Accountants, Attorneys, And Other Folks To Help With Your Money

I received the following email today:

How can I find a referral to a good accountant approved by your practice? I am in the Cumming, Alpharetta, Winder area and need a good accountant with small businesses (my husband is an attorney) and personal home finance. We also need an attorney to do wills and trusts for our kids. Can you help?

Unfortunately, I don’t refer listeners and readers to service professionals or each other. Although setting up an “approved” list of attorneys, financial advisors, CPAs is a great business idea and one that we may tackle down the line, we’re not there now and I can’t stay on top of everyone’s credentials.

But if you are interested in hiring a professional to assist you in financial or legal matters, here’s how I’d find someone:

1. Personal referrals. If you have friends who are using people they like and have had good results with over the years, it’s a good start. I’m interviewing a financial advisor on Wednesday who works with several people I know. That’s also how I found my accountant.

2. Professional, non-profit trade organizations. This is a great place to find top-quality professionals:

www.naea.org (National Association of Enrolled Agents)

www.aicpa.org (American Institute of Certified Public Accountants)

www.napfa.org (National Association of Personal Financial Advisors, a great place for fee-only financial planners or to hire someone on an hourly basis).

Anyone else care to add to the list?

January 15, 2007