Financial Planning and the CPA

Source: CPA Trendlines

Preliminary survey results reveal the following:

In projecting pre-tax returns on retirement savings, CPAs reported as follows:

Expected Return	Percent of CPAs
6 to 7 percent	49 percent
8 to 10 percent	25 percent
When asked how long one should expect to be retired, CPAs reported:
21 to 25 years	41 percent
Over 25 years	40 percent
When asked clients’ worst retirement problem, CPAs reported:
Under-funding	81 percent
Unrealistic expected returns	56 percent
Services CPAs expect to provide next year:
Retirement planning	56 percent
Tax and estate planning	51 percent
On problems CPAs have with financial service provider partners:
Too focused on sales	66 percent
Risk that they will harm the client relationship	48 percent
Whether CPAs will provide more financial planning in the next 3 to 5 years:
Much more	39 percent
Somewhat more	47 percent

For the complete article, click here and see Survey Results: Financial Planning Outlook, December 31, 2007.

From CPA Trendlines, Bay Street Group LLC, Dobbs Ferry, NY, www.cpatrendlines.com (note new Web address).

Measuring CPA Leadership Effectiveness

Full Service Real Estate Investment and Mortgage Finance.