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Independent Financial Advice

If your financial circumstances can justify it, you may need to look for a financial adviser and perhaps an accountant as well to help you manage your finances as effectively as possible.

If you need an accountant, it's probably wise to get a qualified accountant. This is not to say that there are not good unqualifieds around. They may have plenty of experience, and they generally charge less. Where a qualified accountant scores is that he or she will be insured against negligence or advice or work going wrong.

Before you hold your beauty parade, speak with friends and colleagues to see if they are happy to recommend someone. This is much better than just ploughing through the Yellow Pages. Try and meet up with at least three contenders for your business.

When you meet up (and by the way, these initial meetings ought to be free of charge), here are some of the questions you might want to ask:

How long have they been in business? You may feel more comfortable with someone who has several years' experience.
How much do they charge? Hourly fees are most common but a fixed fee for the first 12 months can often be arranged. What are the charges if the tax authorities decide to investigate your tax affairs?
Are they a member of a recognised professional body where you can seek redress if things go wrong?
Does their tax return service include advice or merely helping with form filling?
If your affairs are of a specialised nature, do they have the expertise to handle your case?
Can they provide other clients as references? A good accountant should be happy to put you in touch with other customers.
Will your affairs be handled by them personally or by one of their staff? In the larger firms you could easily find a less qualified junior dealing with your affairs.
How effectively does the practice work? Ask for estimated response times. How long does it take to speak with a partner? Will the practice contact you with, for example, news about tax changes?

And there's one critical, final question. This one you need to ask yourself: do you think you could get on with your accountant? It's not a matter of whether you would want to go on a skiing holiday with her and her family, but if you feel uncomfortable in her presence, it's unlikely to be the most productive of relationships.

If you're looking to select an independent financial adviser (IFA), rather than an accountant, you can still use many of the same questions from your accountant quiz sheet.

Here are some additional areas worth probing.

Charging. Ask your IFA to explain the differences between fees and commission when you first meet. Increasingly people prefer to pay fees.
Qualifications. Do they have a relevant qualification? In the UK, for example, the benchmark qualification is the Financial Planning Certificate (FPC), and a competent adviser must hold all three components of this certificate or equivalent. Some advisers also have advanced level qualifications in their specialist areas, e.g., pensions.
Access to the company providing the product. An adviser should feel totally confident and be willing for you to talk directly with the product provider involved.
Degree of specialism. Many IFAs are all-rounders, but some may specialise in mortgages, for instance. However, some may not advise on certain areas at all. You may prefer to deal with an IFA who will not provide advice but will set up your investment, protection, pension or other financial product on your behalf, often on a more cost-effective basis than you could arrange yourself.
Regulation. Advisers must be regulated by a recognised authority.


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