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AICPA Personal Financial Planning (PFP)
How CPAs Are Shaping the Future of Financial Planning with Jimmy Williams
00:24:32
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- [00:00]
A
I'm Carey Sinnett and this is your personal financial planning podcast. For decades, CPAs have been the trusted guardians of financial accuracy and tax compliance. But today, the profession is undergoing a transformation, a metamorphosis. Clients aren't just looking for tax returns and audits. They want clarity, strategy and guidance through life's biggest financial decisions. Welcome to the AICPA's Personal Financial Planning Podcast. I'm Carey Sinnett. As the manager of the PFS designation, the financial planning credential exclusively available to CPAs, my role is to keep you informed, educated and connected to a premier community of thought leaders delivering trusted financial planning. We explore the full range of planning topics and the current events shaping our profession. If you're an advisor, a CPA financial planner, or simply want an inside look at today's topic of the evolution of the cpa, this podcast is for you. Today's guest is Jimmy Williams, a seasoned CPA financial planner who has spent more than three decades guiding entrepreneurs, self employed individuals and closely held businesses through every stage of their financial journey. He's the creator of the Life Plan Solution, a five step process that blends tax expertise with comprehensive planning to give clients clarity, confidence and direction. Jimmy, welcome.
- [01:39]
B
Thank you, Carrie. Looking forward to spending some time with you today.
- [01:43]
A
All right, you've built a career at the intersection of tax and financial planning. What originally led you as a CPA to embrace financial planning as a core part of your work for you? What was your metamorphosis, your evolution, to include financial planning?
- [02:06]
B
So I went to work as a very young CPA for one of what was then the big eight. That ought to tell you I'm very seasoned as my age. And so what I did, I worked in the tax department. Kerry and I worked on really small companies, families, those types of situations for tax planning and tax compliance only. So when I say small, these were people with like 50 million to $75 million in revenue and down, so, so very small companies for an international firm of that size. But that's really where I felt like I could make a difference in helping these families. You know, $20,000 savings here, $100,000 savings there. Before you know it, it added up some real value that we could provide them from the tax planning piece. Well, what happened to me one day is I almost had this. I'm going to call it an epiphany, Carrie. For lack of a better term, what we did is we were sitting down with a large wealthy family that had several enterprises that they owned and that were, if you will, almost like A holding company for the family and they own these subsidiaries, right? And we're sitting there and then all of a sudden everything went away on tax and started being things such as how do I protect my estate going forward? How do I transition these ownership items to my children and my grandchildren, to legacy build. We talked about how do I educate my grandchildren, how am I going to get that done? Before you know it, we hit all these topics about cash flow, estate planning, education funding, trust planning. We went into all these areas and nothing really was just about why I was there, the tax planning. And I said then that I wanted to do something far more than just tell you about your past and your more recent, soon to be future.
- [03:50]
A
And obviously they trusted you with everything that you had handled up to that point. And so they just opened up and said, Jimmy, we need your help on all these lists of things. It's a natural step from the trusted CPA to the trusted financial planner. Well, looking back, Jimmy, in our profession, what were the key turning points when financial planning shifted from being a value add to a core service for forward thinking CPAs and CPA firms like what you've been involved in.
- [04:33]
B
I will tell you, for me, that came about year 2000. What happened was, is we made an earnest effort to really provide a forward looking planning process for all of our clients. So we didn't want to help you, just tell you how you did last year on the tax return or prepare a financial statement, a historic basis. We gave them something, here's what you said you would like to see happen. And we gave them a plan with steps involved on how they could get from A to Z and have accountability as well as reporting on a consistent basis. So we became at that point a financial planning firm that actually practices with a tax component versus a tax firm that provides some financial planning. Now I will tell you, the CPA profession has some challenges once in a while with some of our more traditional partners. And so some of my referral sources at that time were other CPA firms that didn't have the expertise. And we partnered with them, but they were always so concerned. Oh my goodness, I don't want to lose a good client because of X or Y. Didn't happen. You know, the planning process wasn't what they thought. So we did a great job of putting time, energy and resources toward educating my fellow CPAs as to how we are an integral people piece to that family's life that you're actually doing the tax work for. And it came out to be this. Carrie, we now are a wealth management firm that approaches all of our engagements on a tax efficient basis.
