← AICPA Personal Financial Planning (PFP)
AICPA Personal Financial Planning (PFP)
What's Next for the CPA Financial Planner with Matt Kidd
00:18:50
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- [00:02]
A
I'm Kyrie Sinnott, and this is your personal Financial Planning podcast. You're at lunch with a fellow cpa, someone who, like you, built a practice on precision, trust and deep client relationships. They lean across the table and say, I keep hearing more and more about this financial planning credential for CPAs. What is that? What's really happening with the PFS? If you're interested in knowing what's happening behind the scenes and what is coming just around the corner, then this podcast is for you. Welcome to the American Institute of CPA's Personal Financial Planning Podcast. I'm Carey Sinnott. As the leader 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 what is next for the CPA financial planner and its profession, a fair question. Because right now, our profession is changing fast. Technology is reshaping client service, firms are broadening their scope, and CPAs everywhere are redefining what it means to be their client's most trusted advisor. Behind that transformation is a community, one that's modernizing the PFS exam, updating the body of knowledge that we all lean on creating, creating new pathways for experienced planners and making the credential more visible, more visible than ever before. And at the center of that effort is today's guest, Matt Kidd. He's chair of the PFS Credential Committee and president of London Kidd accounting and consultant. Matt has dedicated his career to helping business owners and professionals align their personal goals with sound financial strategy. And as a PF committee chair, he's helping the next generation of CPAs do exactly the same. Matt, welcome to the podcast.
- [02:23]
B
Thanks for having me. I think I might need to hire you to start giving, like, my introduction to prospective clients.
- [02:29]
A
Absolutely.
- [02:29]
B
Because that was golden.
- [02:31]
A
Matt, I'm glad you liked it. We can just tape it and put it on voicemail. If you want, leave a message for Matt. He's leading the future. Matt, I so appreciate you coming on the podcast. Here's our first question for you. You've helped lead the committee through really, what is a season of change and growth? And so, as you reflect on the past year, 2025, and now we're into 2026, what are some of the key initiatives or milestones you're the most proud of. Whether it's exam modernization or increasing engagement with experienced professionals, what really stands out for you that you have accomplished?
- [03:15]
B
So, I mean, I think from a basic perspective, we put in just finished our in person meeting. We put in a lot of work to modernize the exam, update those questions, so we can really ensure that we're testing what capabilities we need to best serve our clients. It's important to ensure that we're staying relevant in order to best serve our clients and to really elevate the PFS designation as a premier designation for CPA financial planners. So that's really at the core of what we do. But then we have some other initiatives that I would say I'm much more excited about. So for example, I use podcast. I think we're up to over a half million downloads at this point, which is incredible. We have the PFP Champions program, which is now falling under the purview of the PFS Credential committee, that they're really out there getting into the media, working with state societies to elevate the PFS credential.
- [04:21]
A
Can you talk about what the PFP Champions are? That sounds pretty. Are they Hercules, Wonder Woman doing financial planning? Why are they champions out there doing personal financial planning?
- [04:33]
B
I would say Hercules and Wonder Woman, maybe a little bit of Superman all rolled into one. So we try to get representatives for each state and really they are champions and advocates for CPA personal financial planners. So the bedrock of that is the pfs. So they're out there, they're getting put into different media publications, working with the AICPA PR team. And then also an important piece is relationships with the state societies and local financial planning chapters where we've really been able to expand the PSF Live workshop. So that's where you can come in and basically a day and a half, two days, you get all of the required cpe and then you sit for that PFS exam at the end. And as long as you pass it, you walk out with your PFS credential, which is important to remember that also that gives you a waiver for your Series 65 in most states, which is. Or in all states, I believe that most people don't recognize, or a lot of people don't recognize.
