About CLE
Who We Are
Operating a successful business takes an enormous amount of time and energy. As a small-business owner or leader of a religious organization or not for profit, you have many responsibilities to ensure that your business is profitable and successful. But you don’t have to do it alone. CLE Consulting Firm can provide accounting, bookkeeping, outsourced controllership, tax services and more to meet the fiscal needs of your organization. Our goal and commitment is to complement your existing resources and provide the support necessary to help you grow your business, make informed financial decisions, and feel confident in the accuracy of your financial information.
Testimonial
“CLE Consulting Firm has provided financial services for Union Miles Development Corporation and its affiliates for a year now. This firm has helped the organization to become more financially efficient within all aspects of the agency. CLE has been able to place us on an even playing field, prior to that, we were on a slippery slope. Their advice and direction has been an invaluable tool to such a vulnerable organization that has struggled for many, many years on the South East side of Cleveland. CLE Consulting Firm is not only UMDC accounting firm, but a true partner, that allows the agency to provide services to the neighborhood, while being financially stable. As the Executive Director of UMDC for 3 years, hiring this firm was the best decision I could have ever made.”
-Roshawn Sample, Union Miles
Our Accounting & Professional services include:
Tax Preparation & Planning
CLE specializes in tax preparation for individuals and small businesses.
Staff Picture at Top Golf Outing
Meltrice Sharp, CPA
Managing Partner
Meltrice D. Sharp, CPA, has more than 16 years as a Certified Public Accountant. Meltrice has extensive knowledge and experience in the areas of accounting, tax, management and finance.
Meltrice started her accounting career at Ernst & Young as an auditor for four years prior to joining Forest City Enterprises where she served in a variety of accounting and finance positions for 13 years. Meltrice received her BBA with a concentration in Accounting from Kent State University and her MBA from Baldwin-Wallace University. She is an Adjunct Instructor at Cuyahoga Community College where she teaches a variety of accounting courses.
Meltrice serves on the Executive Team as Treasurer and Finance Chair of the Black Professional Association Charitable Foundation (BPACF) and serves as a member of the Business Advisory Committee for Cuyahoga Community College. Meltrice devotes a significant amount of her personal time civically, giving back to her community. She attends Faith Fellowship Church and is a loving and devoted wife, mother and grandmother
LARESE PURNELL, MBA
Managing Partner
LaRese Purnell has 18 years of experience in business management, tax, finance. He is the current co-owner and Managing Partner of CLE Consulting Firm an Accounting, Tax and Payroll company located in downtown Cleveland. He is a strong innovative financial and strategic leader with both instincts and intellect, a formidable combination in the business world. He has served in executive positions leading business and financial departments within multi-million dollar for profit and non-profit corporations.
LaRese received MBA in Finance from the University of Toledo. He is currently pursuing his Master’s in Accountancy in Corporate Taxation from John Carroll University, with an expected completion date of December 2020. LaRese is committed to the community and its residents, so he serves on the following Board of Directors as the 2nd VP for the YMCA of Greater Cleveland, The Cleveland Clinic South Pointe Hospital, Cleveland Public Library Foundation, the Treasurer of the NAACP Cleveland Branch and the Treasurer for The Council for Economic Opportunities in Greater Cleveland (CEOGC) and USS Cleveland Legacy Foundation.
He’s the author of Financial Foundations, Building Financial Freedom One Tool at a Time, where he uses everyday language to address the most fundamental questions people have about money. He has traveled to over 35-40 cities nationally to teach financial literacy at various conventions, seminars, colleges and universities and various other events. He has been featured in various local and national publications and has appeared on multiple radio and television programs discussing various Financial matters. Outside of work, LaRese stays busy spending time with his son (Gaven) and daughter (Gabbi), playing sports and traveling.
