Expanding our Credentials
When you go to the doctor, you likely have a blind trust in the letters surrounding the doctor’s name. You may not think too much about it, but you would be worried if they weren’t there! The widely held understanding and process for becoming a doctor helps patients feel they are getting competent guidance that can be trusted.
Unfortunately, in the financial services industry the variety of credentials creates a confusing alphabet soup. Some credentials out there may not be helpful for your situation. At Avant Financial Advisors our advisors are driven to expand their knowledge base and credentialing to offer our clients the highest level of expertise.
One of our advisors, TJ Stevenson, CFP®, recently added a couple of new letters after his name: EA. The Enrolled Agent designation, more commonly seen as “EA,” is the highest credential the IRS awards. Individuals who obtain this elite status must adhere to high ethical standards and complete 72 hours of continuing education courses every three years.
Given the variety of designations floating around, we figured a short Q&A with TJ on the EA might be helpful.
Q: In a nutshell, can you describe the process for someone to achieve the Enrolled Agent designation?
A: To become an Enrolled Agent, you have to first register for a Preparer Tax Identification Number (PTIN), which basically gets you in the system with the IRS. From there, you have to achieve passing scores on three different exam sections. The testing is solely focused on taxes for Individuals, Businesses, and Representation/Practices & Procedures. You can take the tests in any order, but there are some rules on the amount of time you have to complete them. You also have to pass a background check and be in good standing with the IRS on your personal taxes.
Q: How is this different from the CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ designation you already have?
A: The CFP® designation covers a host of subject matter areas, one of which is tax planning. But to get deeper into complicated tax planning, advisors need more knowledge. The Enrolled Agent designation forces you to go as deep as possible on all tax related areas. It also gives the power to file tax returns and represent taxpayers in front of the IRS. Our business model isn’t changing to focus on preparing returns or representing clients for their taxes. But the additional fire power in such a complicated field is beneficial to all of our clients.
Q: How will this impact the work you are able to do for clients?
A: It’s exciting because it makes our firm more capable in such a crucial area of value-add for clients. Taxes are a constantly evolving, intricate set of rules that impact everyone. Whether you are an individual with a straightforward situation, a self-employed business owner, or an executive with complicated stock compensation, we are all faced with how the moving parts of finances impact our taxes. This designation unlocks a deeper set of knowledge for planning opportunities and also helps us steer clients away from the illegitimate tax avoidance schemes out there. There is no shortage of social media influencers these days giving out tax advice (they shouldn’t!) on all sorts of tax write-offs that really don’t work for most people. Having the Enrolled Agent designation gives more weight to our recommendations around taxes and lets us get to the right answer for clients much quicker.
Q: Will this change the offering at Avant Financial Advisors?
A: No, but it really strengthens the current offering, which is a unique depth of wealth management not found at many firms. Our founder, Scott Ela, is a CPA in addition to also being a CFP® practitioner, so having me as an Enrolled Agent makes us an extremely competent duo when it comes to all things tax related.
If Avant Financial Advisors can help with your finances, give us a call! It would be a privilege to see how we can add value to your story.