- [05:38]
A
Matt there's only one state where the PFS does not count as a waiver for the series 65. My home state, I'm sad to say, of Alaska, which I love, does not recognize the PFS for a Series 65 waiver. But everywhere else it's probably too cold up there on the, on the day they were deciding. Well, Matt, those are amazing things that you and your committee accomplished and it's always a team effort and so we're grateful for everybody. You volunteer your time to do that, Is that right?
- [06:13]
B
Yes. Yeah, it is a hundred percent volunteer. All the members on the committee are volunteer members. So it's really huge thanks goes out to them because it is a lift to be able to get those exam questions updated.
- [06:27]
A
Yeah, that was pretty amazing to watch you guys diving in and really tearing apart what is important to know to be at this ultra high level of financial planning credential. And you know, our whole profession is really changing. And it's important that CPA financial planners are staying relevant as financial planning is shifting rapidly. Whether it's client expectations or technology or regulatory compliancy. You're just talking about series 65. What's the unique edge CPA financial planners bring to the table? And, and how is the PFS credential? You were talking about this earlier. Helping them to not just stay current, but truly future ready.
- [07:20]
B
Tax is at the core of financial planning and CPAs are uniquely positioned to look at both the tax financial and also the, the personal aspects that all encompass financial planning. So I think we really are best positioned in order to deliver that in. The PFS is the perfect addition to your CPA credential in order to offer that integrated and holistic financial planning where it's truly being delivered. It's not just buzzwords that everybody uses, but we're truly able to deliver that integrated the holistic financial planning.
- [08:01]
A
To you listening right now, if you're interested in financial planning, you're doing financial planning. Tax is starting to become the gravity of financial planning. So as a CPA financial planner where CPAs have that foundation of tax, it might be smart to go, let's see how we can do more of this and be tax accomplished. And if you're a CPA right now and thinking about doing financial planning, obviously this is the direction that you want to consider for the future. And so Matt, let me get your perspective as someone who runs both an accounting firm and a financial planning firm. Do I have that right?
- [08:45]
B
Yep.
- [08:46]
A
Okay. How have you seen the integration of tax and planning evolve? And how has your own client experience shaped your contribution to the committee work that you've done? You've been there firsthand, sleeves rolled up so you know from the front line what needs to happen behind the scenes? Yeah, give us your perspective.
- [09:10]
B
Well, first off, I'd say going off of your Last point is, if you're considering adding it, go to engage 2026. They have a personal financial planning path where you'll have an opportunity to meet practitioners who did all sorts of different models. Some are doing it assets under management, some are doing it fixed fees, and they kind of added it gradually in different ways. So it's an excellent opportunity to kind of learn the different models that you could implement. And then in terms of, you know, how we see it in our own practice, it's really the. The clients were demanding and asking to have everything under one roof. So they wanted the comfort and the confidence of having their tax and financial all under one roof. So that's really where we started moving down that path. And I mean, I'm a bit biased, but I believe that we're best positioned to be able to offer that holistic guidance because we're able to see that entire picture and understand all the different facets at play.
- [10:14]
A
Absolutely comfortable confidence. And it also ends up being convenient for the client as well, because you are their core trusted advisor. And so when you include financial planning in there, you really start to cover the whole picture for them so they can feel really good. Now, you mentioned Engage 2026, so this is a good time to mention there will be a compressed PFS live workshop there and the ability to take the exam to get PFS credentialed. So if you want to take that opportunity and if you're listening right now and you're finding value in these conversations, imagine what can happen when you're in the room with the profession's top thinkers and doers. So at AICPA Engage 2026, you'll connect with fellow CPA financial planners who are shaping, just like Matt, the future of the profession, from technical tax strategy to human first planning. Whether you're credentialed already pursuing the PFS like I mentioned, or just getting started in financial planning, Engage 26 is the moment to grow, be inspired, and lead with confidence. Join us there. It's where trust meets innovation. All right, talking about innovation, Matt, you've spent time with students and emerging CPAs across the country. What do you say to the next generation who may not yet see themselves as financial planners, but could thrive in this work and be the next level of innovation?
