Audit Your CPA? Finding and hiring a tax strategist for your business…

I spoke with a prospective client recently who said that they had been with their accountant for 20 years!

I had just given a tax strategy presentation and he was blown away by the strategies I was sharing!

“Why didn’t my guy tell me about these things?”

“If that one strategy could save me $5,000 a year then I’ve overpaid on my taxes by $100,000 in the last 20 years!”

His shock was incredible. 

So, we dove into his situation and discovered that it was closer to $25,000 a year that he could (and should) be saving.

$25,000 A YEAR! For 20 years… That’s a half a million dollars. Kinda mind numbing if you think of that.

When we dove into the “Why” behind why he kept with his current accountant, he said “I don’t know, I assumed that because he was my CPA that he had all the bases covered. I had no idea that there were this many gaps.”

Now there’s lots to unpack with this scenario and some of those things are addressed in our blog post “Tax Preparer vs. Tax Strategist”. But for the moment, let’s focus on this:

What can you do NOW to “audit” your CPA.

Start here…

The first question you need to ask yourself is “Am I to blame for what I’m paying in taxes?”

That may sound harsh, but honestly, tax savings start with you. 

Your accountant is not with you every moment of every day.

Only you know the intimate details of your business and ultimately you are responsible for the tax bill. Tax strategy is a “team” effort and that starts with your efforts.

Do you meet with your CPA at any time during the year other than tax time?

Do you keep your books and records current on a monthly basis?

Do you spend time during the year examining your financial situation and make proactive plans?

If the answers are “No, no, and no to these questions, then you’re playing a larger role in your tax situation than you may believe.

Questions You Need To Ask Your CPA:

Key questions to ask your accountant can be:

• What can I do to pay less in taxes legitimately?
• What tax strategies are specific to my niche?
• What tax strategies are specific to my income range?
• What can I do to be proactive about reducing my taxes? 

Good But Basic Answers

If you get answers like these then you’re likely working with a tax preparer verses a tax strategist:

“Make larger estimated payments” are not reducing your taxes. That’s paying more in to have a smaller bill at the tax deadline.

“Buy more equipment” for write offs is a legitimate answer but I’m often told by clients who are growing in their business “I don’t need any more equipment and it seems like I’m being told to buy more stuff. I don’t want to spend money on stuff I don’t need.”

“Contribute more to your retirement accounts” is also a legitimate answer and not enough tax payers fully maximize their “future planning” opportunities to save for retirement. This is a pretty basic “tax planning” strategy and there are many more opportunities and you want a tax advisor to help you reach beyond the “basics.”

Tax Planning Stepped Up!

The best question you can ask of your tax advisor is:

“How do you methodically and systematically aid your clients in discovering and implementing tax strategies in a consistent manner?”

I routinely meet both amazing and highly qualified professionals who do fantastic work.

Yet, when I ask them that exact question they don’t have a systematic approach.

I bring up one or two basic tax strategies and they often tell me that they are aware of that or have done that with a client in the past.

Then I ask what I consider to be the million dollar question… “Do you help all of your business owner clients execute this basic strategy?”

I have yet to hear a CPA answer “yes” to this question.

You see, the government has a system that is ruthlessly efficient at overwhelming small businesses and taking their hard earned profits in the form of taxes.

Fight back with a system of your own.

The Tax Reduction University or TRU Tax Savings System is designed to

Educate you and provide the knowledge you need to save money on taxes,

Evaluate that knowledge and understand how it applies to your fact pattern, and

Execute on that knowledge with clear and actionable steps to achieve results.

Change the way you view taxes forever and STOP wasting money on taxes!