Cetera Financial Group

Jeffrey Buchheister, Chief Financial Officer

Beyond Tax Preparation

Jeffrey Buchheister

Tax Practice Modernizer

From Tax Advice to Financial Guidance

Consumer demand for better, quicker and more holistic financial advice across the financial profession continues to grow. A smart tax or investment strategy is no longer the only expectation. Investors and business owners are seeking guidance for much more: how to save for a home, how to maximize tax-advantaged benefits for employees, how to afford a dream vacation, how to plan and start that second-career post-retirement, in a world that’s more mobile and connected than ever, there are more financial opportunities to navigate. The tax firm of tomorrow has methods, technology and support in place to generate multiple revenue streams and offer more holistic planning solutions to clients in a flexible environment. 

Let’s delve into revenue streams. Many areas within financial services, banking, tax, investment services and more, have fallen victim to commoditization. If you look at just tax preparation, it’s, of course, no exception and, in many cases, continues to battle seasonality. If you flip through AICPA or a tax-focused publication, many articles feature creative new revenue ideas for accounting firms. In light of this, we see a lot of tax professionals creating new revenue streams by adding investment and wealth management services to their client offering. 

Technology That Opens New Revenue Streams

Adding investment guidance is a natural fit for many and it requires technology solutions that make that transition as seamless as possible, considering there are additional regulatory implications and additional licensing requirements. A few of the most popular technology solutions for these professionals have been:

A user-friendly interface for managing finances, a platform where clients can upload tax, investment, banking and other key financial documents in a secure, centralized hub. Advisors can meet with busy clients on the fly at the client’s convenience and when these tools and documents live in one area, they can have better insight into a client’s full financial picture. 

“Technology solutions that remove complexity and unite information and people have the potential to make the greatest impact to tax practice.”

Fee-for-service offering, this is essentially a payment tool that allows a financial professional to set up one-time or subscription-based payment models. It’s opened up the potential to consult on a 401(K) plan or provide guidance to next-gen clients who are seeking and willing to pay for financial advice but potentially wouldn’t meet traditional account minimums.

Remote solutions to work and serve clients from anywhere, nothing groundbreaking here, but it’s surprising how many firms still need to take steps to be structured to run remotely via customer relationship management systems, voice-over IPs and cloud-based storage solutions. Remote solutions benefit partners, employees and clients across the board. 

Keeping the Human in Digital Advice

 Lastly, the promise of technology is that it will make it easier to get things done. The problem with technology is that at times, it doesn’t. Because of that, the human support element is not going away anytime soon. And while the direct interaction with clients may not happen as frequently as it used to, when those opportunities present themselves, they should be delightful and memorable even if that means a face-to-face is via Facetime instead of in person. Technology solutions that remove complexity and unite information and people have the potential to make the greatest impact to tax practice.