Your run-of-the-mill tax and finance practitioners won't cut it anymore.
Today’s clients expect and deserve proactive, knowledgeable practitioners who understand not only the technicalities of accounting and law, but also the nuances of their individual clients’ businesses and sometimes personal finance situations.
This article by AccountingTechnology is about a bookkeeper with a music degree, and his ability to give his clients the right answers regarding finances and taxes by leveraging technology and a chronological overview. The bookkeeper’s clients have asked him if they can pay bonuses in the current tax year. He is able to quickly call up stored financial data to produce a rough year over year analysis to determine that the business is more profitable in the current year so paying a bonus is feasible, in fact he advises them they are “good to go”.
A More Strategic, Forensic and Forward-Thinking Approach
As a practitioner I would advise extreme caution in relying on your bookkeeper’s bare numerical assessment when deciding to make a big decision like paying bonuses. The decision to pay or not pay a bonus is exceptionally complex and produces tax effects for the business and each individual. Having a bookkeeper tell you the money is there is about 10% of what you need to know. Always surround yourself with qualified advisers. Here at Five Stone Tax we are technically and personally knowledgeable about our clients’ situation, we won’t stop after we tell you the money is there.
