The Wall Street Journal is on it, you guys:
Plenty of accountants make errors on tax returns from time to time but most manage to remain on good terms with their affected clients. Make a big mistake or too many, however, and the tax pro can be out of a job. Financial advisers often help to draw the line between an acceptable mistake and a firing offense. They may spot errors on a tax return or note that an accountant isn't up to preparing a more complicated return. Sometimes, they troubleshoot if the tax pro clearly has a conflict of interest or charges too much. "When we start seeing repetitive mistakes, or a misunderstanding of the tax strategy, that's the line where we would go to a client and bring up this conversation," said James Ciprich, a wealth adviser at RegentAtlantic, a fee-only advisory firm in Morristown, N.J., with $2.4 billion under management.
Also! Should a CPA not be familiar with a particular type of tax strategy, they should probably not converse with other professionals who are!
A whole group of financial professionals can be threatened when one member isn't up to the job. For example, an accountant who can't accurately complete Form 706 to report an estate over $5 million is most likely not the right person to work with the estate attorney and other advisers who serve a client.
We'll keep you updated with developments.
[WSJ]
