Financial planning

CPAs have long been sought after as Centers of Influence, or COIs, by members of the financial services profession for many years.

In my consulting activity the last few months of 2012, I saw the emerging symptoms of a new disorder in many family business owners: Post-Traumatic Gift Disorder, or PTGD.

U.S. Tax Court Judge Elizabeth Paris handed the taxpayers a victory last Thursday involving a powerful estate tax planning tool: private annuities.

Kayla J. Gillan, a former deputy chief of staff at the Securities and Exchange Commission and founding member of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board, has been tapped to lead PricewaterhouseCoopers’ new Investors’ Resource Institute.

The International Organization of Securities Commissions (IOSCO) has published a consultation report offering recommendations regarding the protection of client assets, to help regulators improve the supervision of intermediaries holding client assets in the aftermath of scandals at MF Global and Peregrine Financial Group.

Highlights from the world of financial planning

The toolkit that I recommend does not exist in a toolbox anywhere, regardless of how consultants and associations try to market their package and products as a "turn-key" practice management system in a box.

Tales of professional athletes facing financial ruin are all too common. Whether it’s squandering millions or getting swindled by shady business and investment consultants, some athletes’ wealth falls as quickly as it rises.

Certain owners of Individual Retirement Arrangements have a limited time to make tax-free transfers to eligible charities and have them count for tax-year 2012, the Internal Revenue Service said Thursday.

G2 FinTech has introduced TaxGopher+ cost basis reporting software for filling out the Form 1099-B.

2nd Story Software, the company that makes TaxAct consumer tax prep software, has introduced a do-it-yourself estate planning software product for drawing up a last will and testament.

Many members of the next generation of retirees are expected to face a large decline in their standard of living when they retire, according to a new report.

Investors need greater disclosure of derivatives used for hedging activities at the companies in which they invest if they are to understand the corporations’ risk exposure, according to a new study.

Fresh from year-end tax planning meetings with clients, we’ve identified four areas where great tax planning and great financial planning collide, specifically for people accumulating wealth.

Initial public offerings are not expected to grow much this year, according to a new study by BDO USA.

A recent study finds that, as a general matter, forecasts from stock analysts of corporate earnings in which the numbers are rounded to the nearest zero or five not only prove to be significantly more inaccurate than those that strive for penny precision, but turn out to be significantly more upwardly biased as well.

News and developments from the previous month in financial planning

There are several moving parts and material contingencies that one may encounter on the journey of making sure your clients' wealth lasts for as long as they need it to. For some, having resources last for their own life expectancy is the goal, while for others making assets last for generations is the objective.

Wealth management firm Brinton Eaton, offers these eight tips to help investors and financial planning clients stay on track in the face of market volatility and uncertainty over the fiscal cliff.

The Securities and Exchange Commission has issued an Investor Bulletin to help purchasers of municipal bonds better assess the bonds’ credit risks.