- [11:54]
B
The biggest thing is I don't know that we're necessarily seeing a shortage of kids who want to go into finance or financial planning. What we're seeing is a lack of understanding that they can go the CPA route in order to get there and potentially be in even better position in the long term by obtaining that CPA and then adding the PFS designation. So they really get that total understanding of the financial picture. So I think that's the biggest message that I take students around the country is that with an accounting degree you can perform pretty much every finance job. With a finance degree you can't perform accounting. So I always offer that as the kind of the reason to consider that CPA route. And also the reality is to go straight into financial planning. As a 22 year old, it's incredibly difficult unless you're doing a national model. Once you call your friend's parents, you're pretty much tapped out on prospecting at 22 years old because none of your friends have money. So once you burn that up, how do you get that prospect? It's incredibly difficult. So that's a little bit of an easier path, I think in the long term to establish that CPA client base and then add in financial planning.
- [13:19]
A
That makes perfect sense. Matt, I hear you saying lean on that accounting background that's always going to be in demand and then layer in finance financial planning as you gain experience and relationships. And also one other thing that you alluded to earlier is connecting with young people and the PFP champions, if I'm reading this right, they meet with state societies and they kind of create awareness and also connect with universities, especially the accounting department, to talk about financial planning. So at a young age, while you're in the accounting programs, you get to hear from people in practice. And so if you're listening now and you want to be part of Matt's vision, want to be one of these PFP champions, send an email to financial planningicpa.org let us know your interest and Matt's team will connect with you. And go. Here are the criteria, here are the expectations and how you can be a PFP champion affiliated with the AICPA. Well, as we look ahead to the rest of 2026 and beyond, what do you hope we'll accomplish next as a credential committee? How, and thanks for being the chair of it. How can PFS credential holders continue to lead in elevating planning in the public interest?
- [14:45]
B
One of the biggest things that we can do is show off your credential. A lot of PFS credential holders don't put it in their signature line. They don't have it on their business cards. And I think it's important to recognize that it's a designation that you should be proud of. So included put a cpa, PFS behind your name. I know sometimes we get the Alphabet soup of designations, but I think it's important to be proud of that designation and with that you're helping to raise the awareness of it, because that's a big thing right now is we need to raise the awareness. I go around speak with a lot of CPAs. They have no idea what the PFS is or whether it was that it was even an option instead of the cfp. So I think just making people aware that you are a PFS credential holder and working to raise that awareness, I think is really going to do a lot to help us improve this credential.
- [15:42]
A
And at the very least it can spark a conversation about what is this additional designation. And when you talk about it shows that not only am I a cpa, but I'm also a financial planner and that I have all this education and experience in order to qualify to get the credential. It makes a lot of sense and gives clients a deep level of assuredness that they're talking to the right person for their financial plan. Research has shown when you ask people on the street, would you prefer your financial plan to be done by a CPA or a non CPA person, they tend to lean towards the cpa. So take this opportunity to start leaning in, looking at maybe I should add financial planning to my practice. Matt, thank you for sharing with our community of listeners. If you're an advisor who wants to deliver premier financial planning with confidence, here's an opportunity for you to explore everything the AICPA PFP section has to offer@aicpa.orgpfp now for 269 a year, AICPA members get access to a library of technical guidance, webcasts, planning tools, expert insights like people like Matt, all designed to help you serve your clients at the highest level. And if you're a CPA with 3,000 hours of financial planning experience already, consider, just like Matt was saying, showing your expertise next to your name. By obtaining the PFS credential, you can go to aicpa.org pfs to see the pathways to earn the credential. And remember, this is our podcast together. We'd be grateful if you shared it with your professional community. Now, with over half a million downloads so far, the AICPA PFP Podcast is helping to advance the profession one listener at a time. This has been Kerry 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.
- [18:09]
C
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