Redefining Financial Planning
If you have LGBT clients, you need to read Liz Gold's article, Wealth Management Firm Meets Needs of LGBT Clients. In this article, Jen Hatch of Christopher Street Financial shares many of the issues faced by members of this group, and she discusses solutions and planning techniques that are specific to the LGBT community. We also have an inspirational story about members of the Ohio Society of CPAs working with young students in their state to teach basic financial planning techniques. With this in mind, I have a reader request.
I've taught an online financial planning course for several years. For the most part, my students fall into three categories: young people just out of school who are trying to manage their finances for the first time; women who are unexpectedly on their own, either because of a divorce or loss of a spouse, and who have never had credit, paid bills, or managed money; and people of all walks in life who are suddenly facing a financial crisis and don't know where to turn. Almost without exception, people come to my class because they’re worried. These aren’t the people who would visit a financial planner or an accounting professional – they're pretty sure they can't afford the services these professionals would offer.
I find that basic education and reassurance that there are solutions to financial problems are the main things that my students need. This group doesn’t represent a minority of our society – my guess is that the majority of people need help with financial planning but don't know where to start. Any outreach you can offer to the members of your community will pay itself back many times over. By helping people get on a path to financial security, you develop future clients. As you make your plans for 2013, please consider community outreach as an option. You have the knowledge and the ability to make a difference in your community.
I've taught an online financial planning course for several years. For the most part, my students fall into three categories: young people just out of school who are trying to manage their finances for the first time; women who are unexpectedly on their own, either because of a divorce or loss of a spouse, and who have never had credit, paid bills, or managed money; and people of all walks in life who are suddenly facing a financial crisis and don't know where to turn. Almost without exception, people come to my class because they’re worried. These aren’t the people who would visit a financial planner or an accounting professional – they're pretty sure they can't afford the services these professionals would offer.
I find that basic education and reassurance that there are solutions to financial problems are the main things that my students need. This group doesn’t represent a minority of our society – my guess is that the majority of people need help with financial planning but don't know where to start. Any outreach you can offer to the members of your community will pay itself back many times over. By helping people get on a path to financial security, you develop future clients. As you make your plans for 2013, please consider community outreach as an option. You have the knowledge and the ability to make a difference in your community.
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Gail Perry is Publisher at Sift Media US, Inc. and oversees the content on the Sift websites, AccountingWEB.com and GoingConcern.com. She has been the editor-in-chief at Sift Media US since 2007, overseeing the content on AccountingWEB.
Perry is a CPA and a former senior tax accountant with Big Four firm Deloitte. She maintains a small tax practice, she is a personal finance instructor, and the author of thirty books, including Surviving Financial Downsizing: A Practical Guide to Living Well on Less Income (Adams Media); QuickBooks on Demand (Que); Excel 2007 Macros Made Easy (McGraw Hill); The Complete Idiot's Guide to Doing Your Income Taxes (Alpha/MacMillan); and, most recently, Mint.com for Dummies (John Wiley & Sons). In addition, she is a former columnist for the Indianapolis Star and Indianapolis News daily newspapers.
Perry is a nationally recognized speaker who advises public accountants on using Internet tools to improve their accounting practices. She also taught a college-level introductory accounting class and was on staff at the Indiana CPA Society as a computer applications instructor. For five years, she was a contributing editor for Accounting Today magazine before taking over the helm at AccountingWEB.
Perry is a graduate of Indiana University where she earned a bachelor’s degree in journalism. She returned to school to study accounting at Illinois State University, passed the CPA exam (in one sitting!), and worked for Deloitte in the Chicago tax department.
Gail has been named one of the 25 Most Powerful Women in Accounting by CPA Practice Advisor magazine and the American Society of Women Accountants.
Perry is a CPA and a former senior tax accountant with Big Four firm Deloitte. She maintains a small tax practice, she is a personal finance instructor, and the author of thirty books, including Surviving Financial Downsizing: A Practical Guide to Living Well on Less Income (Adams Media); QuickBooks on Demand (Que); Excel 2007 Macros Made Easy (McGraw Hill); The Complete Idiot's Guide to Doing Your Income Taxes (Alpha/MacMillan); and, most recently, Mint.com for Dummies (John Wiley & Sons). In addition, she is a former columnist for the Indianapolis Star and Indianapolis News daily newspapers.
Perry is a nationally recognized speaker who advises public accountants on using Internet tools to improve their accounting practices. She also taught a college-level introductory accounting class and was on staff at the Indiana CPA Society as a computer applications instructor. For five years, she was a contributing editor for Accounting Today magazine before taking over the helm at AccountingWEB.
Perry is a graduate of Indiana University where she earned a bachelor’s degree in journalism. She returned to school to study accounting at Illinois State University, passed the CPA exam (in one sitting!), and worked for Deloitte in the Chicago tax department.
Gail has been named one of the 25 Most Powerful Women in Accounting by CPA Practice Advisor magazine and the American Society of Women Accountants.
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