How did I get here? CPA turned CFP®

My Why 

When people see my business card and note the CPA and CFP®® marks, they often make the assumption that I was a tax accountant. While many CPA’s who became CFP®’s were in the field of tax, that does not describe me. However, I still think the transition is relevant in many ways. I describe the journey in more detail below, but ultimately my time as an auditor was spent reviewing the nitty gritty details of businesses and non-profits. Figuring out what was going well and where opportunities for improvement arose. Fast forward to my career as a CFP® and Financial Advisor, I’m doing the same thing, but at the personal level. The more details and information we receive from our clients, the better we can help with decisions that impact their overall financial picture. 

I entered my professional career in December of 2005. I was 6 months from receiving my bachelor’s degree in accounting and I was thrilled to be working my first internship in the public accounting field. I had found the perfect spot for myself. When you are an accounting student, the question you get asked is “tax or audit”? My internship was in both! From my interviews with other firms at that time and later, I discovered that this was rare. After a few weeks of getting exposure to both areas of public accounting, I found that I gravitated towards audit. My path was set. I would begin studying for my CPA exam, get enrolled for my Masters and become an auditor in Orlando, Florida. I had a plan for myself and I was determined to succeed. 

Well life threw some curve balls in there, as it tends to do. I met a man, who would later become my husband. However, he lived in Virgina. Virginia seems fun, let’s try that. I found a public accounting auditor position and I moved to Richmond area in May of 2008. If you recall, that was not the best time to be looking for a new job, so I considered myself lucky to have found a position in the field that I enjoyed. Well, I thought I enjoyed it. Come to find out, much of what you enjoy in your daily life has to do with the people you surround yourself with. Unfortunately, I did not jive well with my team. This can happen. My efforts to find a new firm I felt comfortable in were met with hiring freezes and distance issues with where we lived. I ended up sticking it out for two years. I learned a lot and this experience made me even more grateful for my time with the firm in Florida and the incredible leadership style I aspire to. 

While living in Virginia, my boyfriend and I spent all of my vacation time traveling back to visit my family in Southeast Florida. I am an only child and I had spent very little time away from my family at that point, especially during the holidays. A job opportunity popped up about an hour from my parents. It was an accounting role, but private, not public accounting. Ultimately it was not the right position for me, but it did make us realize that we were excited about the prospect of moving back to Florida. This was Spring of 2010. I went on my job search, found another public accounting firm, secured a job, we got married and we moved to Florida! It was an exciting few months. 

Sidenote, I cannot make this up. We were going to live in a family member’s condo that was on the market for two years, and it went under contract the day our moving truck left Virginia. On the fly, we called my mom and ended up moving into her house. Not the end of the world. I was working in public accounting full time, doing my Master’s degree online and studying for the CPA exam, all while my husband was working out of town. 

Fast forward to 2012. I’m still working as an auditor, progressing in my public accounting career. We live in Florida, near my parents, but not in their home, and life is going pretty well. It was my routine to call my mom while I drove home each evening to check in. At the time, my grandmother was still living and my mom was her caretaker. I was not involved in any of the financial aspects of what this all meant, but I would be soon. One evening when I called, she shared information with me about a second to die life insurance policy that no one knew about and there was a big premium payment due. This opened pandora’s box. Through our conversations over the next few days, I learned that there was a financial planning need well beyond the insurance policy. 

This was the beginning of my interest in the financial planning field. To say things were complicated would be an understatement. The good news is we found a comprehensive advisor that worked with my mom and grandmother as well as their outside professionals to create a short- and long-term plan and create clarity for all parties. That is when I became involved in the family finances as well. I had the opportunity to sit in on the communications as a client. 

Within financial planning, there are some key areas we focus on. For this case in particular, we covered most of them. 

First, insurance. While it seems morbid to talk about, sometimes insurance decisions come down to the insured age and health. At the time, my grandmother was in her late 80’s and my grandfather had already passed. The policy was going to provide a nice benefit to my mother and aunt and there were assets available to cover the premium payments. After reviewing all of the details, in a pretty short timeframe to avoid missing the premium, it was ultimately decided that the family should keep the policy and pay the premiums. The next step was figuring out the logistics on where the cash was coming from. What account? Did anything need to be sold? Were there capital gains to be concerned about? Does anyone know where the checkbook is for that account? Etc. 

