Traits of an accountant?

[stellardoc1]

Being a resident and fellow was easy during tax time, Turbo Tax and about 60 minutes of time would be sufficient.

Being a new attending, house, kids and more money is a problem when it comes to tax time. What would seasoned attendings here recommend in regards to hiring an accountant, fees etc. I basically want someone who can answer questions and provide guidance in regards to property investment income, other types of family-related queries/tax implications of investment choices etc rather than just do my taxes every year.

What are the tips of finding that right accountant?

What are the typical fees structures?

Any blog post that you can guide me to?

There is a lot of information about financial advisers here but not much in regards to accountants.

Thanks

[Scott at MD Financial Services]

Talk to Johanna, she is on WCI all the time and they have an accounting department.

[Dreamgiver]

I second the recommendation above.

Another place to start is by asking around in your practice and see what other docs do. I started with a CPA who was good but extremely conservative, a bit too much for me. Now I have somebody who is much more comfortable being in some gray areas (like legitimate home office deductions, legitimate business expenses, and such). Then there are some that, in conjunction with attorneys, will push the limits to lower your tax rate as much as possible and follow the outcome of litigation involving the IRS so they can sit right on the other side of the line.

Have you watched "The Accountant?" Pretty good movie.

[jfoxcpacfp]

Thanks, guys! stellardoc1, this blog post, How to Find a Great CPA, on WCI might be helpful.

[Craigy]

You want someone who has a very boring personality and spends his or her spare time reading the CFRs.

[jfoxcpacfp]

Craigy wrote:

You want someone who has a very boring personality and spends his or her spare time reading the CFRs.

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I think you just insulted me  :cry:  

[Craigy]

jfoxcpacfp wrote:

Craigy wrote:

You want someone who has a very boring personality and spends his or her spare time reading the CFRs.

Click to expand…

I think you just insulted me    

Click to expand...

And myself  :lol:  :cry:

[jz]

My acquaintances in the agricultural and real estate wheelhouses seem to have accountants with strong  specialty recommendations.  My medical niche accountants have been focused on maximizing retirement,.............and that's it. Accountants are not RIAs.

[djohnflatfeecfp]

Be sure to get one that fits your needs.  So many of my clients picked their accountants because they did their tax returns, but never wanted nor expected their accountants to do year-round tax planning for them, which they needed.  Also, be sure to get any potential conflicts of interest laid out by your accountant.  In my neck of the woods most larger CPA firms have a financial incentive to send their clients to financial advisory companies they have a financial interest in (revenue sharing).  Some are better than others when disclosing this potential conflict.

[jfoxcpacfp]

Craigy wrote:

jfoxcpacfp wrote: Craigy wrote: You want someone who has a very boring personality and spends his or her spare time reading the CFRs. I think you just insulted me

Click to expand… And myself

Click to expand...

I have suspected you of being one of our ilk but I don't think you've ever come out of the closet. Are you or aren't you  8-) ?

[Hatton]

I have 2 accountants.  One does my personal taxes and a little planning.  The other is a small business accountant.

[MPMD]

1. I would not jump to saying that you need an accountant due to kids or a mortgage. Both of these things are really easy to tackle in TurboTax. I'm not a tax genius and I'm handling a much more complicated return that that (IC/1099 work, K1 earnings for wife etc). That said I have help from....

2. Johanna's accountant Laura is really pretty awesome. I paid her for about 2 hours of time last year just to bounce questions off her and it has been worth twice what I paid for the advice. Was in kind of a weird situation that had me sort of spooked and she was able to really help me break it down. She's been keeping kind of a running total of how much of my time I've used and I just used her for another question recently about my solo 401k. She's obviously incredibly knowledgeable. From talking to my family and friends I get very shocked and a little spooked by how many CPAs don't seem to understand basic aspects of tax planning for high earning professionals. If you're doing taxes for a doc and you've never heard of the backdoor IRA or you screw up estimating quarterly taxes on IC income, I'm headed in a different direction. At some point in the future if I decide to have someone else prepare my return it will be Laura.

 

So in summary, a really nice intermediate step is to do your own with some professional backup.

[jfoxcpacfp]

MPMD wrote:

1. I would not jump to saying that you need an accountant due to kids or a mortgage. Both of these things are really easy to tackle in TurboTax. I’m not a tax genius and I’m handling a much more complicated return that that (IC/1099 work, K1 earnings for wife etc). That said I have help from….

2. Johanna’s accountant Laura is really pretty awesome. I paid her for about 2 hours of time last year just to bounce questions off her and it has been worth twice what I paid for the advice. Was in kind of a weird situation that had me sort of spooked and she was able to really help me break it down. She’s been keeping kind of a running total of how much of my time I’ve used and I just used her for another question recently about my solo 401k. She’s obviously incredibly knowledgeable. From talking to my family and friends I get very shocked and a little spooked by how many CPAs don’t seem to understand basic aspects of tax planning for high earning professionals. If you’re doing taxes for a doc and you’ve never heard of the backdoor IRA or you screw up estimating quarterly taxes on IC income, I’m headed in a different direction. At some point in the future if I decide to have someone else prepare my return it will be Laura.

 

So in summary, a really nice intermediate step is to do your own with some professional backup.

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Thank you so much. I will make sure Laura sees this  

[childay]

MPMD wrote:

From talking to my family and friends I get very shocked and a little spooked by how many CPAs don’t seem to understand basic aspects of tax planning for high earning professionals. If you’re doing taxes for a doc and you’ve never heard of the backdoor IRA or you screw up estimating quarterly taxes on IC income, I’m headed in a different direction. At some point in the future if I decide to have someone else prepare my return it will be Laura.

Click to expand...

Yes I had to teach my CPA about the backdoor roth.  And the 529 state tax deduction..

He did go to some course this year and says they had a big section in the book on backdoor roths for the first time.

[Craigy]

jfoxcpacfp wrote:

Craigy wrote:

jfoxcpacfp wrote: Craigy wrote: You want someone who has a very boring personality and spends his or her spare time reading the CFRs. I think you just insulted me

Click to expand… And myself

Click to expand…

I have suspected you of being one of our ilk but I don’t think you’ve ever come out of the closet. Are you or aren’t you   ?

Click to expand...

I am an estate planning attorney with an accounting degree.   Aka a very boring person.  8-)