NON- CPA accountants

[Roberts]

For those of you who aren't CPA's and still do bookkeeping or accounting for clients, do you have any other licenses / designations to give you "recognition" in this field? Please share if they are beneficial.

For example I run and operate a brokerage firm along with my tax business. I was a Certified Financial Planner and found not a single client ever referenced it as important. After a few years I asked several about it and they commented they either didn't care or didn't know what it meant. At several thousand dollars a year in fees and hating the organization itself, I never regretted letting it expire.

[TaxLadyinPA]

Client Word of Mouth

Client word of mouth is the best recognition that anyone can have.

I have told my clients that if I were a licensed CPA then they wouldn't be able to afford my services LOL

I have no paper hanging on the wall in my office for any organization although I have a couple laying in the drawer for Professional Bookkeepers Association, etc.

[Uncle Sam]

Non-CPA Accountants

What makes you think that only NON-CPAs are interested in other professional titles and credentials?

Plenty of CPAs are CFPs, Valuation Specialists, Attorneys, Insurance Licensed, Registered Reps (like myself - Series 7).

I would suggest to you that if you don't wish to struggle through the CPA exam, at least take and pass the EA exam (SEE exam) - so you have a nationally recognized professional business title?

[sea-tax]

As Taxlady put it "the proof is in the pudding". If you are good at what you do and offer a good product clients will find you. Word of mouth is the the hardest but most rewarding advertisement that one can get.

I have a an EA License, a degree in accounting from a 4year university, a series 6 & 63 license for securities, working on my series 7 and am insurance licensed. Not once in all my years has a bookkeeping client asked me what designations or letters or even what experience I have. Most have just spoken to my satisfied clients and that was enough.

But also as Sam put it once I have a license I would not discard it becuase I am fully aware of the steps I had to take to attain it.

[Zee]

For those of you who aren't CPA's and still do bookkeeping or accounting for clients, do you have any other licenses / designations to give you "recognition" in this field? Please share if they are beneficial.

For example I run and operate a brokerage firm along with my tax business. I was a Certified Financial Planner and found not a single client ever referenced it as important. After a few years I asked several about it and they commented they either didn't care or didn't know what it meant. At several thousand dollars a year in fees and hating the organization itself, I never regretted letting it expire.

My understanding is the CFP exam and requirements are very difficult. It's sad people don't understand the hard work and value that should be placed on the CFP designation. A CPA designation can indeed be a negative to attracting HRB type clients because there seems to be the belief that a CPA's pricing will be substantially higher. That isn't always true. The problem is there is a professional designation for just about everything these days. I've often thought a compilation of the various letter titles would be very entertaining.

[drdino]

Let it expire?

You let your CFP(r) expire or just became inactive. Wow! It took me 2 years to obtain my CFP(r) and I would never let it lapse. I lost a few years of my life taking that exam. Where I am in NY, I have had clients come to me simply because I was certified. They didn't even know me. Hopefully I will pass the last part of the SEE in May and then be an EA also.

[taxmandan]

Haven't bothered with any credentials for BK/Acnting

You asked about credentials for bookkeeping/accounting. Sadly that activity is viewed as a commodity by too many business owners and all they want is cheap price. They don't believe that you get what you pay for, they just want to pay as little as possible.
My wife, who does the bookkeeping work, is a member of AIPB but hasn't even bothered getting their certification. We have yet to have anyone ask about licensing or professional affiliation for bookkeeping work, just 'how much will it cost?' They don't even ask what the fee includes, bank reconciliation, after the fact bookkeeping, payroll, etc. they just know they need some sort of bookkeeping and seldom even know why. Then they go somewhere else because our fees are too high for most of them.

[Black Bart]

Depends on

For those of you who aren't CPA's and still do bookkeeping or accounting for clients, do you have any other licenses / designations to give you "recognition" in this field?...

who you want the recognition from. My EA designation means something to me and my colleagues, but -- with the exception of a select few, tax-wise individuals -- it's irrelevant to clients. To them we're all "CPAs" (the one designation they recognize).