- [06:05]
A
Jimmy, I think you really hit the nail on the head and a lot of our listeners right now are thinking, okay, I'm doing tax compliance, I just got done with Busy Season and I'm still answering these planning oriented questions but I'm not sure how to turn that into a viable business. How do I go from that trusted CPA relationship to adding on the financial planning piece? How did you make that bridge? What do you think CPAs thinking about that today should do to take those first tentative steps into financial planning?
- [06:47]
B
First, I think you need to search within yourself. You have to have a real passion of looking forward in life and not just staying where you are or looking to the past as to where you gain the real value you provide a client. It is important to have good tax planning. It is important to have great financial statements. But what you need to look at is moving into financial planning and is what can I really do to add greater value to this process of people achieving their goals and dreams? And what we really recommend is this. This is going to sound like a plug for one of the engaged conferences or pre conferences, but go to the AICPA and obtain the education you need through the financial planning process and you can get your personal financial specialist designation which sets us apart. Only CPAs can gain that. But now we've opened it up a little bit so others can gain that. But it's still that trusted advisor role with a specialty in financial planning. And what I would say is understand the entire process of how this works from gathering data to establishing a plan for a client, then reviewing that plan with the client to determine if they wish to implement, then monitoring that plan and then follow up. So for example, we take a five step process, process from A to Z as my dad would say, from soup to nuts. Carrie, we, we got it all here in this, this store. But what we want you to take from this is if there's someone considering this as a career shift, not a change. We're not changing, we're just adding another tool to the toolbox. If that's the case, highly recommend. Just as they are with the tax gain, that competency, work with other financial planners that are CPAs so that you can understand the process, the ethics, most importantly and follow that basic knowledge that we have to have through the AICPA PfP system and so become a member of the PfP section. Learn that there are others out there. Create a network to help you get where you need to be. And it won't happen overnight, Carrie. But anything that's great does take time, effort and commitment to achieve what you need as excellence in that field.
- [09:05]
A
And if you're listening right now and wondering how to get there, it's aicpa.org pfp. Check out exactly the things Jimmy was talking about. Engage is a phenomenal time where you have the entire spectrum of everything related to CPA and CPA work. And what a great time to look at PfP, to look at tax, to look at all these different tracks that'll happen in June of 2026. If you can't wait for that, there is a symposium of financial planning experts that will happen in San Diego January 21st through the 23rd. It's a perfect place to be in January. San Diego, 75 degrees there, I'm pretty sure. And for those couple of days, you will be able to learn with your peers, experts in financial planning, about how to do it, what the hottest trends are, deep dives into practice, management and technical skills. So one of the best. It's called the PfP Symposium. And again, just go do the AICPA website, type in symposium and it'll come right up for you. All right, Jimmy, your proprietary life plan solution. I like this because it integrates tax expertise with retirement and investment planning. I think that's a very natural segue for CPA who's been working in tax compliance. How does this approach reflect where the CPA profession is heading?
- [10:47]
B
I served for the AICPA, our 2020 vision program that we put together years ago. So I've been around a long time. And when we looked at that, we thought, wow, we're going to be on the cutting edges of all of this data aggregation, the ability to use more programming and so forth to help us enhance our services and deliver our services more efficiently. And, and don't take this wrong, the advances in evolution of our demanded services from the marketplace were even faster than what we imagined. So think about this. Now we're in an age where we have artificial intelligence that is making changes on how we do inventory valuations, how we analyze financial statements, analytics on profit and loss statements for reviews. We have now before us at this time an evolution in the CPA profession to where we really can bring more value. Some of my colleagues go, I'm afraid that I'll be replaced. I got news for everyone listening. You'll never be replaced by a machine because what you bring with all the experience and specialty and with that certification in an area that is so unique that can't be trained. Only the procedures may train, but not that judgment. And so this evolution, Carrie, is a natural one. In my opinion. We are looking at the continuance of more forward thinking, more prospective services being provided to our clients. Because remember what the greatest president in the history of the United States said. At least he was for me. The 16th President, Abraham Lincoln, is said to be and attributed to the same. If you want to write history, create it yourself. And so you want a good history. So what do you do here? We get ahead of this wave, not behind it, and take this evolution seriously. I will tell you, five years from today, 20, 30, for example, we will be so far beyond what we offer as traditional services to more unique and tailored services because the marketplace is going to challenge us to do so just by the very nature of change.
