: a CPA with an active license linked to the firm, plus a website, phone or office address;
• for registered agents: a website or at least 1 Google review.

Firms below that bar still appear as plain rows on their city page, with phone and website, but get no page of their own. A California firm with a licensed CPA but no website, phone or office address gets a page that search engines are asked not to index, and it stays off city pages. A city gets its own page when at least 3 firms there have profiles; a service within a city when at least 5 do.

Services

Each firm is placed in one service from its own Google category and business type: CPA and accounting firms, bookkeepers, tax preparers, financial planners. Registered agents are identified from category and business name. A firm whose Google category is wrong can land in the wrong service; tell us and we move it.

How lists are ordered

Every list is sorted by Google rating, then by number of reviews, then by name. The top-rated city lists use the same order but only admit firms with at least 5 reviews and a website. Payment plays no part, and there is no paid tier.

What the badges mean

• Verified on Google: the business has verified its Google Business Profile, which means it controls the profile. It says nothing about licensing or quality.
• IRS PTIN: the firm’s name and location match an entry in the IRS preparer register.
• CA CPA license: a CPA linked to the firm holds an active license in the California Board of Accountancy public license file. The license is the CPA’s own; the link to the firm comes from public sources and can go stale.

Outside that California license file, accounting8 does not check professional licenses. To confirm that someone is a licensed CPA, use the state board lookup: how to verify a CPA license.

Limits of the data

• Phone numbers, hours and ratings change between data collections. The firm is the final source.
• A firm that has closed can stay listed until the next collection or until someone tells us.
• Firms with no public listing, or none in our four states, are not in the directory.

To add, correct or remove a firm, see add or update a listing.