Edward Torres, CPA

Ed Torres grew up knowing two things: he would have to put himself through college, and he wanted a career in business. Baruch College was the natural choice—affordable, highly ranked, and widely respected in the business community. Once enrolled, Ed discovered that accounting was Baruch's strongest program, and in true form, he refused to settle for anything less than the best. He graduated in 1985 with a Bachelor of Business Administration (BBA) in Accounting.

Not content to stop there, Ed immediately pursued the highest credential in the accounting profession—the Certified Public Accountant (CPA) license. After passing the rigorous CPA exam, he had the foundation to build a career that would span four decades.

Even as he rose through the ranks of city government, Ed was quietly building something of his own. It started simply enough: friends and colleagues needed help with their taxes, and Ed—always the sharpest person in the room when it came to numbers—was happy to help. Those early 1040 forms, filed by hand on carbon paper out of a college apartment bedroom, were the seeds of what would become ETCPA.

By 1989–1990, the informal arrangements had outgrown his apartment. Ed opened his first official office on Rockaway Boulevard in South Ozone Park, Queens—and his entrepreneurial instincts kicked in immediately. He printed business cards, walked the floor of a local flea market (a former Times Square store that had converted to small retail), and introduced himself to every business owner he could find. He handed out roughly 20 cards that afternoon and came back with 10 new clients. Several of those original clients remain with ETCPA to this day.

In 2012, Ed formalized the business as a professional corporation—ETCPA PC—creating the legal structure needed to grow a full-service accounting firm capable of serving both individual and business clients at scale.

Over its history, ETCPA has served an estimated 15,000 clients as a corporation, with Ed personally involved in the preparation or review of somewhere between 15,000 and 100,000 tax returns throughout his career. Business clients represent approximately one-third of the firm's practice, with the remainder serving individuals and families.

The firm has remained on the cutting edge of an ever-changing tax landscape. When sweeping tax code changes in 2018 dramatically complicated the filing process for everyday Americans—contrary to the promises of simplicity—ETCPA was ready. Through active involvement in the AICPA and the New York State Society of CPAs, Ed and his team have stayed ahead of every major development, from the elimination of exemptions and deductions to new rules for overtime pay and tip income.

Modern technology has also played a central role in ETCPA's evolution. The firm operates in a fully digital environment, serving clients remotely and in-person, and leverages digital marketing to continue growing its reach.

Ed Torres built ETCPA on a simple but powerful belief: that great accounting is about more than numbers—it's about trust, relationships, and genuinely helping people navigate some of the most complex and consequential decisions of their lives. That philosophy has guided him from his first apartment-bedroom office to a firm that has served tens of thousands of clients across four decades.

When advising fellow CPAs considering opening their own practices, Ed is known for sharing everything he knows—and then telling them not to follow his path. Not because the path wasn't good, but because the world has changed. Brick-and-mortar is no longer enough. Today's clients expect to work in a digital, remote-first environment, and any firm built for the future must be built for that reality.