Richard Scheltinga graduated Phi Beta Kappa/Magna Cum Laude from UCLA in 1973 in Economics. From there he went to Loyola Law School earning a JD in 1976 and being admitted to the California State Bar the same year.

After graduating, he worked for a short while in a Century City law firm, but didn’t care for practicing law. So, he went back to school at night to get additional accounting classes so he could sit for the CPA exam. Ultimately, he became a CPA and started his career in the tax department at Ernst and Young in 1976.

Although he enjoyed tax work, he was concerned that he would be pigeonholed into a specialized tax area and would spend the rest of his career doing the same thing every day with no variation. He received a call from a headhunter indicating there was an opportunity in the tax department of a business management firm called Gelfand, Breslauer, Rennert and Feldman. He really didn’t know anything about business management but what appealed to him is the diversity of the work from taxes to investments to analysis of contracts and budgeting clients, the work sounded extremely interesting.

So, he left Ernst and Young in 1978 and joined GBRF. Before long, he left the tax department and became a manager in a business management department. He loved the work and the interaction with clients. It was even more interesting than he anticipated. He never anticipated having to count seats at a client’s performance to make sure the client received the right amount of money for a performance.

After the writer’s strike, GBRF broke up and in 1980, Mort joined the firm of Singer, Lewak, Greenbaum and Goldstein as manager of their business management department. A few years later in 1983, he became a partner of that firm. Although he thought his career was now set in stone, he became disillusioned. As a partner, his primary purpose was to bring in business. And the partners who brought in the most business made the most money. Once a new client was added to the firm, the client was handled by staff and the partner went off to try to land more clients. One year the managing partner determined that the firm added a lot of business, but actually lost more than was added. Mort felt that clients came first and that your business should grow on the basis the quality of your work, not on your ability to sell yourself.

During his tenure at SLG&G, a young man by the name of Gary Schneider joined SLG&G and even though young, he had that same philosophy. The client and the work comes first. One day he asked to have lunch with Mort and sensing that Mort had become a little disillusioned with the philosophy at SLG&G, suggested that if Mort were ever to want to go out on his own, he wanted to go with him.

In 1985, Mort and Gary started Kessler, Schneider and Co, Inc. They started with two bookkeepers and a secretary and 10 clients. But, they brought in clients the right way and the firm grew and thrived. The quality of the work and caring about the clients first was the foundation which is still the case to this day.

A couple of years ago, after nearly 40 years in the business, Mort with the support of his partners decided to wind down and take a reduced role in the firm to enjoy life a little more and work less. He still is there as an advisor and is still relied upon by his clients he’s handled for so many years. But, the day to day matters are now the province of his capable partners.

Kristine began her career in Business Management in 2004 at the entry level, starting as an assistant at a firm in Westwood while attending UCLA. She graduated with a bachelor’s degree in Biochemistry in 2005 and originally planned to take some time off from school and work for a few years before heading off to medical school. 

After graduating, she worked part time on the UCLA Heart & Lung Transplant Team and began working fulltime at the Business Management office. With the additional time and focus on Business Management, Kristine started attracting her own clients and was promoted into an Account Manager role.

After working for a few years at both jobs, nights/early mornings at the hospital and days at the Business Management office, Kristine decided she needed to make a career decision. Although she always thought she would go to medical school, she enjoyed working in Business Management. The variety of work interested her and she had the desire to delve deeper into the field, deciding to focus her efforts on a career in Business Management and resigning from the UCLA Transplant Team.  

After seven years at the firm in Westwood, Kristine wanted to move on to a larger company with greater opportunity for growth and experience. She interviewed at many firms but decided that Kessler Schneider & Co was the right fit for her. The people really sold her on the place!  

Nine years later, Kristine feels that the move to KSCO was the best decision she ever made. She has thrived at the firm, taking on the biggest production account, and seeing them grow from 5 employees to more than 150 employees. And it didn’t stop there, as she now has a desk full of clients that she manages and provides top-notch service for. She has also stepped up at KSCO and taken over the HR responsibilities and is always willing to help fellow employees.

In 2019 she was promoted to Principal at Kessler Schneider & Scheltinga in recognition of all of her efforts.

Catherine Howard, CPA, has 16 years of public accounting experience providing tax compliance and consulting services to a wide range of clients. Her experience includes corporate taxation, Limited Liability Companies, partnership taxation, family-owned and closely-held businesses, high-net-worth individuals, and state and local taxation. She also represents clients before the Internal Revenue Service, the Franchise Tax Board, and other state tax authorities.

Before coming to Kessler Schneider & Scheltinga in 2012, Catherine obtained her bachelor’s degree in History from California State University, Northridge, bound for law school. However, after working in accounting firms while attending school she found that she enjoyed it and decided to pursue an accounting career instead. She re-enrolled at her alma mater and completed the required business and accounting classes to sit for the CPA exam. During this time, she participated in the study abroad program and transferred to the University of Twente, in the Netherlands, where she also held an internship at KPMG.

