The American Institute of CPAs (AICPA) recently released findings from its Personal Financial Planning Trends Survey, which examined a series of post tax reform adjustments potentially useful to consumers.
The analysis revealed within roughly a month of the Tax Cuts & Jobs Act passing, two-thirds of CPA financial planners had already discussed the impact of tax reform with their clients while more than half had started the process of making changes to their clients’ financial plans.
“As the most recent tax reform was being finalized, we were reviewing every client’s situation for last minute planning opportunities and the long-term impact it would have,” David Oransky, a member of the AICPA PFP executive committee, said. “This allowed us to create multiple contingency plans so that when the final bill became law, all we had to do was execute the appropriate plan. This resulted not only in savings for our clients, but also served to reduce their anxiety about the changes.”
The numbers showed clients were more optimistic than anxious about the impact the tax reform efforts would have on their finances, officials said, adding the proportion of very anxious clients was one and a half times that of those who were very optimistic. Anxiety was fueled by the loss of tax deductions and uncertainty about the amount of tax they would pay.
“A personal financial plan is, above all, personal,” said Andrea Millar, Association of International Certified Professional Accountants director of Financial Planning. “And while laws may change, the role of the CPA financial planner is to make sure that the plan is working for their client in any environment to support their life goals and to keep them and their family secure.”