Have you ever wondered about this? Tom Krause, CPA clarifies:

 

 

Our Firm’s primary job is to assist our clients in the best way possible. This is why clients rely on us. But, as the saying goes, “You cannot know everything.” This is more appropriate today than even 27 years ago when I started in this profession. In the past, there did not seem to be as many specialists in so many fields. These specialists, or consultants, exist today because of the many complexities in the daily business life of our clients. You see, each of our clients’ unique businesses requires us to have a breadth of knowledge that is nearly impossible for one person or one Firm.

Here’s what I mean.

Sales and Use tax compliance filings are very complicated and often involve many diverse issues. Our Firm utilizes a consulting firm who specializes in Sales and Use tax, which will review the situation with us for no charge, assist us with proper questions or suggestions, and let us determine if we can handle the need ourselves or hire the consultant to complete the project. This keeps us efficient and accurate on certain Sales and Use tax projects.

Another example of using consultants arose recently when a client of the Firm began exporting goods. We were not familiar with all of the complex issues and planning available for tax savings to exporters. The client hired our consultant to perform all the tasks necessary to utilize the tax savings. Throughout the process, the consultant was very willing to offer advice to our Firm, which taught us how to apply this benefit to many other clients. We now have a growing niche in this area, allowing us to enhance this savings opportunity for many more business owners, because of our ongoing work with this consultant.

Consultants are specialists. It’s impossible to be an expert on everything our clients ask about. That’s why we have forged strong relationships with trusted consultants who we know are experts in their particular niche. Need more reasons?

1. Consultants are a like a lifeline for us and our clients. Clients want resolution to a problem and they really don’t care who assists us, as long as we can quickly get accurate information. Consultants help us do that.
2. We can learn from our consultants. As our consultants help us to help you, they teach us some of the nuances of their area of expertise. Because consultants need to stay fresh with their specialty, their knowledge and abilities are very current and relevant.
3. Consultants save you time and money. Because we have longstanding relationships with many of our consultants, they are usually willing to give complimentary advice on an initial discussion. This saves time and gets us on the right track for a client’s issue.

Consultants are very important to our Firm. They assist our clients with issues and are willing to be of service and add real value. This, in turn, helps us maintain and grow our relationships with our clients and assist all members in our Firm to increase and improve our level of service.