Subscribe

Recent Posts:

---

Accountants Are More Than Bean Counters - Or At Least They Should Be

---

Gross Receipts Tax

---

Memorial Day is a Time to Remember and Give Thanks

---

McCarthy & Co. has been building brand for decades

---

Marthy McCarthy Featured in Crain's Philadelphia Business

---

View All

Accountants Are More Than Bean Counters - Or At Least They Should Be

Marty McCarthy, CPA

Historically, CPAs have often been viewed as “bean counters.” The origin of this perception is that most accountants want to know how many beans are in the bag before they pay for it. Unfortunately, many accountants today still give off that impression to the general public. 

However, one bean shouldn't make or break a decision. Effective accountants should help their clients take steps towards being proactive in areas like finances, taxes, and wealth preservation. They should also work with clients to strengthen their financial position, grow their business, and become more profitable. This is a very uncommon approach for the majority of CPAs to take. Most CPAs tend to be reactive, providing clients with documents of historical information and tax returns indicating where taxpayers should sign and return documents to various taxing authorities. Clients want their CPA to be more than a bean counter. Clients want to work with a CPA who always has their best interests in mind, someone who will come to them with recommendations on how they can make more money and keep more of what they make.

At our firm, we sit down with our clients and get to know what is important to them. We discuss ways to look forward, as opposed to looking backward. We consider opportunities for tax planning, retirement planning, and wealth preservation. We also work with our business clients on areas that will benefit them in the future, such as strategic planning, succession planning, and their operational design and organizational strategy. We know that our clients work hard running their business and need someone who will come to them with innovative solutions to improve operations and efficiencies. 

We present clients with numerous strategies to save money on their taxes and are proactive in our approach to tax planning. Since we keep up with industry trends, government regulations, and the ever-increasing changes to the tax laws, we can often recommend tax deductions or credits that other CPAs miss simply because they are not aware that the client qualifies. When our clients receive final documents from us, there are very little surprises, as most of the items were either planned for or addressed early in the process, and issues or concerns were ironed out in advance.

A forward-thinking CPA is a valuable resource to a client. Accounting is more than just compliance work. After all, people spend time planning vacations, so shouldn't their CPA work with them to plan for their lives, their futures, and their businesses?

At our firm, I'm proud to lead a culture that focuses on being proactive for our clients, and not reactive. If you want to see how we can help you, please reach out to me at 610.828.1900 or Marty.McCarthy@MCC-CPAs.com and we can discuss your needs. Our team is ready to focus on you and be dedicated to your success.