Step 1: Beyond the Tax Return: Guiding Clients Toward True Wealth (Video) (Course Id 2690)

• Who is this course for?
  This course is designed for CPAs and financial professionals seeking Continuing Professional Education (CPE) who want to elevate their client advisory role, especially those working with high-net-worth (HNW) and very-high-net-worth (VHNW) individuals.

• What is this course about or what problem does this course solve?
  The course addresses the challenge of moving beyond traditional tax preparation to becoming a strategic guide who helps clients align wealth with values and navigate emotional and structural financial complexities.

• How can the knowledge from this course be used?
  Professionals can use this course to initiate deeper conversations with clients, introduce tools like the "Protection Checkup" and "Clarity Map," and position themselves as long-term strategic advisors rather than compliance technicians.

• Why is this course important to a CPA, Accountant, or IRS Enrolled Agent?
  It is important because it helps CPAs expand their influence and value by shifting from compliance-focused roles to trusted advisors who safeguard and integrate their clients' financial lives.

• When is this course relevant or timely?
  This course is particularly timely as the accounting profession faces rapid technological changes and industry consolidation, prompting the need for professionals to evolve their roles.

• How is a course like this consumed or used?
  The course is delivered as a self-study video format with integrated review and final exam questions, requiring no prerequisites or additional materials and completed online at the learner’s pace.

As technology advances and consolidation reshapes the accounting profession, CPAs face a clear choice: remain in the world of compliance or elevate into the role clients truly need — strategic guide and integrator. Wealthy clients aren’t looking for another product or tax return. What they crave is clarity, confidence, and assurance that their financial world will hold together across generations.

In this opening session of our 8-part Financial Literacy Series, you’ll learn how to reframe wealth from accumulation to alignment, shifting the conversation from numbers to meaning. We’ll explore the emotional divide between high-net-worth clients who fear fragility (“Could it all vanish?”) and very-high-net-worth clients who fear fragmentation (“Who ensures it all works together?”). You’ll also uncover the silent killers of wealth — from lawsuits and poor documents to advisor silos and lifestyle creep — risks that never show up on a monthly statement.

Key takeaways include how to start “The Roadmap Conversation” with clients, how to use simple tools like a “Protection Checkup” and One-Page Clarity Map, and how to overcome objections from clients who feel “not wealthy enough” or already surrounded by advisors. Most importantly, you’ll see how to position yourself not as a technician who reports the past, but as the steward who helps clients define their future.

This is Step 1 of the series, designed to give you the conversational tools that deepen trust, expand influence, and build lasting client relationships.

Video - NASBA QAS - NASBA Registry - 2690

Course Learning Objectives

1. Reframe wealth conversations around clarity, control, and legacy.
2. Identify emotional and structural challenges faced by HNW and VHNW clients.
3. Surface silent wealth killers through tools like the “Protection Checkup.”
4. Apply the Roadmap Conversation to align goals with client values.
5. Position themselves as integrators who unify advisors and strategies.

Chapter 1 - Step 1: Beyond the Tax Return: Guiding Clients Toward True Wealth

Chapter 1 Review Questions