The next two areas are interconnected, estate planning and taxes. This was 2012. It was a fun time that we refer to as having had a “fiscal cliff looming.” Technically, this was combined effect of several previously-enacted laws that came into effect simultaneously in January 2013, increasing taxes and decreasing spending. Specifically, the estate tax exemption was set to decrease to $1 million from over $5.1 million.  This meant that the estate tax exclusion was set to decrease back to $1 million per person. Not dissimilar to the sunset provisions we were preparing for in 2026 (didn’t end up happening), but with different dollar amounts. This was going to impact my grandmother’s estate plans and if the fiscal cliff had been implemented, would have resulted in estate taxes due upon her passing. All the more reason to keep that insurance policy intact as well. There was a Dec 31 deadline to implement all planning strategies and the team got to work. The estate planning attorney updated existing documents and wrote new ones where needed and ensured that all things were set to flow how my grandparents had envisioned. They also implemented some important gifts before December 31st to ensure that if the exemption had decreased, certain assets would already be removed from her estate. 

One of the tax components of this was related to a C Corporation my family was maintaining. The team partnered with a business tax expert to analyze the current company and potential tax implications of keeping things as is or making changes. At the time, the proposed provisions impacted both S and C Corporations. If you owned C Corporation or S Corporation stock and the corporation had earnings and profits, it was be beneficial to pay dividends by the end of the year.  In 2012 qualified dividends were taxed at 15%, but they were set to increase in 2013 to being taxed as ordinary income rates which could be as high as 39.6% and may be increased by the 3.8% Medicare Contribution Tax. In addition to the proposed increase in tax rates in 2013, assets like real estate were at lower values caused by the recession, resulting in lower capital gains. Through much discussion with the CPA and estate planning attorney, the decision was made to convert from a C corporation to a limited liability company (LLC) . This eliminated double taxation of the income, but required us to liquidate the corporation by December 31st. 

Another area that was addressed during this important time was my grandmother’s investments. Again, the “fiscal cliff” presented some important tax planning opportunities. Long-term capital gains rates were set to increase from 15% to 20% and qualified dividend rates to increase to the individual's marginal tax rate up from a fixed 15% under the current plan. The team went to work here as well and analyzed the accounts to see if there was any benefit to realizing gains before the end of the year. They were also able to provide my mom and grandmother with a detailed look at all of the accounts and how each of them were invested and make recommendation as the risk levels in the portfolio compared to her overall goals. This really opened my eyes to ensuring that clients understand what they have and how it is all working, which is my goal when working with individuals and families. 

In conjunction with the investment review, they continued to work with the estate planning attorney to ensure that account titling was correct and aligned with the updated estate documents. They also continued to partner with the CPA team to ensure that decisions around C Corp dissolution and realized capital gains were discussed and properly planned for from a tax standpoint. 

Much of this analysis and work was completed in the last two months of 2012. We kept that CPA and attorney busy those months, and I’m sure we were not the only ones. The fiscal cliff was finally eliminated at the very last minute during late-night and early-morning sessions of Congress on New Year's Eve and New Year's Day. Some would say that all that planning was for nothing because many of the major changes were not implemented. I disagree. While I wish we had known and put effort into these changes earlier for less of a year-end rush, the changes that were implemented still had a positive impact on the long-term plans for my grandmother. 

This comprehensive team approach that included advisors, CPAs, attorneys, and other professionals was so thrilling to watch. The peace it brought to my family was immediate in 2012, but also continued through my grandmother’s passing  in 2014. Having done all of that planning and analysis in 2012 set the family up for a smooth transition of wealth during a time that was otherwise heartbreaking. I carry this with me when I speak with clients or other people. While often upsetting discuss, planning in advance of life events, and sometimes legislative events, is so important.  

This experience is what lead me to become a financial advisor and CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER® professional. I wanted to bring that education and peace to more people. I get so much joy from working with clients and helping them to understand the components of their financial picture. I transitioned to a wealth advisory team in 2014 and have not looked back. I am eager to continue learning and providing value to the clients we work alongside as well as their external professionals. I’m honored to serve clients through a focused, independent firm, one that delivers deep expertise while thoughtfully coordinating with other trusted professionals to ensure each client is supported far beyond any single piece of their financial picture.