After completing courses at the University of Twente and Northridge, Catherine spent eight years working in small and midsize public accounting firms where she gained experience in taxation focusing on individuals, as well as the manufacturing, real estate, and environmental industries. In 2012 she joined Kessler Schneider & Co where she was promoted to Director of Tax Department in 2017 and then to Principal in 2020.

Catherine’s client list includes all facets of the entertainment industry including producers, writers, performers, and industry-related companies. In addition to running the firm’s tax department, her other responsibilities include tax compliance and representation, budgets, assists with home purchases and refinances, and consulting, just, to name a few.

Joining Kessler Schneider & Scheltinga is one of the best business decisions she’s made in her life. Not only did she start a great career in business management but also joined a team that has become like family. She enjoys helping her clients and working in the exciting and dynamic field of entertainment.

When Catherine is not working, you will find her spending time with her husband and their two young sons.

A third-generation Business Manager born and raised in Los Angeles, Jason Schneider always had a premonition that he’d eventually gravitate to business management, but took a slightly more circuitous route than most accountants. With a Sports Management degree from the University of Michigan, Jason interned at CAA Sports and later moved to Phoenix, AZ to work for the Arizona Cardinals. A career in sports was a childhood dream, but it was his experience working at a newly formed, boutique talent and literary agency called Verve that shifted his focus away from sports and toward Hollywood. He was attracted to the vivaciousness and energy of the burgeoning entertainment company but realized that the finance aspect of the industry suited him better than the deal-making. So Jason followed the fabled mythological tale of the hero’s journey in the spring of 2014 and ventured to Kessler, Schneider & Scheltinga, the firm that his father had founded 28 years prior. Now licensed with a CPA and Master’s degree in Taxation, Jason’s clientele includes actors, showrunners, producers, and other individuals within the entertainment industry. He also represents prominent management companies and agencies including Verve, in true Hollywood fashion.

Jason’s corporate clients rely heavily on him for counsel as it pertains to budgeting, personnel decisions, and debt financing. His skillset encompasses more than just tax and accounting; he advises clients on investment opportunities, real estate transactions, and insurance matters. When he’s not busy working, Jason can be found at his local high school where he rents out the basketball gym every Tuesday night or in his backyard reading a classic fiction novel.

Mort Kessler graduated Phi Beta Kappa/Magna Cum Laude from UCLA in 1973 in Economics. From there he went to Loyola Law School earning a JD in 1976 and being admitted to the California State Bar the same year.

After graduating, he worked for a short while in a Century City law firm but didn’t care for practicing law. He decided to go back to school at night to take additional accounting classes so he could sit for the CPA exam. Ultimately, he became a CPA and started his career in the tax department at Ernst and Young in 1976.

Although he enjoyed tax work, he was concerned that he would be pigeonholed into a specialized tax area and would spend the rest of his career doing the same thing every day with no variation.  He received a call from a headhunter indicating there was an opportunity in the tax department of a Business Management firm called Gelfand, Breslauer, Rennert and Feldman. He really didn’t know anything about Business Management but what appealed to him is the diversity of the work from taxes to investments to analysis of contracts and budgeting clients, the work sounded extremely interesting.

He left Ernst and Young in 1978 and joined GBRF. Before long, he left the tax department and became a manager in the Business Management department. He loved the work and the interaction with clients. It was even more interesting than he envisioned. He never anticipated having to count seats at a client’s performance to make sure the client received the right amount of money for a performance.

After the Actor’s strike, GBRF broke up and in 1980, Mort joined the firm of Singer, Lewak, Greenbaum and Goldstein as manager of their Business Management department. A few years later in 1983, he became a partner of that firm. Although he thought his career was now set in stone, he became curious about his newfound situation. As a partner, his primary purpose was to bring in business and most of the client work was handled by staff members. Mort felt that clients came first and that a business should grow based on the quality of work, not on the ability to sell yourself.

During his tenure at SLG&G, a young man by the name of Gary Schneider joined SLG&G and even though young, he had that same philosophy. The client and the work came first. One day the two of them began talks about starting their own firm based on their shared philosophy.

In 1985, Mort and Gary started Kessler, Schneider and Co, Inc. They started with two bookkeepers and a secretary and 10 clients. But they brought in clients the right way and the firm grew and thrived. The quality of the work and caring about the clients first was the foundation and still is the case to this day.

A couple of years ago, after nearly 40 years in the business, Mort with the support of his partners decided to wind down and take a reduced role in the firm to enjoy life a little more and work less. He still is there as an advisor and is still relied upon by his clients he’s handled for so many years. But the day-to-day matters are now the province of his capable partners.

He retains his CPA status but under the designation of inactive, the same status he retains as an attorney.