While the naysayers are correct in the sense that all (ok, most CPA's) have the technical expertise to do true proactive tax planning, the vast majority do not go the extra step of putting those ideas and recommendations into action. I mean we all passed the same exam right?

So the thing that sets a CTC apart from the rest is the true proactive approach we take when evaluating a client's tax situation.

It's also some sort of tradition thing, where for generations CPA's have been paid by the hour or by the form to keep their clients in compliance with the tax laws.

They just don't know any other way.

Client places an order, the CPA fills the order. But that's it. Before CTC, thats what I was doing, and it was boring as heck.

My practice has focused solely on tax planning for the last 2 years, and I cannot remember even one single tax return that I have reviewed that was prepared by another CPA that I couldn't find at least one costly mistake or missed opportunity. Not one. At the same time I see that the other CPA did exactly what their client paid them to do: prepare a tax return based on the info they received. So its not a matter of the entire profession providing terrible service. Its more about applying what we know, through additional training, a new approach, and a lot of useful tools, in a proactive way, and then properly communicating the impact to our clients in such a way that they take action to stop paying more in taxes than they need to. That is what sets a CTC apart from the rest, at least in my opinion. Robert Gambardella. CPA

I originally got into the accounting profession because I enjoyed it and I'm good at it. But I am also a people person in the sense that I love to help people out, and I used to think that the accounting profession would not be good for that. Sure, all CPAs help their clients to some extent. But after working for other CPA firms and talking with those clients, not many of those clients really viewed their CPA as a valuable resource for ideas and business growth, they just saw them as somebody that they needed to help out with the boring and often confusing compliance work. I knew there was a need not being filled about the fifth time I was on location at a client's office and overheard the owner talking to somebody else in the office, asking them who did their "CPA stuff". Is that all we do, "stuff"? That term did seem to have a boring ring to it, and those clients were viewing us as a disposable commodity.

So when Certified Tax Coach came around with the idea of becoming a highly trusted advisor to our clients, I jumped on the opportunity. I was actually one of the first CTCs in the country, and am proud to say that because of what the AICTC has done for my practice and for me as a professional. Not just in terms of revenue growth (although that is nice), but also in the fact that I can present my services in a way that is much more fulfilling. Both the client and I know that without a proactive tax plan, their business or personal life would look a lot different right now. Some would be in a cash crunch, some would have closed their doors, others just wouldn't be growing at the rate they are right now. Either way, we can all see that my service has made a profound impact on their life that no other CPA was giving them. And that is extremely satisfying to know I have brought that type of change to them. Eric Levenhagen. CPA.