Best CPA Firm in US, India|US and India Tax Return Filing|Accounting, Tax advisory/Compliance, Bookkeeping Services - Ventura Pranas
Ramya Dhinakaran,
Manager
Expertise in all individual and entity returns
(US and India)
rdhinakaran@venturapranas.com
Education
B.Com from University of Madras

Certifications
Certified ISO Internal Auditor

Ramya Dhinakaran’s colleagues describe her as dedicated, diplomatic, assertive, obliging and encouraging, so it’s no surprise that she grew from the position of an employee on contract in 2010 to a reporting head of her department very quickly.

Ramya’s exposure to accounting began at an early age. Her uncle, a practicing CA, inspired her to study accounting when she was in the 7th grade. After completing her B.Com in Banking Management, she started working at Ventura Pranas, where she developed an interest towards taxation. She says the vast concepts are what sustain her interest and “thirst for learning” after several years in the field.

Outside work, Ramya has a passion for historic novels, soaking in the architectural details of South Indian temples, and cooking.

Her roles at Ventura Pranas include managing a team that handles tax returns for both India and the US, is in charge of hundreds of client books, and sits in as an advisor for the practice’s consulting services. She runs frequent quality checks on the work that goes out from her team, and participates in the firm’s interview process for new team members. She’s the tax tech lead for ISO documentation and a member of the internal compliance board for ISO sexual harassment committee.


Sangeetha Murugappan,
Manager
Expertise in all individual and entity returns
(US and India), Consulting
smurugappan@venturapranas.com
Education
B.Com from MS University
CA Inter from Institute of Chartered Accountants of India
CWA Inter from Institute of Chartered Accountants of India
MBA from Madras University

Certifications
Certified ISO Internal Auditor

Early in her career, Sangeetha Murugappan was doing her CA articleship for a BPO company that handled US taxation. There was a natural graduation to Kellogg & Andelson from there, the India subsidiary of K&A in the US. The India unit was headed by the Director of Ventura Pranas, Prabha Srinivasan, and there began her relationship with Prabha, which led to her joining Ventura Pranas.

Sangeetha likes the field of tax (over accounting and audit) for its variety in each return. Every client’s situation is different and this is what keeps her actively engaged and involved, reviewing returns meticulously before releasing them for client approval, working on various tax consultancy projects to determine tax impact based on residential status, and analyzing structure of group entities. At Ventura Pranas, she is one of the Senior Supervisors and reporting heads, manages a team, and is responsible for the team’s output. Even after ten years at Ventura Pranas, she says her learning grows deeper with experience.

In addition to rigorous analysis, Sangeetha’s interests extend to reading, playing chess, and trekking (her favourite trail is Marinduvalmalai, near Kanya Kumari).


Muthu Kumaresan,
Assistant General Manager
Expertise in all individual and entity returns
(US and India)
mkumaresan@venturapranas.com
Education
BBA from S V N College (Madurai Kamaraj University), Madurai
MBA-Finance from K.L.N College of Engineering (Anna University), Madurai.
Pursuing CPA from New Hampshire State Board of Accountancy.

Certifications
Certified ISO Internal Auditor

Muthu Kumaresan worked in various organizations in the field of US taxation and accounting until 2014, when he joined Ventura Pranas. As someone keen on increasing his skill set, looking for challenging roles and being able to make connections to Profit and Loss scenarios, Muthu’s role has grown and increased since 2014. Today he manages the entire tax team, handling more than 250 clients, he is the interface for clients and the IRS or Income Tax Department, and supervises the progress of the entire team while mentoring them. Muthu says he enjoys working with data, and he gets a thrill out of paying attention to details and connecting them to the larger picture.

Muthu is also the go-to person for new team members for training and guidance. They say he is sharp, helpful, intelligent, friendly, and has a pulse on everything that goes on in the tax department.

At home, Muthu cherishes time with his family, devours information for the love of general knowledge, and enjoys the occasional sports game on TV.


Balakrishnan MV,
Manager
Expertise in all individual and entity returns
(US and India)
bviswanathan@venturapranas.com
Education
B Com (Hons) from Calcutta University
CA (Inter) from Institute of Chartered Accountants of India

Certifications
Graduate of ICAI and ICSI Examinations.

Balakrishnan Viswanathan’s history indicates that he is enterprising, with a real quest for learning and exposure. His early introduction to accounting came from his father, a fellow member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India. After his articleship at his father’s firm, Balakrishnan looked to the world outside for experience. His passion for learning led him to attend coaching classes of ICAI, and his work experience spans from an internal audit assignment at Price Waterhouse to other auditing firms that handled the audits of large national firms such as Ashok Leyland Finance and TI Cycles. His quest for exposure led him to work in Riyadh, where he grew from an Accounts Assistant to Accounts Manager over the years.

