Business owners are pulled in many different directions each day. They must nurture their business to grow and remain strong and healthy while surrounding themselves with a team aligned for success. At Killingsworth Spencer, LLC, we advise our clients to take hold of the 4th quarter now and make it all come together before it’s too late.
One of the greatest challenges a business owner must face is to have access to critical financial information in real-time to make good decisions. This information comes from having a talented team of advisors who work in concert to help the owner gain access to knowledge. Killingsworth Spencer CPAs sees our role as an advisor alongside bankers, attorneys, insurance professionals, financial advisors, and bookkeepers. An understanding of cash flow, access to capital for growth, expenses, and taxes is paramount to the long-term success of any enterprise.
Today, with the help of my competent business partner, Lynn Spencer, we have built our firm around having at least two sets of eyes on each client’s tax return to reduce human error and identify every deduction and tax credit. Completing the tax returns for our clients is the easiest part of our process. We must gather lots of financial and subjective information to get the most from our relationship. We prefer to meet our business owners and high-net-worth clients several times throughout the year to learn more about what is going on in the business, investable assets, and plans for the next few quarters and beyond.
Is your investment advisor speaking with your CPA at least once a year to do tax planning? At Killingsworth Spencer CPAs in Roswell, GA, our yearly ritual each November and early December is to sit with our business owners or high-net-worth clients and their investment professionals to discuss gains and losses because of special tax treatment options. This meeting is a critical step to help our clients save taxes. On the investment side, we determine cost basis and timing of long-term and short-term sales. In the case of a client with large mutual fund balances, it is always better to know in advance, if possible, of any unexpected dividends, capital gains, or long/short-term sales that may create additional taxes due or a huge loss. We also identify issues and opportunities with Required Minimum Distributions (RMDs). This time is ideal for business clients to set owner salaries and make tax projections.
Great musicians will tell you that for any concert to go well, they must be a good listeners. A musician in a band who does his own thing without paying attention to what is happening around him will miss subtle cues and chord changes. The same is true in all parts of our lives. Killingsworth Spencer CPAs understand that a big part of what makes us unique is that we take the time necessary to listen to our clients so they can get the most out of their advisory relationships. If you want to learn more and take hold of the 4th quarter now before it’s too late, email us or call 404-369-0088, or fill out our inquiry form online.
