Financial planning

Many CPAs wade into personal financial planning because it's a natural progression of their role as a trusted advisor and a compelling expansion of their tax and accounting services - not to mention an additional revenue stream.

1. What are the biggest issues facing financial planners today?

The term "basic analysis" has evolved in recent years. Where once it referred to the ability to determine a client's financial position, net worth, goals and willingness to take risks with a portfolio, more recent definitions have focused more intensely on the process of asset allocation, re-allocation and portfolio balancing.

As CPAs and investment advisors partner to map out a strategy for clients, the delicate balance between tax effectiveness and control over assets should serve as a centerpiece. This will help to create a strategy that maximizes investments, minimizes tax exposure, and helps maintain clients' long-term financial objectives.

The majority of employers who made changes to their retirement plans during the economic downturn expect to keep those changes in place throughout 2010, according to a new survey.

Both the American Institute of CPAs and the American Bar Association Section of Taxation have urged Congress to correct the current state of federal estate, gift and generation-skipping transfer taxes.

IMGCAP(1)]The financial planning landscape has dramatically changed over the past five years.

NYSE Euronext has launched NYSE Money Sense, a new online educational resource for consumers to improve their money-management skills and knowledge.

Workers who are offered 401(k) plans, or similar employee-funded arrangements, exhibit more proactive retirement savings behaviors, demonstrate higher levels of knowledge about retirement investing, and are more confident in their ability to retire comfortably, according to a new survey.

As the population ages and the Baby Boomer generation enters retirement, incidents of financial elder abuse are growing more common — and accountants need to be more vigilant than ever in looking after their clients’ interests, according to Randy Werner, a CPA and loss prevention specialist at professional liability insurer CAMICO.

A 65-year-old couple retiring this year will need aquarter of a million dollars to pay for medical expenses throughout retirement,not including nursing-home care, according to a new study.

IMGCAP(1)]Corporate valuation is all about numbers—revenue, EBIT and the like. But what’s behind the numbers? In many cases, it’s confidence and, specifically, confidence in the business.

Researchers have found a link between short selling and a faster time-to-discovery of when companies misreport their financial results.

Advisors Trusted Advisor has enhanced its online Roth Conversion Optimizer.

Auto-enrollment of participants in 401(k) plans is likely to be most beneficial to young and low-income workers, according to new research.

An increasing percentage of tax advisors’ client base is now eligible for a Roth IRA, according to a survey of 500 tax advisors.

How does the board of directors or management team of a small or midsized business think about reversing a declining or distressed business?

The University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School, Dartmouth College and Rand Corp. have teamed up to launch a new Financial Literacy Center on the Internet.

Payroll and benefits outsourcing provider Paychex has opened its Paychex Retirement Services to fee-based advisors, allowing them to perform such functions as direct automated payments, consolidated reporting and tracking.

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