Balakrishnan joined Ventura Pranas just a few years ago in 2019. Despite years of experience, Balakrishnan continues to remain agile, going back to his taxation books, taking courses and bringing himself to the level of a Senior Supervisor within a matter of months. Today, at Ventura Pranas, he handles personal taxation files for clients in both the US and in India, gets on calls with clients to understand their tax profile, and occasionally consults as well. His career trajectory says a lot about his perseverance, willingness to learn, and ability to adapt to situations - qualities his clients appreciate.

Balakrishnan feeds his creative side through music (Carnatic, Hindustani and Ghazals) and drawing portraits.


Nagendra Prasad,
Manager
Expertise in accounting and corporate governance
(US and India)
nprasad@venturapranas.com
Education
M.Com from Madras University
PGD in Hospitality Management from Indian Institute of Management Studies

Certifications
Certified Quick Books Accountant, Intuit QuickBooks Accountant University
Certified SAP Consultant, Global Certification in Financial Accounting.

Nagendra Prasad veered towards accounting largely because he wanted to be close to his peer group, many of whom chose to study commerce and accounting. But very soon, he realized he was deeply interested in the subject, particularly in financial accounting. This led him down a career path of handling financial accounts for a variety of businesses, from a chain of restaurants to educational programs. Nagendra joined Ventura Pranas in 2016, where he supervises projects, ensures all engagement documents are handled smoothly, and mentors new recruits. Tutoring fresh graduates gives Nagendra the satisfaction and motivation he needs to stay up to date and on top of his work.

Nagendra doesn’t play cricket as much as he used to, but he still keeps his interest alive through matches every now and then with friends and colleagues. He also uses software to create ringtones from his favourite songs as a pastime!


Shyam Sundar Ippatapu,
Assistant Manager
Expertise in accounting and corporate governance
(US and India)
sippatapu@venturapranas.com
Education
B.Com from Acharya Nagarjuna University
CA Inter from Institute of Chartered Accountants of India
CMA Inter (Pursuing) from Institute of Cost Accountants of India

Shyam Sundar has always been drawn to numbers and puzzles. He thinks of his work at Ventura Pranas today as analogous to a puzzle (piecing information together to understand the whole), and that, he says, explains his reason for studying accounting and his career path.

As a senior reviewer, he ensures systematic accounting procedures are followed by the team handling tax preparation, while doing the books write up. He’s responsible for payroll processing services and monthly reconciliations and financial statements that investors may require from clients. Shyam loves the company culture at Ventura Pranas, which he says is at atmosphere where employees are trusted and empowered to make decisions and become independent workers. He enjoys working with his colleagues and appreciates the flexibility he often enjoys with his work hours, which leaves him time to listen to podcasts, read and relax with music (he chooses from a roster of artists, depending on his emotional state but some of his favourites are Ilayaraja and AR Rahman).


Charumathi Thangadurai,
Manager
Expertise in all individual and entity returns
(US and India), Consulting
cthangadurai@venturapranas.com
Education
Enrolled Agent, IRS (Enrolled to practice before IRS)
Chartered Accountant from Institute of Chartered Accountants of India
Company Secretary from Institute of Company Secretaries of India
Bachelor of Commerce from Madurai Kamaraj University

Certifications
Member of Enrolled Agents, IRS
CSEA Member (California Society of Enrolled Agent)
Member of Institute of Chartered Accountants, India

Charumathi Thangadurai’s father was a gazetted officer with the Income Tax Department of India, and in Charumathi’s words, he “encouraged and guided” her to pursue both chartered accountancy and company secretary courses. Charumathi started her career as a tax and audit intern for a prominent chartered accountant in Madurai, her hometown, after which she moved to Chennai and pursued her articleship training for one of the leading tax audit firms in the city, Krishnakumar & Associations. After working there for a few more years, she moved to the US and worked with a firm in LA for another few years before joining Ventura Pranas.

With that kind of early exposure at home, and the years of experience that came after, Charumathi today is a manager with great clarity of thought, and in her communication with clients she displays her thorough, detail-oriented and efficient thought process. Charumathi’s role includes preparing and reviewing tax returns, setting (and executing) the workflow for the year, representing clients for audits and IRS notices, preparing applications for government grants and loans, and consulting with clients to finalize their tax returns. What Charumathi values the most at Ventura Pranas is the variety of client cases she handles, and the supportive camaraderie of her colleagues and management that keep her motivated.

In addition to her work interests, Charumathi describes herself as spiritually inclined (she’s an avid reader of mythology, the Mahabharata and Ponniyan Selvan are her favourites) and loves having family and friends laugh together over meals she prepared from authentic, traditional recipes.