Tax Subject Matter Expert

by Jay Wertzler —

Best-in-Class Criteria

  • Minimum 10 years as a tax practitioner for individuals who meet your Ideal Client Profile
  • Minimum of two people directly supporting each tax professional, with at least one personal Administrative Support Person
  • Can easily provide references to the following:
    • Clients who speak about the outstanding proactive advice & guidance provided over the past 5 - 10 years
    • Skilled and experienced peers or other professionals (attorneys, financial advisors, insurance agents) who recommend the individual and can provide specifics regarding the value to clients they have observed
  • Extraordinary skill as a tax professional but prefers "tax planning" to the "tax work" itself (enjoys working with people more than working with numbers)

 

Common credentials or certifications

This is one narrow area of expertise where we recommend you seek credentials. There are several credentials which initially test for expertise in the area of tax for individuals, families and trusts which also carry continuing education requirements. You will have to research your country for credentials which give clues to mastery in the area of tax, as a baseline. In the United States we look for:

  • CPA - Certified Public Accountant (also CA - Chartered Accountant)
  • EA - Enrolled Agent: a federally-authorized tax practitioner who has technical expertise in the field of taxation and who is empowered by the U.S. Department of the Treasury to represent taxpayers before all administrative levels of the Internal Revenue Service for audits, collections, and appeals
  • Masters Degree or PhD in "Tax"

 

Routine Activities

  • Review of all tax returns prior to filing
  • Creation (or review) of each Ideal Client's tax projection prior to the end of each tax filing period (usually annually)
  • Review of all asset sales, prior to the taxable event, for the purpose of assessing tax consequences and issuing a "tax recommendation"

 

Other Periodic Activities

  • Available for consultations (usually by phone) throughout the year to discuss tax issues which arise.

If at all possible, it is recommended that your Tax Subject Matter Expert, along with your Estate Planning Subject Matter Expert, be local. Due to the nature of the relationships it has been found to be sub-optimal, but not impossible, for these two experts to provide "virtual service."