Cpa In Las Vegas - Planning Firm

As a CPA in Las Vegas I want to take just a minute to talk about the service you should expect from someone who is really interested in you, and that is your CPA. Most CPAs in Las Vegas have a perspective of history - they ask you for last year's tax returns, they ask you for last year's information for financial statements - but someone who is really worried about you needs to be looking towards the future; needs to be looking to see what the past has in its base of information that will help you reach your goals and objectives in the future.

I have often said that CPAs stand on this line, which is today, and look back, but they should be taking that perspective of seeing what's in the past and looking forward towards the future; to help you meet your goals and objectives, your wishes and your dreams. That perspective will help you plan for the future and allow you to make the goals that you have for yourself. Most residents of Las Vegas feel like they're making an educated decision when choosing a CPA, however, they might be looking for the wrong things. While experience and reputation are still very important, you should be focusing on that personal relationship. You want to avoid any CPA who treats you like everyone else, and find the CPA in Las Vegas that will really take a personal interest in you specifically.

I'm a partner at a Las Vegas CPA firm. Choosing a CPA can be a very complicated decision, however, there are some common factors that you should look at that all CPAs should have. One of those factors is: they should excel at working with people. Being a CPA is a "people profession". It's not just the numbers, you definitely have to be able to work with people; to be a good communicator and a good listener. A second thing a CPA firm should have is: they should be honest. They should be honest and have integrity well above and beyond what you expect. You should be able to be comfortable with the tax returns and financial statements that they're presenting, and that integrity is crucial.

They should also have a great network of other Las Vegas professions. You might need an estate plan or a will done; or maybe you need some investments. There should be some people they can refer you to in order to get your entire financial profile in order. They should be able to do what they say they're going to do. For instance: if they tell you they're going to return your phone call within 24 hours, they should return your phone call within that specified period of time. You want them to return your tax return within the specified time. Your fees should be exactly what you think they're going to be. Make sure they oblige by everything that they tell you. Those are some of the most important things that a Las Vegas CPA firm should have.

One of the things my Las Vegas clients ask me often is, "How can you help me more with my tax planning?", and I think the best answer to that is "I need to talk to you". Whoever your Las Vegas CPA is, if you let them know what you're doing before March of the next year, they can often do a lot of things with entity structure, or just planning the deal to make it more tax efficient. Communication is the key with Las Vegas tax planning, but if you only talk to your CPA once a year, in March, you're missing the boat, and he or she isn't able to help you as much as they could.

For example: I had a client come to me once that was doing a land deal; they owned some land and they were going to build a building on it. And by talking with us, and letting us understand their particular tax situation, we were able to structure another entity, take the advantages between a partnership and a corporation, and capture most of that gain as long-term capital gain, instead of all as ordinary income. But it's one of those things that we couldn't have done if they had started construction and talked to us after the fact.

Make sure that your CPA understands your business and tax situation as early as possible. Give them any information that they might be able to use during the tax planning process, and make sure your Las Vegas accountant really gets to know your and your business.