Jeff Forrestall, CPA, CFF - Managing Partner
Jeff graduated from Buford High School in 1989 and subsequently graduated from 
Georgia Southern University in 1994 as a Distinguished Military Gradate with a BBA majoring in accounting.
He became a partner at Forrestall, Galeano & Li, LLC, in January 1997. He became the managing partner in 2003. His experience includes financial, small and mid-sized business accounting and taxation, merger and acquisitions, 401(k) retirement plan auditing and administration, business valuations and forensic accounting investigations. He has consulted and advised hundreds of businesses in dozens of industries.
He received his Diplomat of the American Board of Forensic Accountants (DABFA) designation, Associated Professional Member standing in the American Society of Pension Professionals, and his Certified Information Technology Professional (CITP) and Certified in Financial Forensics (CFF) credentials from the AICPA.
He is currently pursuing his Masters in Divinity from Mercer University's McAfee School of Theology.
He served abroad in the U.S. Army during the war with Afghanistan in 2001 - 2002, as a decorated Commissioned Infantry Officer.
He has served on the Board of Directors for the Georgia Society of CPA's since 1997. He has additionally served as the Chair and the Vice Chair of the Information Technology Section, President of the Gwinnett Chapter for the GSCPA for three terms, a trustee for the Society Insurance trust, a member of the Ethic Committee, member of the MAP section and several task force groups for the Georgia Society of CPA's.
He is a board member of the North Gwinnett Food Cooperative, a trustee for the Gwinnett Environmental Heritage Foundation, a board member for the North East Georgia Council for the Boy Scouts of America, a board member/trustee of the North Georgia Economic Development Corporation (North GA Small Business Administration (SBA) Board), board member of One World Adoption Agency, and a trustee of Georgia Gwinnett College.
He is an active member of the Gwinnett Chamber of Commerce, the American Society of Pension Professionals and Actuaries, American College of Forensic Examiners, Association of Certified Fraud Examiners, Georgia Society of CPA's, and the American Institute of CPA's.
He was recognized in 2002, by the Georgia Society of Certified Public Accountants (GSCPA), as one of the top 30 Certified Public Accountants (CPA) under the age of 40 in the State of Georgia as an alumnus of their Leadership Academy.
In February 2009, He was awarded the Gwinnett County Chamber of Commerce 2009 "Pinnacle Top 25" for demonstrating extraordinary growth and leadership in businesses and contributions to the community. Additionally, he is an alumnus of the 2007 Leadership Gwinnett program, sponsored by the Gwinnett Chamber of Commerce.
Javier Galeano, CPA, MBA, MSF - Partner
Javier became a partner at Forrestall, Galeano & Li, CPA, LLC, in June 2004. He is an industrial engineer with a Masters Degree in finance and also has a Masters Degree in Business Administration (MBA). In 2003, Javier started working with the Hispanic community in Georgia and has been teaching accounting in the Hispanic American Center for Economic Development (HACED), for Hispanic entrepreneurs. In 2004 Javier was recognized, by the Georgia Society of Certified Public Accountants (GSCPA), as one of the top 30 Certified Public Accountants (CPA) under the age of 40 in the State of Georgia. Javier is an alumnus of the 2004 Leadership Gwinnett sponsored by the Gwinnett Chamber of Commerce. He is a member of the Georgia Society of CPAs and the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA). Javier is fluent in both Spanish and English. Javier serves in the Board of Directors of Colombianitos, an organization that helps distressed children in Colombia. Javier also serves in the board of directors for the International Family Center, an institute that provides education to Latino Families about domestic violence in an effort to reduce it. During his free time Javier could easily be found spending time with his wife Schirli, and his kids Daniella, Nicholas and Mateo.
Roger LI, CPA - Partner
Roger is the partner overseeing our Tax practice. He received his Bachelors in Accounting from Marietta College in Ohio, and his Masters in Taxation from Georgia State University. He also attended the Institute of International Relations in Beijing, China, where he majored in International Economics.
Before joining Forrestall & Co., as a partner, Roger was a Tax Manager with Habif, Arogeti & Wynne, L.L.P. - the largest independent accounting firm in Georgia. He worked with small and mid-size corporate and individual clients on tax planning and tax compliance, specializing in state and local tax and international tax. He also consulted and advised businesses in claiming various Federal and State tax credits. Roger is fluent in English and Chinese, and he scored sixth highest of 3,000 candidates in the November, 1998, National Uniform Certified Public Accountants Exam in the State of Ohio.
Teresa Lei, CPA, MBA - Partner
Teresa Lei joined Forrestall, Galeano & Li, CPA, LLC as one of the partners in 2011. Before that, she ran her own CPA firm which was formed in 2004, providing primarily the controller-for-hire services for the small and medium sized companies. Her clients had been primarily inbound business investors, namely, the US business entities with foreign owners. The major industries she focused on are manufacturing and wholesale distribution, real estate, and professional services. She specializes in streamlining the internal accounting and reporting, accounting systems setup, and various financial analysis and forecasts. She is very proficient with various accounting applications such as QuickBooks and Peachtree Accounting, and uses the database knowledge extensively to provide various analysis reports for her clients regarding cost control, business forecast, and other financial reporting needs. By helping the management generate and understand the proper accounting data, the business can make better decisions and achieve better performance and growth.
Teresa received her MBA degree from Georgia Institute of Technology in 1998. Upon graduation, she joined Roedl Langford de Kock - a renowned regional public accounting firm and provided services extensively in audit, tax planning and preparation, consultation, and other accounting tasks. Before she came to the U.S., she was an interpreter with the Foreign Ministry of P.R. China. There, she enjoyed meeting various people from all over the world and helping them overcome the language difficulties and build up friendship and business cooperation with the Chinese counterparts.
Teresa is a member of AICPA and Georgia Society of CPAs. She is fluent in English and Chinese.
John Forrestall, CPA
Founder, Semi-retired
John Forrestall founded the Firm in 1978. He is a graduate of the University of Florida and is currently a Certified Public Accountant licensed in Georgia, Florida and Alabama. He has practiced public accounting for thirty-eight years. During his career, he served as the first audit supervisor for corporate income tax with the Florida Department of Revenue, designing and implementing their first tax audit program. He also spent four years in the private sector as a corporate controller in the construction industry and chief financial officer of a multi-state service corporation.
John has served as a trustee of the Insurance Trust of the Georgia Society of Public Accounts for fifteen years, five of them as Chair. He is a Past Lieutenant Governor of the 19th Division of the Kiwanis Club of Georgia and Past President and Director of the North Gwinnett Kiwanis Club. He was a participant in Senior Leadership Gwinnett sponsored by the Gwinnett Chamber of Commerce. He also served on the Ambassadors Council and the International Business Committee of the Gwinnett Chamber of Commerce. John is active in his church serving as Treasurer and serves on the finance committee of his homeowners association John graduated with a degree in Accounting from the University of Florida. He is a Certified Public Accountant in Georgia, Florida, and Alabama. He is the founder of the certified public accounting firm of Forrestall, Galeano & Li, CPA, LLC, founded in 1978. John continues to provide consulting and advisory assistance in the area of Estate and Gift Taxation and Planning.