- [12:59]
A
Well, I see that happening. And so, Jimmy, I guess we need to get in front of it and go, okay, if, if we're going to offer these new services, I need to become more versed in what those new services are. The hardest question though is how am I going to get paid for doing these additional services? Especially if I'm just getting started it. What did you do and what do you recommend other people do to do this in a smart way?
- [13:29]
B
Yeah. There's not just one way, Carrie, to do anything right. That's what I love about this profession. Here's my whole premise. As long as it's fully disclosed and the client agrees, and the client can calculate how you got to your balance, you've invoiced him or her to me, that's fair. And then I put it in my engagement letter. You follow that, then that makes everything work with great integrity. What I would say to you is I started out as a fee based planner. So for example, I also did retainer based planning. So for example, someone just needed some financial planning in the area. Maybe it was estate planning, maybe it was retirement planning, maybe it was cash flow planning. Whatever it might have been, we might have done a comprehensive plan carry and then we may have just done what we call modular. Maybe they just had a certain segment of their life they needed to really get control of and have some vision to how that would work better for their family. So we went from retainers fee based and then some work off of what basically is considered a commission basis where they would actually sell products. I never liked that. That's not wrong. That's just a different way of compensation. I didn't like that because I wanted to be an assistant buyer, Carrie, not a Salesperson. The big difference there is I'm sitting on the same side of the client with my integrity, doing what I think is best called a fiduciary planner. I've got to place your interest ahead of my own. We built up those assets under management and before you know it, because that trusted advisor CPA credential is what attracts those right fit clients, you're going to be surprised how quickly you will grow. You have a big leap ahead of most people that are just in the financial planning or as I would say, well, wealth management space. They're out just doing one thing, gathering assets and selling people on what they can do. You're actually providing confidence, clarity and commitment through that CPA credential as a PFS credential holder as well, to give them the best of both worlds that you can't get without the CPA.
- [15:36]
A
I think you're right, Jimmy. Some CPAs are out there and don't realize how powerful and how trusted, frankly, their particular role is. Well, recent surveys have shown that of all of the professions out there, CPA is near the very top of the most trusted profession. And so if I'm just a person on the street, I have a financial question that's going to impact my life. The person I want to talk to is one of the most trusted professionals. That's who I want to ask. But many CPAs maybe are still hesitant to fully step into financial planning. But if they're like, okay, I think I might be ready. What mindset shift has to happen? What is necessary for them to evolve from compliance experts to comprehensive advisors?
