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Linda
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Linda Top, CPA

Linda is a founding partner of Top Kohlbush + Hoem. Her vision and foresight to build one of the first woman-owned accounting firms in the Northwest bridged the gap she saw between offering strategic tax and accounting services while becoming a trusted partner who listened and cared about clients’ needs.

Linda’s experience includes tax preparation, review, and planning, as well as audit representation. She is a recognized expert for her work in stock option planning strategies, becoming a distinguished speaker on tax law, tax planning, and stock option tax planning. She also provides training to business owners and managers in areas of strategic fiscal management.

Linda is a fifth-generation Oregonian whose family made their way along the Oregon Trail before settling in the Willamette Valley. She graduated from Portland State University and has spent her entire career in the region, starting Top Kohlbush + Hoem in 1985. Her love of nature and outdoor recreational activities, including golf and snowmobiling, keeps her rooted to the region.

It was my dream to create an accounting firm that provided excellent accounting services for our clients while nurturing the careers and lives of the accountants who worked with those clients. It wasn’t about starting a business; it was about creating trusted and beneficial relationships.

Linda Top

PARTNER

michelle
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Michelle Kohlbush, CPA

Michelle has worked in the Portland metro area for over 30 years, joining Top Kohlbush + Hoem in 2003 because of its nurturing atmosphere and commitment to treating clients as more than just numbers on a page.

Her invaluable expertise in income tax preparation and review, estate planning, and compliance for individuals, nonprofit organizations, corporations, partnerships, trusts, and estates has gained her wide respect among industry leaders. She is a sought-out speaker on a range of tax topics, including fiduciary accounting for Oregon trusts and estates.

We try to make all our clients feel very important to us, so that requires a lot of interaction. We really get to know them as much as possible. That relationship helps us understand their pain points, and if any issues pop up, we have the background we need to address them.

Michelle Kohlbush

PARTNER

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Brendan Hoem

Brendan joined our firm in 2009 as Business Development Manager and staff accountant and became its Chief Operating Officer in 2012. A year later, he jumped at the chance to join Linda Top and Michelle Kohlbush as a partner, forming Top Kohlbush + Hoem and positioning it as one of Portland’s leading tax and accounting services firms.

Among Brendan’s many accomplishments since joining TK+H include launching our website, creating our first product brochure, and promoting the supportive team-oriented work environment that offers benefits to our staff and the clients we serve every day. His keen business acumen finds opportunities and efficiencies that allow us to maintain the highest standards of excellence our clients expect.

Brendan has served on the Oregon Society of Certified Public Accountants (OSCPA) Group Health Trust Board since 2019, recently elected to another three-year term.

I thoroughly enjoy working here because we care about our clients and servicing them at a higher standard than most accounting firms. We focus on staying modern and continuing to grow so we can offer our hands-on, caring service to as many clients as we can.

Brendan Hoem

PARTNER