Finding the right accountant for your business is crucial to ensuring your financial health and stability. Accountants are more than just number crunchers; they play a pivotal role in financial planning, tax preparation, and providing strategic advice.
With the right accountant, you can streamline your operations, comply with financial regulations, and make informed business decisions that drive growth. This guide will walk you through the essential steps and considerations in choosing the ideal accounting professional for your specific needs, helping you navigate the process with confidence and ease.
Upper Saddle River NJ, the Upper Saddle River Police Department are currently investigating a suspicious incident that occurred today at approximately 4:45 PM. The pictured male and female approached multiple houses ringing the doorbell and attempting to speak with the residents regarding “financial advice”. The individuals are seen operating this white sedan. If you are approached by these individuals please do not answer the door and immediately contact the police department 201-327-2700.
Ridgewood NJ, As older Americans approach retirement, many may be realizing their financial planning isn’t what it should have been.
That could mean they need to postpone retirement – or abandon the idea altogether.
“Most people don’t spend much time even thinking about retirement,” says Stephen Ng, author of “10 Financial Mistakes You Should Avoid: Strategies Designed to Help Keep Your Money Safe and Growing” (www.stephenngfg.com).
“They see it as a far-off time when they will have magically accumulated the money they need to jet around the world, pay for their grandchildren’s education, or otherwise have fun.”
That leaves them unprepared for the reality, Ng says. They may need to work part-time just to get by. It’s possible they will outlive their money.
“There’s no reason to work hard your whole life, but end up without the money you could have had because you failed to avoid common mistakes people make,” Ng says.
He says three examples of avoidable errors are:
• Failing to understand taxation. Most money is taxable right away, but in some cases, such as with individual retirement accounts, taxes can be deferred. A third category, Ng says, is tax-free money. Examples of tax-free investments include municipal bonds, life insurance proceeds and 529 education savings plans. “Your goal should be to shift as much taxable money as possible into the tax-deferred or tax-free categories,” he says. • Acting without enough specialized advice. You might assume one financial advisor could handle all your investment needs. But that’s not necessarily the case, Ng says. The strongest plans usually benefit from multiple specialists. An eldercare attorney could be helpful for those 60 or older. A certified public accountant could assist you with tax-avoidance strategies. An estate-planning attorney can help minimize estate and inheritance taxes. • Failing to appreciate the longevity risk. Medical advances allow people to live longer, but that creates a problem. Americans today are more likely than previous generations to outlive their money. They also are more likely to need a nursing home or some other form of long-term care, which can be expensive. “It’s important to ask yourself whether you have enough money to handle expenses for as long as you live,” Ng says. “Do you have enough to cover inflation? To cover long-term care? To cover healthcare?” The sooner people address the longevity risk, he says, the more prepared they may be to live a rich life.
Ng insists there’s still time for those nearing retirement to make amends – at least to some degree – if they haven’t planned for what lies ahead.
“I can’t stress this enough,” Ng says. “It’s never too late to formulate a plan. We can’t change the past, so the time to get started is now.”
About Stephen Ng
Stephen Ng, founder and president of Stephen Ng Financial Group, is author of “10 Financial Mistakes You Should Avoid: Strategies Designed to Help Keep Your Money Safe and Growing” (www.stephenngfg.com). Ng is a Chartered Life Underwriter, Chartered Financial Consultant and a Certified Estate Planner. He is also an Investment Advisor Representative with SagePoint Financial, Inc., member FINRA/SIPC. He regularly holds financial management, retirement investing and insurance planning seminars at businesses, churches and non-profit organizations.
Securities and investment advisory services offered through SagePoint Financial, Inc., member FINRA/SIPC and a registered investment advisor. Insurance services offered through Stephen Ng Financial Group, LLC, which is not with SagePoint Financial, Inc. or registered as a broker-dealer or investment advisor.
the staff of the Ridgewood blog
Ridgewood NJ, Ideally, people investing for retirement always should have been able to feel confident that their financial advisors were giving them unbiased advice and recommending what was best for them.
That wasn’t necessarily the case, though, which prompted the Department of Labor to issue new fiduciary rules in April designed to ensure that financial professionals put their clients’ interest ahead of their own when it comes fees and investment advice on retirement accounts.
Investors weren’t the only ones applauding the move.
“We welcomed this change since our firm was already acting as fiduciaries,” says Lou Desepoli, president of Desepoli Wealth Management (www.desepoliwealth.com).
“This might be able to weed out a lot of people who were giving the business a bad name.”
Mike Desepoli, Lou’s son and a wealth adviser at Desepoli Wealth Management, says people need the right advice because the United States is in the middle of a retirement crisis.
“Statistics show that, by and large, Americans aren’t prepared for retirement,” he says. “In fact, there have been surveys that show one-third of Americans haven’t saved anything for retirement. Meanwhile, few people have pensions anymore.”
With their retirements looking so sketchy, people should be flocking to financial advisors for help. But there is also skepticism about the financial-services industry, with a Harris Poll this year revealing that most Americans don’t hold the industry in high regard.
The Desepolis are among those hoping that the new fiduciary rules will help to change that as financial professionals put their clients first.
