About West Elk Tax

Each tax return represents not just numbers, but the unique aspirations of individuals and businesses alike. By fostering meaningful relationships we ensure that our clients feel valued and understood. Empowering them to achieve their financial goals with confidence.

Our Core Values

People First

Integrity

Dedicated to honesty, transparency, and accountability in all our dealings. By upholding integrity, we build trust and foster strong relationships with our clients and outside stakeholders.

Excellence

We are committed to holding the highest standards of service and expertise in all our endeavors. This dedication to excellence ensures that clients receive accurate, timely, and insightful financial guidance tailored to their needs.

Meet the Owner: Brian Brentlinger, CPA

Brian is the Managing Member and founder of West Elk Tax.

Brian moved to Colorado to pursue an accounting degree from The University of Colorado, Colorado Springs. He graduated Magna Cum Laude, with a bachelors in accounting. Additionally, Brian completed his graduate degree at UCCS, earning a Master's of Science in Accounting (MSA). While completing his master's Brian passed the CPA exam on his first try to became a licensed CPA in Colorado.

Before founding West Elk Tax, Brian worked as a senior tax consultant in Colorado Springs and remotely for a firm out of Carlsbad, California. For almost his entire career Brian has worked with closely held businesses and their owners. He has experience with clients in multiple industries, in multiple states.

As with most accountants, Brian loves ticking and tying all of the numbers on a balance sheet and getting tax returns to balance. However, he found that what he really enjoyed was getting to form lasting relationships with clients, and the deep sense of satisfaction that comes from working with clients to help them achieve their goals. It was this desire to serve clients that led him to start out on his own and found West Elk Tax.

Outside of the office, Brian is an outdoor enthusiast. He enjoys a wide range of activities including fishing, hiking, snowboarding, and climbing. Since marrying his beautiful wife Kimberly in 2020, they have embraced life together with their two beloved pets—a husky named Mystery and a tabby cat named Charlie. In 2023, they continued their Colorado dream by purchasing a cabin on the Western Slope of Colorado, where they enjoy the tranquility of nature.

CPA License Number: CO 9037511

West Elk Tax Story

West Elk Tax was founded out of a desire to create a small CPA practice, that delivered exceptional service based on deep understanding of client's individual needs, learned from personal relationships.

Early in his career Brian realized how extremely personal the client-CPA relationship is, and how much this relationship shaped people's lives. Discussions with clients covered the gambit: how do I save for retirement, I'm thinking of getting married, I want to start my own business, I want to get out of my business, how do I save to send my kid to college, how do I retire at 50, the list goes on. The answers to these questions were different for each client, and each client needed their own individualized plan. These questions lead to a fulfilling career that is a new puzzle every day, and always fun. (well most of the time, there's still tax season...)

West Elk Tax was founded so that he could be his client's trusted advisor when it comes to their tax and accounting needs. To answer the questions above and many more. Out of this desire, Brian wanted a firm that focused on individualized plans with clients that stayed clients for years, if not generations. In his tenure with other CPA firms, Brian noticed that it was hard to deliver the personalized services he was capable of because of the sheer number of accounts he had to manage. With West Elk Tax he is able to manage the growth of the firm so that client's got the level of attention they deserve.

What About the Name?

Where the heck did "West Elk" come from?

So glad you asked! The name comes from the West Elk Mountains in Colorado. The West Elk Mountains and the West Elk Wilderness is located on Colorado's Western Slope. It's where Brian and his wife Kim live. It's one of the most remote places you can find in Colorado, and living here is a dream come true.

Because of its remoteness, people rely on their neighbors. When (not if) you get stuck in the mud, there's no AAA to come get you. It's individual ingenuity and your neighbor's that are going to get you out.

The trust shared between people here is found in a lot of rural communities, but Brian thought it was a great reminder that clients place trust in him, and that trust is something to be respected and cherished.