In 1985, Hyeongno Lee sparked his accounting career by receiving the Elijah Watt Sells Award for completing the CPA exam with the highest scores among all 8,075 candidates in New York State. He passed the accounting practice, audit, law, and theory with respective scores of 94, 95, 96, and 99.

He began at KPMG New York as an auditor for clients such as Citibank and LG Electronics, growing his professional skills and knowledge. Afterwards, he built his own client practice from scratch at Seil LLP by providing services in addition to tax and advisory – including management consulting, accounting system upgrades, and enhancing internal controls. Seil LLP was a cornerstone businesses of New York City’s Koreatown and helped develop the landmark status with early clients, such as the original H Mart.

Seil LLP has now relocated to Fort Lee, New Jersey and continues to provide the same full-service experience for clients alongside Semyung LLP. Along with the handling compliance issues, the firm has successfully defended against government audits ranging from the IRS for personal and corporate taxes to State departments for labor and sales tax. Experience with employment cases include assessments for time and salary, minority representation, as well as unemployment.

Hyeongno Lee also has served the community as the former president of the New York Korean-American Jaycees, and is currently on the board of KAYAC, a nonprofit organization sending Korean-American students to South Korea for cultural growth. He also serves the Woori America Bank board. For his cultural and humanitarian efforts, he was recognized with the Ellis Island Medal of Honor in 2019.