Your Advisor, Your CPA, and the Power of the Three-Way Partnership
By Neil Rose, CFA
One of the most important things an advisor can do for clients is work with their other professionals.
Let’s start with an honest observation: most CPAs are extraordinary professionals operating in genuinely impossible conditions. During tax season, a busy CPA may be preparing 800 or more returns. They work extraordinary hours. But here’s the thing—they must be engaged in what happened last year. By the time they see your return, the decisions that shaped it were made six, nine, or sometimes 12 months ago.
Your financial advisor, on the other hand, sees your financial picture in real time. These two professionals, your CPA and your advisor—are sitting on a gold mine of coordinated value. In most client relationships, they’ve never spoken. That’s a lost opportunity.
The Information Gap Is Enormous
Consider a single tax form: the 1099-R. It reports distributions from retirement accounts. But to a CPA who hasn’t been briefed, a 1099-R from a Roth conversion looks identical to one from a regular taxable distribution. When your advisor communicates proactively with your CPA—sharing a simple year-end summary of what happened in your accounts, and why—your CPA can prepare a more accurate return and catch planning opportunities that might otherwise slip through.
This is not an abstract benefit. It’s the difference between a $30,000 tax bill and a $22,000 one. Between a charitable deduction being captured and being lost.
What Great Coordination Looks Like
The advisor reaches out in the summer. Why? Because that’s when a CPA has room to think. A proactive advisor who contacts a client’s CPA in July (or as early as May)—to say, “Here’s what we’re thinking about for the rest of the year”—can unlock real value.
The advisor sends a year-end tax data package. The advisor tees up all taxable accounts, all retirement accounts, expected 1099s, any notable transactions, and context for each. An advisor’s goal should be no surprises—which means no last minute scrambling for information and no missing information that can lead to future penalties and interest costs.
The advisor brings analysis; the CPA provides the wisdom. Software tools allow advisors to model Roth conversion scenarios, project future RMDs, and identify the “optimal” conversion amount. But math alone doesn’t make decisions—the CPA’s knowledge of a client’s specific situation is irreplaceable.
They define lanes clearly. The CPA prepares the return and owns tax advice. The advisor implements investment decisions and coordinates financial planning. Each makes the other better.
What This Means for You, Specifically
Introduce your advisor and CPA. Give each of them the other’s contact information and say: “I’d like the two of you to be talking on my behalf.” That’s the unlock.
Give permission for communication. Your advisor needs your signed authorization to speak with your CPA about your accounts. It takes five minutes. It’s one of the most high-value five minutes in financial planning.
Ask both parties, every year: “Are you in touch with each other? Are there any planning opportunities we’re not capturing?”
Share your big picture with both. If you’re thinking about selling a business, changing jobs, making a large charitable gift, or retiring—tell your advisor and your CPA early.
Let Us Help:
This kind of coordination—proactive, year-round, genuinely collaborative—is exactly what we aim to provide. If you’re ever wondering whether your advisor and your CPA are working together on your behalf, please ask us. The answer should always be yes.
The best financial outcomes rarely happen in silos. They happen when the right professionals trust each other, communicate clearly, and are genuinely focused on your interests—work in concert. Your CPA knows the tax code. Your advisor knows your portfolio, your financial trajectory, and your nuanced objectives and risk concerns. Together, with you at the center, that’s the partnership worth having.
This newsletter is provided for informational purposes only and does not constitute tax, legal, or investment advice. Tax laws are subject to change, and individual circumstances vary. Clients should consult with qualified tax and legal professionals regarding their specific situations. Regency Capital Management, Inc. is a registered investment adviser. Advisory services are only offered to clients or prospective clients where Regency Capital Management and its representatives are properly licensed or exempt from licensure. Past performance is no guarantee of future returns. Investing involves risk and possible loss of principal capital. No strategy can ensure success or protect against loss.
About the Author
Neil Rose, CFA, is the founder and CEO of Regency Capital Management.
