Expert Advice: ADKF

Surround Yourself with a Team of Professionals

By Ashley Brand, CPA, ADKF Partner

Behind every person or business are relationships. Relationships with customers or clients, employees, vendors, partners, healthcare providers, family, friends, community, and so on. It is through our relationships that we function as a society. Our relationships build us up or tear us down. Properly maintained relationships require our time, effort, and effective communication. When it comes to developing a well-rounded and successful financial, business, or estate plan, the relationships developed with a certified public accountant (CPA), attorney, and financial advisor are essential, and facilitating communication between them is key.

Why you need a CPA

The relationship you develop with your CPA should ensure that you remain compliant and current on your tax obligations amongst ever-changing tax laws and regulations and increasing complexity. Your CPA will work with you to strategize how to minimize your overall tax burden and should be consulted through the various stages of your life or your entity’s life cycle. This includes planning for college, retirement, estate, buying or selling a business, and everything in between. A CPA also provides audit, accounting, or bookkeeping support and consults in financial planning, forecasting, and cash flow management.

Why you need an attorney

Legal procedures and filings can be complicated, and missed deadlines and filings can have detrimental ramifications. The relationship developed with your attorney will enable them to draft contracts and agreements properly and in a manner that protects you against potential lawsuits. Attorneys aid in your understanding of various business structures and guide you in selecting the correct one. A specialized attorney is essential for effective estate planning, which includes drafting wills, trust agreements, and consulting to mitigate potential estate taxes. If you encounter family law issues and civil or criminal law matters, you will want a qualified attorney to guide you through those issues.

Why you need a financial advisor

It takes time to make good financial decisions and properly manage your investments, to know where you currently stand financially, and understand what you will need in the future. Most people do not have the time or skill required to research and make effective investment decisions. If you are unsure about any of these areas, you should build a relationship with a financial adviser. They will help you budget and set goals, plan for your children’s college and your retirement, help you understand your

insurance needs, contribute to your estate plan, and guide you in your investment decisions.

Get your team of professionals talking

Now that you know the value each of these professionals can provide, it is important to facilitate building relationships among them so together they can help you build better financial, business, or estate plans. Each of these professionals focuses on giving the best tax, legal and financial advice they can give within their specialties and from their point of view, but it is in collaboration with each other that the full picture comes into view and better outcomes are achieved. One example is when your financial advisor recommends obtaining a life insurance policy. Your CPA knows this policy would improve your estate plan and recommends you place the policy in an irrevocable life insurance trust (ILIT). An attorney is now needed to draw up the trust document. This is a basic example. Another example is when you are starting a business. There are both tax, legal and financial areas of consideration when embarking on such an endeavor, so your team of professionals should all be included at the table when making these critical decisions. There are many other business relationships that should also be developed, maintained, and included in strategic planning discussions and decisions, such as bankers, insurance providers, human capital consultants, etc. When you surround yourself with a team of professionals, you increase your chances for financial success because, as Helen Keller said, “Alone we can do so little; together we can do so much.”

ADKF is the largest, locally-owned public accounting firm in San Antonio, Texas, with branch offices in Boerne and New Braunfels. We have been serving our community since 1991. We are a full-service CPA firm dedicated to providing a broad range of tax, audit, accounting, tax controversy, valuation, and consulting services with superior customer service to help our clients meet their goals and objectives.

Please visit adkf.com or call (210) 829-1300 to set an appointment with us.