Financial planning support for accountants
Accountants are often among the first professional advisers to identify when a client's financial circumstances have become more complicated.
A change of residence, business sale, overseas pension, US connection, significant investment portfolio or approaching retirement can create financial-planning decisions alongside the accounting and tax work already being undertaken.
Josh Clancey works alongside accountants where clients need specialist input on pensions, investments, retirement planning, cash-flow modelling or the implementation of wider professional advice.
Where financial planning can sit alongside your work
The dividing line should remain clear.
The accountant remains responsible for accounting, tax compliance and tax advice within their professional remit.
Josh's role is to help the client deal with the financial-planning decisions that arise from that work.
That might mean reviewing a pension before a client relocates, modelling retirement once the accountant has established the tax position, developing an investment strategy following a business sale or helping an internationally mobile client organise retirement assets accumulated across several countries.
Where tax advice is required before a financial-planning recommendation can be made, Josh can work from the accountant's analysis rather than attempting to recreate or replace it.
Client situations where accountants may involve Josh
A client is moving country
The tax analysis may establish the consequences of leaving or entering a jurisdiction, but the client may still need to decide what to do with pensions, investments, retirement accounts and cash.
A client is returning to the UK
Pre-arrival work can extend beyond residence and tax.
Existing pensions, overseas investments, cash holdings and future retirement planning may need to be considered before the move.
A business owner is approaching a sale
The accountant may be heavily involved in the company and transaction position while the shareholder needs separate planning around personal liquidity, investments and retirement.
A client has pensions in another country
An overseas pension may raise decisions around consolidation, access, retirement income, beneficiaries and future residence.
A client has a US connection
US citizenship, Green Card status, US retirement accounts or non-US investments can materially affect the financial-planning analysis.
A client is approaching retirement
Tax may be one part of the decision. The client may also need to understand whether their pensions, investments and expected spending can support the retirement they want.
Questions that may indicate a wider planning need
Where will the client be resident over the next few years?
A planned move can affect which financial-planning issues should be reviewed and when.
What pensions and retirement accounts does the client hold?
Clients with UK pensions, US retirement accounts or pensions accumulated across several countries may need specialist planning before making changes.
Are existing investments still appropriate for the client's circumstances?
Residence, citizenship and tax status can affect the suitability or practicality of investment structures.
Is there a significant liquidity event approaching?
A business sale, inheritance, redundancy payment or other large capital event may require a personal financial plan in addition to the tax work.
Is the client approaching retirement?
Tax efficiency matters, but it needs to sit alongside spending requirements, pension income, investment withdrawals and longevity.
Are beneficiaries or family members in different jurisdictions?
Pensions, investments, insurance and beneficiary arrangements may need to be coordinated with estate and legal planning.
Professional resources for accountants
The Document Centre includes technical briefs, professional guides and checklists that can support client reviews and help identify areas where financial-planning input may be useful.
Relevant areas include UK residence, the FIG regime, inheritance tax, UK pensions, US-connected clients, business exits, international retirement and clients moving between jurisdictions.
Useful resources for accountants
The Professional Adviser's Guide to Cross-Border Financial Planning
A broader framework for recognising the financial-planning issues that can arise when a client's life, assets or retirement arrangements span jurisdictions.
The UK Statutory Residence Test for Internationally Mobile Clients
A focused technical resource on the residence framework professional advisers may encounter when clients move into or out of the UK.
The FIG Regime and Investment Planning for UK Returners
A technical brief covering the financial-planning issues that may arise when internationally mobile clients become UK resident.
Financial Planning Before and After a Business Sale
A practical technical brief on the personal planning issues surrounding a liquidity event.
Client Moving Country Checklist
A practical framework for reviewing the key financial-planning areas around an international move.
Cross-Border Referral Checklist
A practical tool for recognising circumstances where further cross-border financial-planning input may be useful.
Working from the tax advice already in place
A common problem in cross-border planning is duplication.
The client may have already paid an accountant or tax adviser to establish the correct tax position, only for another adviser to begin the analysis again.
That should not be necessary where the relevant advice is already available.
With the client's agreement, Josh can work from existing professional advice and concentrate on the financial decisions that follow from it.
For example:
- the accountant establishes the tax implications of returning to the UK, while Josh reviews pensions, investments and retirement planning before the move
- the accountant advises on the tax consequences of a business sale, while Josh plans how the resulting capital might support the client's personal objectives
- the accountant establishes the treatment of pension withdrawals, while Josh models how different retirement-income strategies affect the wider plan
- the accountant identifies a US tax issue, while Josh reviews the investment or retirement-planning implications
This allows each professional to remain within their own area while giving the client a more coordinated outcome.
Where Josh's role ends
Josh does not provide accounting services or replace the client's accountant.
He does not prepare tax returns or provide specialist tax advice outside his professional remit.
Where a recommendation depends on a tax position, legal interpretation or another specialist conclusion, the appropriate professional should establish that position.
Josh can then incorporate that advice into the client's financial plan and, where appropriate, help implement the financial decisions that follow.
Technical briefings for accountancy firms
Josh can provide focused briefings for accountancy and tax teams dealing with internationally mobile clients.
Relevant topics can include UK clients leaving or returning to the UK, US-connected clients, international pensions, PFIC exposure, business exits and cross-border retirement planning.
Have a client case you would like to discuss?
If a client's tax or accounting work has highlighted a pension, investment, retirement or wider financial-planning issue, an initial discussion can help establish whether Josh is likely to add value.
There is no requirement to make a formal introduction simply to establish whether the case falls within his remit.