Busy season does not have to define a CPA's entire year.

In this episode of the AICPA Personal Financial Planning Podcast, Cary Sinnett sits down with Deb Meyer, CPA and founder of WorthyNest, to discuss her path from tax compliance to integrated financial planning.

Deb shares why she merged her CPA firm and RIA, how advisory services changed her client relationships, and what CPAs should realistically expect when adding financial planning to their practice. The conversation covers leadership, delegation, client trust, pricing evolution, and the personal motivations behind making the shift.

This episode is a must-listen for CPAs exploring advisory services and looking to create more sustainable, value-driven practices.

Podcast episode takeaways:

• Advisory integration improves both efficiency and client experience.
  Bringing tax, accounting, and financial planning under one roof reduces friction, streamlines workflows, and allows CPAs to serve clients more holistically rather than in disconnected silos.
• Client transitions require patience and proactive engagement.
  Clients rarely move from tax compliance to full financial planning overnight. Trust is built over time, especially when CPAs shift from transactional work to year-round planning conversations.
• The move into planning is as personal as it is technical.
  Successful expansion into advisory services requires clarity around motivation, willingness to delegate, and acceptance that financial planning redistributes work throughout the year rather than reducing it outright.

AICPA Resources:

• Video: Use your client's tax return to provide valuable financial advice
• Article: Enhancing tax practices with personal financial planning
• Video: Steps to add financial planning to your tax practice
• Article: Building a Financial Planning and Tax Advisory Business podcast series

This episode is brought to you by the AICPA's Personal Financial Planning Section, the premier provider of information, tools, advocacy, and guidance for professionals who specialize in providing tax, estate, retirement, risk management and investment planning advice. Also, by the CPA/PFS credential program, which allows CPAs to demonstrate competence and confidence in providing these services to their clients. Visit us online to join our community, gain access to valuable member-only benefits or learn about our PFP certificate program.

Subscribe to the PFP Podcast channel at Libsyn to find all the latest episodes or search "AICPA Personal Financial Planning" on your favorite podcast app.

Host Cary Sinnett is joined by Dr. Brianne Smith, a PFP practitioner, CPA firm owner, and accounting professor at Auburn University, for a timely conversation on artificial intelligence in financial planning.

Artificial intelligence is moving quickly into financial planning workflows, but not all "AI" tools are created equal. For CPA financial planners, the opportunity is significant: increased efficiency, deeper insights, and more client-centered communication. The risk lies in adopting technology without fully understanding what it does, how it works, and where human judgment must remain firmly in place.

Explore with Dr. Brianne Smith how CPA financial planners can separate AI hype from real innovation and adopt emerging tools responsibly, with a clear focus on supervision, workflow integration, and maintaining client trust.

What You'll Learn

• How to distinguish true AI from traditional automation and why that difference matters in practice
• Real-world examples of how AI is already enhancing document review, meeting documentation, and investment analysis
• How to supervise AI outputs responsibly while maintaining professional judgment and client trust
• How role mapping can help identify where AI and automation can free planners to focus on higher-value client work
• How AI can support both practice scalability and the next generation of CPA financial planners

AICPA Resources:

• AICPA Personal Financial Planning Symposium
• Video: AI and Technology Updates for Financial Planning Practices
• Center: AI Tax Resource
• Learning: The AI Advantage: Leveraging AI for Efficiency and Impact
• Center: Tax Research

This episode is brought to you by the AICPA's Personal Financial Planning Section, the premier provider of information, tools, advocacy, and guidance for professionals who specialize in providing tax, estate, retirement, risk management and investment planning advice. Also, by the CPA/PFS credential program, which allows CPAs to demonstrate competence and confidence in providing these services to their clients. Visit us online to join our community, gain access to valuable member-only benefits or learn about our PFP certificate program.

Subscribe to the PFP Podcast channel at Libsyn to find all the latest episodes or search "AICPA Personal Financial Planning" on your favorite podcast app.

In this episode, host Cary Sinnett is joined by Jeff Levine, CPA, CFP, a nationally recognized tax planning thought leader, to examine one of the most persistent dilemmas in personal financial planning: the tension between income tax strategies and estate tax minimization.

They explore why these two priorities often conflict and walk through practical examples CPA financial planners face when advising clients on gifting, step-up in basis, trust structures, and navigating compressed tax brackets. Jeff explains how changes to the federal estate tax exemption, evolving client priorities, and multi-generational considerations require a fresh look at long-standing estate planning techniques.

Whether you are working with high net worth business owners or everyday clients with legacy concerns, this episode offers clear guidance on when to prioritize short-term tax efficiency, when to focus on long-term wealth transfer, and how to serve both goals when possible.

Topics Covered:

• Why estate and income tax strategies often work against each other
• The trade-off between gifting highly appreciated assets versus preserving step-up in basis
• When income tax planning should take priority even for affluent clients
• Rethinking outdated uses of credit shelter trusts in the modern exemption environment
• Grantor versus non-grantor trusts and the income tax implications of each
• Building flexibility into irrevocable trusts through toggling, decanting, and situs changes

AICPA Resources:

• Toolkit: Year-end planning
• Article: Tax Trifecta Trust after H.R. 1
• Article: Year-End Planning Through the Lens of H.R. 1
• Guide Excerpt: The Adviser's Guide to Financial & Estate Planning: V4

This episode is brought to you by the AICPA's Personal Financial Planning Section, the premier provider of information, tools, advocacy, and guidance for professionals who specialize in providing tax, estate, retirement, risk management and investment planning advice. Also, by the CPA/PFS credential program, which allows CPAs to demonstrate competence and confidence in providing these services to their clients. Visit us online to join our community, gain access to valuable member-only benefits or learn about our PFP certificate program.

Subscribe to the PFP Podcast channel at Libsyn to find all the latest episodes or search "AICPA Personal Financial Planning" on your favorite podcast app.