Accel Tax & Business Services combines the dedicated client service expected from a small firm with the experience and capabilities typically found in larger ones. It is this combination that has established our Charleston/Mt. Pleasant based firm for growing businesses, entrepreneurs, professionals and individuals with traditional, special or unique tax, accounting and business advisory needs.
Our team of professionals combine their collective experience and knowledge in finance, accounting and the law to serve and deliver industry specific solutions to the unique challenges and issues that our business clients face.
Charleston CPA

Burt Hodges

Originally from Albany, Georgia, Burt has a BBA in finance from the University of Georgia and a MBA from The Citadel with Honors. Burt has been a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) since 2007. He has served as the Chief Financial Officer of a public company and has over sixteen years of experience in the Charleston tax, accounting, and financial services industry. Clients benefit from his extensive knowledge of small business accounting, income taxation, finance, and entrepreneurship. Burt is licensed to represent taxpayers before all levels of the IRS and has been a partner of Accel since its founding in 2004.

Mt Pleasant CPA

Berkeley D’Alton

Originally from Petersburg, Va, Berkeley has a BSBA degree and a Master of Science in Accountancy from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.  Berkeley has been a member of the America Institute of Certified Public Accountants since 2009.  He began his accounting career in 2007 with Deloitte and Touche, LLP, and has been a practicing accountant serving multiple industries in the Charleston area since 2010.  Berkeley has extensive experience in individual and business tax return preparation, small business accounting, finance, and tax planning.  Berkeley is licensed to represent taxpayers before all levels of the IRS and started with Accel in 2023.

Mark Neath Accountant

Mark Neath

Mark obtained his B.A. from Oberlin College and J.D. from the University of Chicago Law School with a focus on individual and corporate taxation. After admission to the Ohio State Bar in 1996, he practiced tax law with the international law firm Squire Sanders and managed the tax practice of a Cleveland CPA firm before moving to Charleston in 2002. Mark has extensive experience with individual and business tax planning, business acquisitions, expatriate taxes, individual and business tax return preparation, and small business accounting. He is an emeritus partner having co-founded the firm in 2004.

Charleston Bookkeeper

Rhonda Baldrick, Senior Bookkeeper

Rhonda rejoined Accel in 2019 as our senior bookkeeper and QuickBooks expert. She has over 20 years of bookkeeping, payroll tax, and sales tax experience working with both private companies and accounting firms. She helps clients navigate the intricacies of small business bookkeeping–from bank reconciliations to journal entries–and offers one-on-one QuickBooks training sessions for those clients who choose to perform their own bookkeeping or just need advice on a particular issue.

Mt. Pleasant Accounting Office Manager

Denise Vaughan, Operations Manager

Denise joined Accel in 2020. She owns the Pepper Palace gourmet food store downtown (and a second location in Boston) and so is familiar with the myriad issues facing small business owners. Before her move to Charleston, Denise was the administrative assistant of a Tennessee CPA firm where she administered over 250 client files, scheduled client meetings, coordinated appointments, and drove efficient client relations. In addition to those roles, Denise coordinates all activities related to income tax return delivery and e-filing, including the gathering of client tax data, assembly of tax returns, and delivery of tax documents.