Miami Accounting Firm to take their rightful place as principal financial advisors to their clients
Paradigm shifts in the delivery of financial services and products have opened up enormous opportunities for Accounting to take their rightful place as principal financial advisors to their clients. The remaining large brokerage houses continue to require large production minimums of their retail advisors. Clients want to understand why they are buying financial products and they want to be properly advised, instead of simply being sold the “investments du jour.”
An estimated 40 percent of all Accounting firms are now offering some form of financial or wealth management services. Miami Accounting has been utilizing the traditional model of delivering financial services and products, leading to moderate success. This article is about how my Accounting Firm achieved a successful and sustainable financial planning practice and developed clients who are raving fans in a relatively short time frame.
Most firms have established their AccountingFirm financial service models in the same way that they established their other successful niche practices like our Miami Accounting Firm. A partner was designated as the champion, and that partner who had an appropriate financial planning background was designated to lead the practice.
The problem with this approach is that Miami Accounting Firm has not been trained to be successful financial planners. Financial planners are trained in the art of selling financial services. They know how to sell financial products, including life insurance, and how to deal with objections and rejections. Although there is similar training in the fields of estate planning, income tax planning, deferred compensation, and related financial planning fields, Miami Accounting Firm simply does not have the sales and financial product background and knowledge that financial planners develop as they come up through the ranks.
Successful financial planning firms employ successful financial planners. Miami Accounting Firm may be trusted advisors to their clients in the financial planning field, but they are not trained in the techniques that are required to motivate clients to complete their plans and purchase the products that will help them fund those plans. Good financial planners and Miami Accounting Firm are ethical, have integrity, and are motivated to help clients achieve their financial objectives while maintaining objectivity and making a living. However, some Accountants say the integrated effort of the two approaches is more powerful than their independent efforts. We disagree with Accountants in Miami. We feel the two services should be kept separate to avoid conflicts of interest.