Our Story

Matt Rzepka (Zep-ka) hates when people overpay their income taxes. Why? Well, for starters, he’s read the tax code. All 70,000 pages of it. (Okay, not every single page; thank goodness for search engines!) All kidding aside, there are lots of complicated rules about what and when you are required to pay the IRS. What Matt has discovered in his 21 years as a CPA is that embedded in those rules are opportunities that may allow you to keep more of your hard earned money, especially if you’re a small business. Matt views the tax code as a tool box that contains a variety of tools to help your business save money. However, unlike the toolboxes at Home Depot, this toolbox is the SIZE of Home Depot- the WHOLE store. Yet you are only able to use these tools if you know what they are. This is what our company is all about - we use our knowledge of what tools are available & figure out the best way to put them to work for you and your business.

Born and raised in Houghton Lake, Michigan, Matt attended Saginaw Valley State University where he played football as an outside linebacker and met the love of his life, Amber. They eventually married (though it took Matt long enough to pop the question, as Amber would tell it.) During this time, Matt and Amber spent several years working at a CPA firm, but quickly noticed that the one thing business clients needed most seemed to be missing, which was long-term planning and an ever-evolving tax strategy. Valley Oak was born out of their desire to solve THIS problem.

Today, Valley Oak has is comprised of 16 amazing individuals, with 3 offices, and remote staff all across the state of Michigan, and also partners with various local & national advisors to give clients the full-service attention they deserve. Our core values are centered around being team players, respectfully honest, reliable, and driven for results. Check out Our Team section to learn more about the dedicated individuals who come together to make the magic happen behind the scenes.

In addition to being a CPA and a CFP® professional, Matt has earned quite a list of licenses & certifications throughout his career. If we included all the acronyms, it might start to look more like alphabet soup than a bio, so click here to view an official list of his credentials on BrokerCheck by FINRA. While they are certainly admirable accomplishments, it is the combination of Matt’s training and education, alongside his practical real-world experience that allows him to assist our clients in this forward-thinking manner.

It is our belief that most business owners are overpaying their income taxes and don’t even know it. If you are interested in Valley Oak completing a free assessment of your business to determine if you can lower your income taxes, please contact Alicia Kovach via email at akovach@vofcpa.com to learn more.