Finding Faith in the Accounting World
Zachary Stern Relies on Lessons He Learned at Lander College for Men to Build His Own Boutique Tax Accounting Firm
As co-owner of LST Consultants, a boutique tax firm, Zachary Stern brings the expertise of the Big Four accounting firms to his clients at a fraction of the price. His success is built on a foundation of faith, hard work, and the unique education he received at Lander College for Men (LCM), which he credits for equipping him with the tools and values to excel in his career.
“I was coming back from my second year of yeshiva in Israel, and I was very into learning,” Stern recalled. “I wanted to get a degree but not sacrifice the progress I had made in my learning. LCM doesn’t shy away from its core Torah principles or from the importance of secular education and its accompanying credentials. That’s what makes it unique and gave me a solid foundation.”
Initially considering law school, Stern began his studies in 2008, during the global financial crisis. Observing the contraction in the legal field, he pivoted to accounting, following in the footsteps of his father, a successful accountant. Stern quickly excelled, landing an internship that led to a full-time position at Deloitte, one of the Big Four accounting firms.
“It was intense and interesting,” Stern said of his time at Deloitte. Within two years, he was named one of the firm’s top performers and promoted to senior tax associate. Reflecting on his experience, Stern credited LCM for instilling in him a strong work ethic. “I came from LCM without a chip on my shoulder. My coworkers were from Ivy Leagues such as Wharton and NYU, and I knew I had to prove myself. LCM and Touro graduates had a reputation for being high performers because we felt we had something to prove. While others came in and left, we put in the most work, and the firm got the most bang for their buck.”
Stern’s technical skills also stood out. At Deloitte, he leveraged his expertise in Excel to create programs that automated many of the manual tasks his colleagues were performing. “It helped keep accounting costs low and took a lot of the monotony out of the job,” he explained. The experience planted the seeds for the innovative systems he would later build for his own firm.
After three years at Deloitte, Stern joined Ernst & Young’s more robust tax department, where he gained exposure to a broader range of engagements. “They put me on rotational assignments during downtime, which gave me exposure to audits and anti-money laundering investigations,” he said. One memorable engagement involved working with the one of the nation’s largest credit card processors. “It was the belly of the beast,” he said.
By 2016, the relentless pace of the Big Four began to take its toll. “I was very disillusioned with the hours and the pay,” Stern admitted. “Plus, the nature of our office changed, and we lost a lot of the camaraderie we once had.” Seeking balance, Stern’s rabbi helped him secure a part-time position with a real estate accounting firm while he debated going to law school.
In 2018, Mazars, a mid-sized multi-national accounting firm, reached out to Stern for a hybrid role. At Mazars, Stern honed his skills in tax strategy and software development, taking on increasingly complex client projects. Word of his expertise spread, and referrals from friends and clients began to grow. Eventually, Stern landed his biggest client, serving as an outsourced CFO for a large healthcare partnership. This milestone gave him the confidence to consider branching out on his own.
When the COVID-19 pandemic hit, Mazars downsized, doubling Stern’s workload. Faced with the choice to remain or focus on building his own practice, Stern remembered the lessons he absorbed from his LCM rabbeim. “Many of my rabbeim at LCM spoke about the need for hishtadlus, to put in the effort. Had I not had those hundreds of hours of Torah learning with my rabbeim, I don’t think I would have had the strength to walk away from a six-figure salary with great benefits to start my own firm. No Ivy League education or acronym attached to my name would have given me that courage. It was my faith that carried me.”
Together with his brother, Stern founded LST Consultants, a boutique tax advisory and accounting firm. The firm specializes in tax strategy, helping clients structure their businesses to minimize tax burdens. It also offers bookkeeping and other accounting services, catering to a growing portfolio of real estate clients. Stern’s brother, a CFO of a real estate conglomerate, complements the team with his deep expertise in that space.
“My path was not always smooth, and there were many bumps and dips,” Stern reflected. “But the Torah I learned from the amazing rabbeim at LCM carried me through, without a doubt.”
