The future of CPAs in financial planning

The CPA is the trusted advisor and, as such, they have a responsibility to remain objective and to not have conflicts of interest. That is why, it is a good idea to be part of an overall engagement team, but not the entire team. Many CPA firms have expanded their practices in recent years to include investment management services, but to do it right requires huge investments of time and capital to bring a competent practice with the skills and infrastructure online. As the trusted advisor who can review a client's overall portfolio and compare it to me performance of other clients' portfolios, the CPA can then advise clients about whether they need to be looking for a change in financial advisors.