January 2024

How to Best Utilize CERTIFIED PUBLIC ACCOUNTANTS (CPAs) By Jessica Kizmann, CPA, WilkinGuttenplan

A s certified public accountants (CPAs) who service community associations, most of the time, our clients engage us to perform annual audit and tax services. What might be unfamiliar to many of our cli ents is that CPAs can work with boards and management companies on a wide variety of projects without impairing our independence or ability to perform the client’s annual audit. As trusted advisors to our clients, CPAs come with a toolbox of knowledge and services to provide the most meaningful client experience. Some of the additional tasks CPAs can assist clients with include annual budget guidance and preparation, planning for a special assessment and related financing needs, and transition to a unit owner-controlled community, to name a

few. Many of an accountant’s closest client relationships have been formed not through the annual audit process but through specialized projects where they help the client nav igate through a difficult situation or collaborate with them to improve an aspect of their community. Need another set of eyes on a replacement funding strategy or assistance in how to fund an upcoming project? Your CPA is there for you! Are you experiencing a challenge in tax planning for the recent increases in interest rates? Give your accountant a call! If you need guidance in implementing a new process or procedure recommended by your CPA during the annual audit, lean on them for support. Budgeting during these inflationary times can be a contentious topic and is one that your CPA has probably with multiple clients over the last year.

CONTINUES ON PAGE 40

“Need another set of eyes on a replacement funding strategy...?”

VectorHot/iStock/Getty Images Plus

38

JANUARY 2024