- [16:37]
B
One thing you must do to make this very short leap. This isn't a big leap, Carrie. This is one small step for mankind, as was said on the moon. Right? Right. One thing you have to do is have the mindset of I will do this with the greatest of competence. One, your clients will always recognize competence and the marketplace will reward you for it. So get that skill level built up to where you are a master of those skills that you wish to use in financial planning. The second is, I believe you need to come to this with the mindset of client first, me second. And what I mean by that, Carrie, is you're going to make a great living. But I think first you must earn or give value before you can earn value. So what I mean by that is show the client what you can do, how you could help them reach whatever solution is best for them where they feel, feel most comfortable and confident that their future is in good hands. You'll Be rewarded with referrals. You'll be rewarded with additional services. You'll be surprised how many of their family members and colleagues they'll bring to your office and say, I want you to do for me, for my friend, what you did for me, if you will. The other thing, too, I want you to really think about the mindset. Has to be thinking forward. I know I've got a historic background because I've learned all this and I've got this knowledge over the years, you know, 35 years I've been doing this, but my clients really pay me for. What do I see going forward that I can do? What are those attributes of life I can control? What are those that I can't? And how can I give some assurance to myself if those that I can't control ever came to light? What can I do to mitigate the damage? So what am I really talking about? Risk management. Right? You got to understand, what levels of coverages do they need? What types of coverages do they need? How much can they afford to inherently keep of that risk themselves? What am I talking about? Lower cost of operations on the risk management side, These are all the things we address with our clients. The key here has to be, though, you as the CPA financial planner, have to think forward. You have to think futuristically. You have to think strategically. What I love about this profession and why I went all BORE In In 2000, Carrie, was I really felt like in great sincerity here. I really felt like I was an integral part to the great success my clients achieved through the years because we kept them on the path that gave them the highest probability to achieve it.
- [19:16]
A
Wow. All right. A significant portion of our audience listening right now are young CPAs, young. And many of them are considering, should I do this financial planning thing? How do I do more of it? How do I get into it? So if you were advising a young CPA today, what skills and perspectives would you tell them to prioritize to thrive in the future of financial planning?
- [19:48]
B
I already mentor about five young CPA financial planners that are working to get their PFS. These are people in about 30, 35 years of age. And when I say young, you know, I'm 60 years of age. But this is a field. You can't just come right out of college unless you've gone to a university that has maybe a PFP program. Right. And jump right in this thing. Well, you need to have that background. You need to have that experience. And so working with someone, first of all, that does these types of services and provides them on a full time basis would go a long way for our clients and our, our new CPAs wishing to get in the field. Right. There's no better training than to do that which is needing to be done in a, in a way that's got great integrity and a high degree of competence. The second thing I would encourage them to do, be comfortable with discomfort. Now, why I say that, Carrie, is because the world's changing at a quicker pace than what we can ourselves acclimate to as humans. From a business perspective, how many years ago did blockchain come out and we thought, oh my gosh, what is this now? It's just like it's an everyday occurrence. You know, we, we use these things that are changing in the world of business to give ourselves the challenge to bone up on those, those, shall we say, skills, but also that knowledge for which you use those skills. So I would encourage young people to be involved in the change process, be an actual change maker, an impact for that change. The last thing I would say is this, get that credential. And yes, this is my arena. I've had my PFS for so many decades. But I'm encouraging you set yourself apart, show the unique talents you have as a CPA and get that PFS credential to show I have mastered the body of knowledge for financial planning and passed an exam and I maintain certain amounts of education each year. And those are the things that I believe that you could do as foundational. Now, I didn't say this got you to the top. That's just foundational, Carrie. And then life will help you get to the top by exercising that competency, that integrity, and keeping yourself educated along the process as you work with your clients.
- [22:04]
A
Jimmy, thank you for your insight and sharing with our community of listeners. If you're an advisor who wants to deliver premier financial planning with confidence, explore everything the AICPA PFP section has to offer@aicpa.orgpfp and for 269 a year, AICPA members get access to a library of technical guidance, webcasts, planning tools, and expert insights like Jimmy's, all designed to help you serve your clients at the highest level. And this one's close to my heart. If you're a CPA with 3,000 hours of financial planning experience already, consider showing your expertise next to your name by obtaining the PFS credential@aicpa.org PFS and Jimmy, thanks for talking about that throughout the podcast today. It doesn't get talked about enough. How important it is to show Hey, I have done the work to know how to do financial planning well. This is our podcast together. If this episode helped you in your practice, we would be honored and grateful if you shared it with your professional community. With almost half a million downloads so far, the AICPA PFP podcast is helping to advance the profession one listener at a time, starting with you. This has been Carrie Sinnett for the AICPA Personal Financial Planning Division. Thanks for listening and until next time, keep earning trust through clarity, guiding with compassion, and delivering premier planning that elevates our profession.
- [23:51]
B
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