Quote:
Originally Posted by Burgo
I have always used my accountant as a sounding board, devils advocate and for 30 years this has worked well.
I met my first financial planner about 25/30 years ago and quite honestly I was not impressed. Then when I retired I interviewed several Financial Planners until I found one I was comfortable with.
Recently I met a young man who is on this forum, lives in Sydney and mentioned he worked with small business. www.psk.com.au
I really hadnt thought about using a Financial Planner for business but when you step back and think about it , surely that should be the way to go if you want to maximise your financial future. Use your accountants knowledge for minimising your tax.
Then there is an alternative talk to Bruce@Numberz.com.au, because his knowledge with finanacial matters is possibly second to none.
( I recommend members of this forum as opposed to non members because it is about networking ) |
Hi Burgo, thankyou indeed for the recommendation. Yes I do work with small and medium business owners on a large range of matters. Often the line between business financial planning and personal is quite fine. Like most things there can be advantages and disadvantages. It's really a matter of establishing an ongoing plan to not only grow but protect your wealth.
If I could just make one point for the purpose of clarity if nothing else. There seems to be (not just on this forum but in general I guess) a misunderstanding about whether to engage an Accountant or a Financial Adviser.
My opinion is that they both offer vital services and you need both.
An Accountant is vital to any business from a sole trader to a large orginisation. They will help you with business planning, advise on structure, tax managemnet, regulatory requirements. Depending on the offering from your Accountant they may also offer a range of ancillary services. I cannot stress the value a good Accountant will make to your business and perosnal affairs. ( I have an Accounting Background so consider myself partly qualified to give this endorsement). Registered Accountants are also the only profession allowed under law to provide specific tax advice. Coversley Financial Planners or holders of an AFSL (Aust Financial Services License)
are the only people allowed to give specific Advice on personal finaancial planning issues such as investment portfolio and personal insurance advice.
The Accountancy and Fianancial Planning professions cater to a large variety of clients. Hence, I would suggest doing the appropriate research and find some one who specialises in Small Business. Some Financial Advisers will only service High Net Worth Individuals or provide Self Managed Super Fund Advice only. Simlarly some Accountants specialise in Forensic or Rural Accounting. ( I would also recommend Bruce Robertson from
www.numberz.com.au , if you are looking for business accountancy advice, I have met Bruce and found him to be highly experienced in this sector).
I have found the best approach is when you have your Accountant and Financial Adviser working together on your behalf. Taking a colobrative approach works best for the client.
Typically, in this approach we would firstly look at protecting the client's personal and business matters. This may involve a combination or Business and Personal insurance arrangements (we may also need to involve a Solictor if legal docuements are required).
From a tax and cash flow perspective some costs will be business some personal some tax deductible and some not.
We can then work with the Accountant on cash flow planning i.e. is there income splitting involved? How are Assets to be owned from both a protection point of view and tax planning.
How are the business owners planning for the retirement? Do they have superannuation structures in place, do they understand the changes to contribution rules etc.
In summary, both professions provide different and equally valuable services , i would suggest a combination of both working on your behalf, will place you in the best position.
Kind Regards
Great Financial Planner
