What Most Clients Get Wrong About Their CPA
One of the most common misunderstandings I see is the belief that a CPA’s job is to quietly process information, nod along, and deliver a finished product at the end of the year.
That misunderstanding is where relationships start to break down.
Because a CPA’s value doesn’t come from silence… it comes from conversation, judgment, and sometimes saying things that are uncomfortable but necessary.
Compliance Without Context Is Dangerous
There’s nothing wrong with compliance work.
Tax returns need to be filed. Payroll needs to be processed. Financial statements need to be prepared.
But compliance without understanding the business behind it is dangerous.
A CPA who simply plugs numbers into software without asking questions is not advising… they’re processing.
And processing ignores the most important inputs:
- Why a decision was made
- What changed during the year
- What’s coming next
- What the owner is actually trying to accomplish
Without that context, even technically “correct” work can lead to the wrong outcome.
The Sound of Silence
There’s a well-known song called “The Sound of Silence.”
It’s about what happens when people don’t talk. Not because they can’t, but because they don’t.
That song could just as easily be about the CPA–client relationship.
Because the truth is, the phone almost never rings.
We don’t usually find out about major decisions because a client called to discuss them.
We find out a year later — sometimes 12 to 20 months later — when we’re preparing the next year’s work and start asking questions.
By then:
- The decision has already been made
- The documents have already been signed
- The opportunity to influence the outcome is gone
At that point, the conversation isn’t:
“What should we do?”
It’s:
“What happened here?”
And often, there’s very little that can be done.
That’s not a failure of accounting.
That’s the sound of silence.
Communication Has to Be Intentional
Good advisor relationships don’t happen accidentally.
They happen because communication is intentional, not assumed.
That might mean:
- Regular lunches
- “What’s going on?” meetings
- Quarterly or semiannual check-ins
- Picking up the phone before doing something, not after
We can’t fix something we don’t know about.
And silence isn’t neutral. It’s a decision to move forward without advice.
Communication also cuts both ways.
Clients need to call early, before decisions are made.
And CPAs need to return calls, explain what they’re seeing, and stay engaged, not disappear.
But clients also need to return calls.
If I’m calling you, it’s important.
It’s not small talk.
It’s not a courtesy call.
Treat it that way.
I’m Not Psychic (And I’ve Only Met One Who Claimed to Be)
In my entire career, I’ve only met one CPA who claimed she was psychic.
I always questioned her ability.
After all, if she was any good at it, how could she ever miss out on an RFP?
(Request for Proposal, for those keeping score.)
Jokes aside, the point is simple:
Your advisor cannot read your mind.
We don’t know:
- What you’re planning
- What you’re worried about
- What you’ve already committed to
Unless you tell us.
And no amount of experience replaces an honest conversation.
Every Family Has One — And Every Business Needs One
Every family has that person.
The one who says out loud what everyone else in the room is already thinking, regardless of the consequences.
They’re not always comfortable to listen to.
They’re not always popular in the moment.
But they’re usually right.
I’ll admit it, I don’t have the keep-quiet gene.
Not in my family, and not in my office.
If something needs to be said, I tend to say it.
Not to be difficult.
Not to be dramatic.
But because experience has taught me that the cost of staying silent is usually higher than the discomfort of speaking up.
If you want an advisor, they should be advising, not just nodding their head while silently disagreeing with everything you’re saying.
Advice isn’t agreement.
Advice is perspective.
One of the Best Compliments I’ve Ever Received
One of the best compliments I’ve received in my career came from Ray Silverstein.
He once told me that if he wanted someone to agree with him, he could ask a few of my partners.
But if he wanted someone’s opinion, he would ask me.
I’ve cherished that comment ever since.
Not because I was always right, but because it reinforced what I believe an advisor’s role should be.
You don’t hire an advisor to echo your thoughts.
You hire them to bring judgment, experience, and perspective, even when it’s uncomfortable.
How I’ve Always Set Expectations
When I had seven partners, I used to say this during RFP discussions:
If you want someone’s opinion, I’m the right person.
If you want someone to agree with you, I can introduce you to my partners.
I wasn’t trying to be clever.
I was trying to be honest.
Because advice only works when it’s actually wanted.
And opinions only matter if you’re willing to hear them.
You don’t hire an advisor to validate every decision you’ve already made.
You hire one to challenge your thinking before those decisions are locked in.
The Biggest Misconception in Our Profession
There’s a widespread misconception that our work product is:
- Forms
- Filings
- Documents sent to taxing authorities
That’s a battle I fight constantly, and frankly, it’s a marketing failure of my profession.
Those papers are not what you’re paying for.
You’re paying for knowledge.
Knowledge accumulated over:
- University
- CPA exams
- Decades of practice
- Thousands of client situations
- Annual continuing professional education
We didn’t take a six-week cram course in taxes and suddenly appear during tax season.
We’re here every day, and 24/7 if needed.
The filings are just the output.
The judgment is the product.
Seeing the Whole Field
A CPA shouldn’t be looking at yesterday’s box scores.
In baseball, managers don’t manage by replaying the last game. They set the rotation for the next series.
They’re thinking ahead:
- Matchups
- Pitch counts
- What’s coming next, not what already happened
Business works the same way.
If your CPA is only reacting to history, they’re already behind.
The best advisors help you set the table for the future, before the next play unfolds.
That’s what it means to see the whole field.
Final Thought
When The Sound of Silence first came out, Art Garfunkel had some pretty whacky hair.
I did too — for a while.
A lot has changed since then.
Time passes. Things evolve.
And ignoring what’s happening doesn’t stop it.
If you see your CPA as a bean counter, that’s probably all you’ll ever get.
But if you treat them as a confidant, someone you talk to early, honestly, and often, the value of that relationship compounds over time.
The difference doesn’t show up immediately.
But over years, it shows up in:
- Better decisions
- Fewer surprises
- Less regret
And that’s the difference between compliance and advice.
