Ensuring your accountant collaborates with your financial advisor is important, as they will be able to discuss and workshop ideas to improve your financial position. However, in my 20+ years of experience, this collaboration almost never occurs, unless they work in the same firm. 

Theoretically, there shouldn’t be any impediments to these two professionals working together. Practically, it doesn’t happen and depending on the complexity of your situation, it could be costing you. 

Accountants and financial planners are different beasts

It is a common misconception that accounting and financial planning roles are similar. They are not. The roles are about as similar as dentist and doctors (general practitioners). 

Apart from knowledge and experience which can be vastly different, the next biggest difference is that accountants spend most of their time focusing on what happened over the past 12 months and sometimes on what might happen over the next 12 months. However, financial advisors are more focused on what will happen over the next 10+ years i.e., the medium to long term. 

This distinction is very important because the focus is habitual. That is, it’s not a natural tendency for accountants to think about what a client’s financial position might be 5 years from now. The truth is both approaches are complimentary. People would greatly benefit from both an accountants and financial advisors’ perspective. 

Be careful asking your accountant for financial advice 

It is natural to ask your accountant for financial advice. But there are a few important limitations to consider. 

Firstly, their advice will be shaped by their own experiences, which are likely to be limited, as they are not financial advisors. Accountants will often advise their clients to do what they have done for themselves such as simplistic advice like “if you are going to invest in shares, buy the big banks and miners”. But what might be appropriate for them won’t necessarily be appropriate for all their clients. 

Secondly, to give financial advice, you must be authorised under an Australian Financial Services license. Most accountants are not. Similarly, to provide tax advice you must be a Registered Tax Agent which most financial advisors are not. 

Why don’t financial advisors and accountants typically work well together? 

Of course, the reasons may be different in every situation, but I discuss some of the common reasons that I have

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