My experience is similar to that of taxmandan who said "We have yet to have anyone ask about licensing or professional affiliation for bookkeeping work, just how much will it cost?"

Actually, I'm batting a little better average than that; I've had maybe...oh...four or five inquiries in the last 35 years (one just this season -- an obnoxious nitpicker who, wrinkling the brow of his empty head, kept parroting "EA? EA?").

[erchess]

My Experience

I started my career working for first one and then another storefront firm and for most of my clients the fact that I had been hired by the particular firm was good enough for them. I don't clearly remember this information about the first two seasons but this season the phone rang about 30 times with inquiries from potential new clients and all but three but three became returns I did. Only two callers asked about my background in tax work. Most were only interested in the price and whether I could see them when they wanted to see me. I have over the years discussed with perhaps 30 potential or actual clients what they are looking for and nearly all were of the opinion that anyone in the business could handle their simple little return and would do so for pretty much their minimum fee.

I don't know how we can shake that problem. I don't think that Doctors, Lawyers, Architects, Business Managers, Sales Professionals or Skilled Trades People have the same problem. In fact when I worked in the construction and factory industries years ago employers of semiskilled and unskilled laborers did not think that one was the same as another.

[Roberts]

mine

I was only asking because I keep getting hit with emails about Professional Bookkeeper organizations I've never heard of before and wondering if they mattered to people. I don't do bookkeeping and don't plan on it.

I gave up the CFP because it is expensive to maintain and I literally hate the principal organization. I can't be a CPA because you are required to do 2 years of public auditing and I'm not giving up my business to go do that!

I'm series 7, 24 and 66 licensed by FINRA and am considering getting the series 53. I'm a Certified Divorce Financial Analyst (actually interesting) and from that became an Enrolled Agent on a whim (taxes were something I'd never considered).

Currently I'm thinking about getting a designation from the UK for tax. I'm sort of the recommended tax professional for a few companies and Universities in my area for non-resident returns (weird how it developed). When I retire I'd like to move to the UK for a few months each year and do the taxes for ex-patriots.

The point of the thread was just to see what bookkeepers think about all those licenses and if they are helpful. Most designations are pretty much useless in actually gaining employment.

[fliszt]

To respond,

I have an EA licensee and found 0% of my clients ever heard of the designation. That is the main complaint I have with NAEA -- they don't advertise to let folks know what the EA stands for and that we too had to take a 2 day exam to become licensed. And yes, it seems everyone knows what CPA stands for. At one time I had a relationship with a CFP that seemed to know more about tax entries than me. He would ask questions I believe only to make me feel good. I have a lot of respect for persons with a CFP title.
I too do bookkeeping through the year for a holding corporation that has 6 corporations under its umbrella. I don't look for business and have cut down all tax clients with whom I had a personality conflict with. Since "Old Jack" left this board, I think I have now replaced his "old". I just don't understand how Birdlegs could handle the volume he did at his age. I'm sure I won't be able to.

[Roberts]

At one time I had a relationship with a CFP that seemed to know more about tax entries than me. He would ask questions I believe only to make me feel good.

I found the exact opposite to be true. The CFP exam barely covers tax of any kind and so I've found most know very little about it. I even had a CFP instructor argue about what the progressive tax code meant (he didn't understand it at all). Having an investment or financial planning license doesn't equate well to tax knowledge - JMHO. They probably do have a firm grasp of cost basis though. Lot of people taking the EA exam complain about cost basis and my investment background had taught me most of that years ago.

[Lion]

Calls

I had two calls this season from people who found my name on the NAEA site. So, I guess word is getting out about what an EA is and people do check the NAEA database of EAs by geographical area.

[drdino]

CFP and taxes

Fully disagree. There is a whole course on taxes. It is pretty intense actually. Thats what led me to presue the EA designation. It was a great tax building block. CFP covers personal and corporate tax pretty well.

[AZ-Tax]

Series 7

Seagate, I have had my series 7 for nearly 20 yrs and if I had to do it again, I would have only obtained the Series 6.