5 Essential Services Offered by Certified Public Accountants You Didn't Know About

Going beyond numbers to fuel your financial success.

Certified public accountants (CPAs) are much more than just number crunchers. While tax preparation and auditing financial statements are core CPA services, today's accounting professionals offer a diverse range of value-added services to help individuals and businesses achieve financial success.

At CartierCPAs, our experienced CPAs provide comprehensive accounting, advisory and consulting services that go far beyond the basics. Here are 5 essential services we offer that you may not realize CPAs can provide:

1. Beyond Numbers: Forensic Accounting

2. Estate & Trust: Safeguarding Your Legacy

Proper estate and trust administration is crucial for preserving assets to pass onto your loved ones. CPAs are experts in estate, gift, and trust taxes who can help you:

• Develop estate plans that minimize taxes - Create customized plans to utilize exemptions, deductions, exclusions, and credits to reduce estate tax liability. Strategies may involve gifts to heirs or donating to charity.
• Set up trusts to protect assets - Establish trusts to avoid probate, shield assets from creditors, smoothly transition family businesses, or control distributions to beneficiaries.
• Value complex estates with multiple properties and assets - Determine accurate date-of-death values for real estate, closely-held businesses, investment accounts, collectibles, vehicles, and other assets to calculate estate taxes.
• Administer estates and trusts in accordance with laws and regulations - Navigate complex tax rules and filing requirements, make distributions to beneficiaries, and maintain necessary documentation on behalf of estates and trusts.
• Distribute inheritance to beneficiaries - Manage final accounting and asset distribution, while resolving any disputes between beneficiaries over inheritance disbursements.

With their tax expertise and attention to detail, CPAs can ensure your estate plan fulfills your wishes while optimizing inheritance for your beneficiaries. At CartierCPAs, our estate and trust services provide complete peace of mind that your legacy will be protected. We have administered estates worth tens of millions of dollars and overseen complex trust arrangements with multiple beneficiaries.

3. Non-Profit Accounting: For a Cause, With Care

Non-profit organizations have unique accounting and compliance needs. CPAs well-versed in non-profit regulations can provide:

• Audits required to meet non-profit financial standards - Perform audits to verify financial statements are free of material misstatements and prepared according to Generally Accepted Accounting Principles for non-profits.
• Tax reporting tailored for 501(c) entities - File accurate Form 990 information returns outlining revenue sources, expenses, assets, and key personnel salaries required to maintain 501(c) tax exemption.
• Budgeting and cash flow analysis - Develop budgets aligned with strategic plans and grant cycles, along with cash flow projections to anticipate liquidity needs.
• Systems to track grants and restricted funds - Implement customized systems to properly record and spend grant funds for designated purposes, maintaining documentation on compliance.

For non-profits focused on their mission, having a CPA manage finances provides confidence that accounting and compliance are handled with expertise. At CartierCPAs, our non-profit accounting services help organizations make the most of their resources to drive impact. We are trusted by local charities and global NGOs alike to support their causes through sound financial stewardship.

4. Personalized Services: Your Financial Concierge

CPAs often develop long-term relationships acting as trusted financial advisors for individuals and business owners. Services a CPA can provide directly to you include:

• Budgeting and cash flow planning - Review income and expenses to create realistic budgets aligned with your financial goals, managing cash flow smoothly across months.
• Record keeping for tax reporting - Maintain proper documentation on deductible expenses, charitable giving, business mileage, and other items to maximize tax deductions and credits.
• Retirement and investment planning - Project retirement needs, recommend investment strategies aligned with goals and risk tolerance and help diversify and preserve wealth.
• Insurance analysis - Evaluate existing policies to ensure proper life, health, property, and liability coverage at optimal rates.
• College savings strategies - Explore 529 plans, financial aid options, and other ways to save and pay for college.
• Guidance on major financial decisions - Provide input on significant personal finance decisions like buying or selling real estate, changing jobs, inheriting wealth, or retiring early.
  
  

A CPA provides personalized service tailored to your situation and financial goals. Think of your CPA as your financial concierge! At CartierCPAs, our high-touch approach provides you with a partner invested in your success. We get to know you on a one-on-one level to offer tailored advice that helps you build wealth and achieve what matters most to you.

5. Business Accounting: Fueling Your Growth

Of course, CPAs specialize in core accounting services vital for business success:

• Bookkeeping and financial statements - Maintain records, produce balance sheets, income statements, cash flow statements, and other reports conveying the financial health of a business.
• Cash flow analysis - Review cash inflows and outflows to assess liquidity, plan cash reserves, and identify periods with potential cash shortfalls.
• Budgeting and forecasting - Develop financial plans and projections for revenue, growth, production, staffing, capital expenditures, and other key items.
• Tax planning and filing - Advise on corporate structure, deductions and credits to minimize tax liability, and prepare and file business tax returns.
• Payroll administration - Handle payroll processing, tax deposits, filings, and compliance.
• Financial benchmarking - Compare financial ratios like profit margins, return on assets, debt levels, and other metrics to industry standards.
• Systems implementation - Deploy new accounting systems and ensure smooth integration with business operations and reporting.

However, CPAs particularly excel at using financial insights to directly enhance business growth, profitability, and value. As advisors with deep financial expertise, CPAs make ideal business partners.

At CartierCPAs, our business accounting services help companies at every stage, from pre-revenue startups to established corporations. We offer strategic insights tailored for your business. Our CPAs have helped companies raise millions in capital, expand into new markets, and successfully sell their businesses for maximum valuation.

Partner with a CPA for Success

This overview just scratches the surface of the diverse services offered by today's CPAs. At CartierCPAs, our experienced certified public accountants provide full-scope financial services for individuals and businesses. Contact us to see how we can help you thrive. Our customized approach provides the expertise and guidance you need to accomplish your financial goals.

Contact us today, at Cartier CPA's our goal is to provide clients with the highest level of respect and quality of service.