Lou Desepoli, who’s fond of saying that most Americans spend more time shopping for a car than a financial advisor, says a little research and a few well-planned questions can help in the search for the right advisor.
It’s important to know, for example, how the advisor is paid. Some earn commissions for investments or products they sell, but it’s best if they are paid fees based on the value of the assets they manage for you because that gives them an incentive to make those assets grow, he says.
Other topics an investor should ask about include:
• Communications. How frequently does the advisor communicate with clients? Does he or she proactively send out the reasons for buy-and-sell decisions that are made in a client’s account? • Client service. Ask the advisor to explain their client-service philosophy and what steps they take to ensure that each client receives personal and professional experience. • Succession. Find out what happens to your money if your advisor dies or retires. There should be a succession plan in place so that the advisor’s accounts are passed onto someone else, but you also need to make sure you are comfortable with that successor.
For investors concerned about retirement, having the right advisor concentrating on the right investments is critical.
“How you retire tomorrow,” Mike Desepoli says, “depends on how well you plan today.”
About Lou Desepoli
Lou Desepoli is the president and founder of Desepoli Wealth Management (www.desepoliwealth.com). He has more than 30 years’ experience in investment management, financial planning and tax consulting. He is also a CPA.
Ridgewood NJ Many people looking for good investments or hoping to save for retirement are wary of the very financial professionals who can help them reach their goals.
That was illustrated once again recently by the 2016 Harris Poll Reputation Quotient Report, which showed that just 37 percent of people surveyed believe the financial-services industry has a solid reputation.
The good news is that’s an improvement from past surveys. The bad news is that the pharmaceutical industry, the tobacco industry and government are the only ones with worse reputations.
Skepticism about the profession may sting a little, but there’s nothing wrong with caution when shopping for a financial professional, says Lou Desepoli, president of Desepoli Wealth Management (www.desepoliwealth.com).
“It’s important for investors to do their homework,” Desepoli says. “Don’t be timid about asking questions. A financial professional should answer any questions you have, and they should be able to provide details about fees, fiduciary standards and a client bill of rights.”
Mike Desepoli, Lou’s son and a wealth adviser at Desepoli Wealth Management, says all financial professionals may work with the same market conditions, but that doesn’t mean they are all created equal.
“How they assess, evaluate and react to the market is what sets one adviser apart from another,” he says.
The Desepolis say just a few of the topics an investor should broach when looking for an adviser include:
Fee transparency.
Ask how they are paid for the investments they recommend. Are they paid commissions on investments or other products they sell? Do they receive payments from mutual funds or investment companies they recommend? “What you’re trying to determine is whether they push investments that are more beneficial to them than they are to you,” Mike Desepoli says. “It’s best if the firm just charges a fee based on the value of the assets they manage for you. That makes it in their best interest for your portfolio to grow.”
Regulatory controls.
Find out what safeguards they have in place to protect against fraud. Have they ever been disciplined for unlawful or unethical actions? How do they ensure the firm remains in compliance with legal and regulatory statutes?
Experience and credentials.
The products an adviser can sell and the investment advice they can give are tied to their credentials. So find out what licenses and certifications they have.
“Most people spend more time shopping for a car than they do a financial adviser,” Lou Desepoli says. “But you want to be an informed consumer when it comes to who will handle your life savings. That person’s investment philosophy, their client-service philosophy and how they communicate with clients are all topics worth asking about.”
About Lou Desepoli
Lou Desepoli is the president and founder of Desepoli Wealth Management (www.desepoliwealth.com). He has more than 30 years’ experience in investment management, financial planning and tax consulting. He is also a CPA.
About Mike Desepoli
As a wealth adviser for Desepoli Wealth Management, Mike Desepoli serves as a wealth management resource to business owners and executives, assisting them in making proactive, personal financial decisions.
“How does the SEC expect average Americans to take the time to make thoughtful financial investments when the average annual report from public companies is a whopping 42,000 words long? Later today, the House will take up my bill to make SEC filings simpler and more useful for average Main Street investors. This will make it easier for everyone to reach their financial goals.” Rep. Scott Garrett
Sep 30, 2015
the staff of the Ridgewood blog
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Rep. Scott Garrett (NJ-05), Chairman of the Financial Services Subcommittee on Capital Markets and Government-Sponsored Enterprises, today voted for a number of bills before the Financial Services Committee to preserve the ability of American families to access credit and invest for their future:
“Around dinner tables throughout the country, middle and lower income American families discuss their retirement savings as they plan for the future. Unfortunately, many provisions of Dodd-Frank and proposed rules by the Obama Administration are putting more government, more red tape, and more bureaucracy between these people and their financial goals. Today our committee passed a number of bills—many with bipartisan support—to ensure that everyone can access credit, get good financial advice, and invest for retirement.”
The House Financial Services Committee passed the following bills today:
H.R. 414, the “Burdensome Data Collection Relief Act”
H.R. 957, the “Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection-Inspector General Reform Act of 2015”
H.R. 1090, the “Retail Investor Protection Act”
H.R. 1266, the “Financial Product Safety Commission Act of 2015”
H.R. 2769, the “Risk-Based Capital Study Act of 2015”
