Accounting
New CPA exam on planning shows wealth and tax links
Certified public accountants with the personal financial specialist credential are hailing the “significant milestone” and “monumental addition” of a planning section to the CPA exam.
For the first time
The change
“This journey has not only been a testament to perseverance but also a reminder of the impact dedicated professionals can have on shaping the future of their profession,” Jean-Luc Bourdon, the founder of Santa Barbara, California-based
The new material spans 25 different skills applicable to planning, according to a “blueprint” guide on
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Bourdon’s post, “The Decade-Long Journey to Integrate Personal Financial Planning into the CPA Exam,” credited Andrea Millar of
Millar led
“Adding personal financial planning (PFP) services to CPAs’ offerings opens the door to multiple opportunities for CPAs, their employees, their recruiting efforts and their clients,” Susan Tillery, CEO of Kennesaw, Georgia-based Paraklete Financial and past chair of the AICPA Personal Financial Planning Executive Committee and the AICPA Personal Financial Specialist Credential Committee, wrote in
“The need for PFP services is great; the need for PFP services offered by CPAs is even greater,” Tillery wrote. “The multiplication that occurs in client revenues, client retention, employee satisfaction, employee recruitment and the overall benefit to the client compels CPAs to take a closer look at why PFP services are not already being offered by their firms.”
While CPAs have advised clients about personal finance for more than a century and the
“Adding PFP to the CPA Exam increases awareness of the role of CPAs in PFP planning, which is an exciting development for the accounting curriculum and the PFP field,” Snyder wrote. “This inclusion will inspire the next generation of accounting professionals by motivating aspiring candidates to pursue this dynamic and rewarding field.”
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Other wealth and tax professionals chimed in with their support for adding the questions about planning to the exam. They could nudge “young students to see personal financial planning as a career” and help address the fact that “some people are cautious when searching for financial planning advice, as they feel most of the advisors today are salespeople,” Jeffrey Levine, the director of financial strategies for Woburn, Massachusetts-based
“While there will always be a need for accurate and timely fair presentation of business records, well-prepared tax filings and a profession with strong ethics and strong training to guide business and personal financial matters, expanding the role of CPAs into personal financial planning is long overdue,” Levine said. “Some predict that AI will take over our profession and reduce our value. I believe financial planning done properly requires a professional to gather information, listen and provide insight. Preparing more CPAs for this area by providing coursework and adding the subject to the exam is a major step toward building a workforce to handle the needs that are already here.”
The new CPA Exam material on planning could “help stop and maybe even reverse the terrible
“You can’t really do a complete job of financial planning without tax being a huge part of it,” Watts said. “Our perspective is that everyone’s financial planning should be rooted in an assessment and understanding of the impact of taxes every step of the way. In fact, I firmly believe that someday, financial planning without incorporating tax planning will be considered unthinkable.”
Carr, Riggs & Ingram, a Top 25 Firm based in Enterprise, Alabama, has added CapinCrouse, a Regional Leader based in Indianapolis, effective Jan. 17, 2025.
The deal is CRI’s biggest merger in its history, and the first since it
CapinCrouse focuses on exclusively serving nonprofits, such as faith-based organizations and private colleges. The merger will add 40 partners, 185 professionals and 15 offices to CRI, which has 437 partners and 2,304 staff
After the outside investment, CRI split its attest and non-attest practices, as is common when accounting firms receive private equity or venture capital funding. Carr, Riggs & Ingram, L.L.C., as an independent licensed CPA firm, is providing assurance, attest and audit services. CRI Advisors, LLC (including its subsidiary entities) operates as a separate legal entity, providing clients with tax and business consulting services.
“This merger represents an exciting milestone in our firm’s history and a significant advancement for both CRI and CapinCrouse,” said CRI Advisors LLC chairman Bill Carr in a statement Tuesday. “We have previously invested in firms that specialize in serving faith-based organizations and private colleges. With the addition of CapinCrouse, CRI is now positioned to become the leading national provider in these vital markets. By combining our strengths, we will enhance the value we offer and greatly expand our national geographical presence. We are proud to welcome CapinCrouse to the CRI family.”
Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. CRI ranked No. 24 on Accounting Today‘s 2024 list of the Top 100 Firms, with $455.36 million in annual revenue. CapinCrouse ranked No. 27 on Accounting Today‘s Regional Leaders list of the Top Firms in the Great Lakes region, with $35.51 million in annual revenue.
“We are very pleased to join CRI,” said Fran Brown, Managing Partner of CapinCrouse. “For over 50 years, our focus has been on providing innovative service to nonprofit organizations whose outcomes are measured in lives changed. CRI’s commitment to client service, respect, and integrity is an excellent fit with our mission and firm culture. We will continue to operate under the CapinCrouse brand and are excited to now have access to more offerings and resources to further drive exceptional client service.”
Koltin Consulting Group CEO Allan Koltin advised both firms on the merger. “It is interesting to note that this is CRI’s biggest M&A deal in its history, and it comes on the heels of their private equity deal with Centerbridge Partners and Bessemer Venture Partners,” he said in a statement. “CapinCrouse, a top 125 firm nationally, is viewed by many as the preeminent firm in the country when it comes to the audit and related advisory services of nonprofits and religious organizations. My intuition suggests that going forward, we will see CRI expanding its geographic reach nationally by combining with more top 200 firms.”
Last August, CRI added
In 2022, CapinCrouse acquired the
President Donald Trump named Mark Uyeda, a Republican member of the Securities and Exchange Commission, as acting chairman of the SEC, while confirmation hearings await for Trump’s official pick as chairman, Paul Atkins.
Uyeda has been an SEC commissioner since 2022 and a member of the staff since 2006. Last month, he
“I am honored to serve in this capacity after serving as a Commissioner since 2022, and a member of the staff since 2006,” Uyeda said in a statement Monday. “I have great respect for the knowledge, expertise and experience of the agency and its people. The SEC has a vital mission—protecting investors, maintaining fair, orderly, and efficient markets, and facilitating capital formation—that plays a key role in promoting innovation, jobs creation, and the American Dream.”
Last month, Trump
As acting chairman, Uyeda announced Monday that he would be launching a crypto task force dedicated to developing a comprehensive and clear regulatory framework for crypto assets. The task force will be led by another Republican commissioner, Hester Peirce.
The task force plans to collaborate with SEC staff and the public to set the SEC on a regulatory path as opposed to pursuing enforcement actions to regulate crypto “retroactively and reactively,” according to a
“This undertaking will take time, patience and much hard work,” Peirce said in a statement. “It will succeed only if the Task Force has input from a wide range of investors, industry participants, academics and other interested parties. We look forward to working hand-in-hand with the public to foster a regulatory environment that protects investors, facilitates capital formation, fosters market integrity, and supports innovation.”
The task force plans to hold roundtables in the future, but in the meantime is asking for public input at [email protected].
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