The future of child protection in financial planning

 

Thursday, Mar 05,2009, 12:14:44 PM   Click:

The future of child protection in financial planning

David M. Desmarais



What is the future of the CPA in the field of financial planning? The answer is the same as it was during the last 100 years. Although it has been since the 1980s that the PFP and Section PFS designation have been established by the AICPA, the CPA has always been a trusted advisor. They help clients plan their retirement, to fund the education of children, for their business efforts, and even for their holidays.

There are many cases where the accountant is a financial planner and May, it is not obvious to the client or adviser in real time. They help answer questions like "Should I rent or buy the car for business?" "Should I be protected from double taxation for municipal or corporate bonds?" "Can I I can retire in ten years? "The CPA, with its knowledge of their customer and beyond their tax situation is very well suited to rule on decisions based on these accounts.

Teamwork

The CPA is the trusted advisor and as such, he / she has the responsibility to remain objective and not have any conflict of interest. That is why it is a good idea to be part of an overall commitment of the team (and often the "fourth" of the team), but not the whole team. The CPA has many opportunities throughout the year - that this is the year-end tax planning, review of estate and trust documents, or tax compliance during the season -- to recognize problems and opportunities that can be brought to the attention of customers and sharing with other members of the engagement team's overall score.

Working with ultra-high-net-worth (UHNW) individuals in the group of private clients at my company, financial planning engagement team is composed of child protection, attorneys, financial advisors, insurance and professionals working together to provide the client with a complete and comprehensive plan to manage their wealth accumulation, preservation and transfer. This type of engagement team when it comes to financial planning that the customer receives outstanding service and quality advice based on the expertise of each person. Each team member's commitment brings the professional competence of their own area, and we all work together so that clients' financial planning needs are considered from all angles.

Does this mean that the management of financial planning for your clients? It certainly did not. Many CPA firms have developed their practices in recent years to include services of investment management, but to make law requires huge investments of time and capital to make a practical skill, competence and infrastructure online. Even in this case there are still questions of jurisdiction; UHNW client does trust to millions (or billions) of dollars from a CPA firm that has little or no background in financial management? "Trust is the keyword. As the trusted advisor, the CPA should be the goal consigliore, the practice of professional skepticism. How can this be done efficiently in the management of a client is often a full time job itself?

What will the future of the CPA in the field of financial planning? As the trusted advisor who can review a client's overall portfolio and compare the performance of other portfolios of clients, the CPA can advise clients about what they need to be looking for a financial advisor.