What is really happening with the PFS?

In this episode, Cary Sinnett talks with Matt Kidd, Chair of the AICPA PFS Credential Committee, about the modernization of the PFS Credential, including updating the PFS experienced exam, building the PFP Champions program, expanding avenues to earn the PFS Credential like the PFS Live workshop, growing the visibility of the PFS credential nationwide by highlighting CPA/PFS Financial Planners.

They discuss why tax is becoming the gravitational center of financial planning, how CPA financial planners are uniquely positioned to deliver integrated advice, and what both seasoned CPAs and the next generation should understand about the power of adding the PFS.

Top Takeaways • The PFS exam and Body of Knowledge are being updated to reflect real-world, tax-integrated planning. • CPA financial planners have a structural advantage in delivering holistic advice. • Raising awareness starts with proudly displaying the CPA/PFS credential.

PFS Resources: • PFS Credential • PFS Live Workshop • PFS Handbook • PFS Business Experience • PFS Infographic • Earning your credential info • Engage 2026

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.

Trump Accounts are here, and they come with a mix of opportunity and complexity. In this episode, Cary Sinnett (PFP Podcast) and April Walker (Tax Odyssey) team up with Sebrina Ivey, CPA/PFS, to break down the key rules and planning implications CPA Financial Planners need to understand.

What's covered:

• · What Trump Accounts are and how they differ from 529s, UTMA/UGMA, and ABLE accounts
• · The contribution, investment, and trustee rules during the "growth period"
• · Key decisions at age 18, and how estate and tax planning converge
• · How to compare Trump Accounts with traditional irrevocable trusts
• · Planning actions to consider before the tax-free window closes

If you're advising families, this is one account structure you can't afford to overlook.

AICPA Resources:

• · Trump Accounts under Sec. 530A — Timeline and insights
• · IRS Form 4547
• · IRS Notice 2025-68
• · Planning for tax changes

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.

Non-grantor trusts are stepping into the spotlight, not for estate tax, but for income tax planning. In this episode, Cary Sinnett sits down with tax expert Bob Keebler to explore how the One Big Beautiful Act (H.R.1) reshapes the planning landscape. You'll hear how you can use trusts to reclaim lost SALT deductions, stack §199A benefits, shift income across generations, and even layer in QSBS exemptions. If your clients are hitting phaseouts or facing high state taxes, this episode delivers advanced strategies to optimize their tax position now and into the future.

Non-Grantor Trusts: Keebler explains how trust structures can sidestep phaseouts and help clients reclaim deductions previously lost due to high AGI.

The "Tax Trifecta Trust" Explained: Learn how to stack SALT deductions, layer multiple §199A deductions, and shift income strategically using non-grantor trust planning.

Five Strategies You Can Use Today

• Income shifting to lower-bracket heirs
• Stacking SALT deductions across multiple trusts
• Boosting §199A deductions with trust-level taxpayers
• Expanding QSBS exemptions via strategic trust ownership
• Reducing or deferring state income tax through out-of-state trust situs

Real-World Implementation Advice: Bob outlines guardrails around IRC §643(f) to avoid having multiple trusts collapsed into one. Hear how to structure trusts legally and practically for high-impact planning, and how to identify ideal client profiles for this approach.

What CPA Financial Planners Need to Watch For: Bob discusses state-specific issues, kiddie tax complications, trust drafting must-haves, and how CPAs can lead the planning process with confidence.

AICPA Resources:

Video: Decoding Trusts and Wills: Provisions for PFP Practitioners

Video: Year-End Planning Through the Lens of H.R. 1

Resource: Charitable planning post OBBBA rules

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.

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.

What happens when technical excellence meets deep human empathy? In this episode, Carl Richards, CFP®, author of Your Money and creator of the famed "Sketch Guy" column in The New York Times, joins host Cary Sinnett to explore how CPA financial planners can foster trust through simplicity, storytelling, and purposeful conversation.

Carl shares how sketches can cut through complexity, how planners can create space for real client understanding, and why listening with intention may be your most powerful technical skill. Whether you're coaching a client through uncertainty or explaining a nuanced tax strategy, Carl shows how precision with purpose is the future of trusted planning.

You'll Learn in This Episode:

Why financial planners are in the behavior change business Carl challenges CPA financial planners to see their role not just as experts, but as guides who help clients change the way they think and act with money.

How technical precision with purpose can lead to greater outcomes Carl explains how our drive for technical perfection can sometimes overshadow the deeper emotional and behavioral work required to truly serve clients well.

Practical ways to build trust through clarity and vulnerability Learn how to shift your communication from "Here's the solution" to "Let's explore this together"—and how that builds long-term trust.

Whether you're a numbers-first technician or a holistic planner striving to connect more deeply with clients, this episode offers both insight and inspiration.

Resources:

Podcast: Turning Panic into Trust

Video: Old Problems, New Solutions: Techniques for Solving Concentrated Stock Positions

Podcast: The why, what, and how behind legacy planning for your clients

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.

Artificial intelligence is transforming how CPA financial planners approach research, analysis, and communication. In this episode, Chris Benson shares how he moved from curiosity to confident integration of AI in his daily practice.

He explains how AI helps him generate first drafts of client communication, brainstorm planning strategies, and reduce research time from hours to minutes. Chris also provides a balanced perspective on data privacy, compliance risks, and how planners should evaluate new tools without getting distracted by every new release.

Whether you are just beginning to explore AI or already incorporating it into your workflows, Chris's insights will help you find practical, responsible ways to harness the power of AI in your practice.

Topics Covered

• How to begin experimenting with AI as a CPA financial planner
• The role of AI as a research assistant, communication partner, and brainstorming tool
• Time-saving examples from client questions, financial modeling, and planning scenarios
• Risks related to privacy, cybersecurity, and client impersonation
• Cautious evaluation of emerging AI tools and what to look for in early demos
• A realistic forecast for how AI may be embedded in future tax and planning software

AICPA Resources:

Upcoming webcast: AI & Technology updates for PFP

Resources: AI Tax Resource Center

Empowering tax professionals with AI

Leveraging Generative AI

Business in the age of AI

Getting started with generative AI/ChatGPT

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.

Jimmy Williams, CPA/PFS, shares how the role of the CPA is evolving from compliance technician to holistic financial planner. In this episode, Jimmy and host Cary Sinnett explore how trust, technical excellence, and human connection are converging in a new era of planning, and why CPAs are uniquely positioned to lead it.

• · Learn how CPAs can step into their fullest potential as advisors.
• · Hear about the added value to your clients and to your practice.
• · Discover what's driving this shift—and what's holding some back.
• · Gain insight into delivering deeper value through personal connection.
• · Explore the future of the profession and how you can be part of it.

AICPA Resources:

Article: Member perspectives: Get support with the PFP Section

Article: Raising awareness of the importance of PFP through the CPA Exam

Video: Use your client's tax return to provide valuable financial advice

Upcoming event: Rise2040: Shaping the Future of Finance and Accounting

Article: Sid Kess on the History and Future of CPAs in Financial Planning

Article: Get to know your community & learn from each other in this 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.

Bob Keebler joins Cary Sinnett to unpack why this year-end is anything but routine. With shifting tax thresholds and surprise penalties lurking under the surface, every decision matters more than ever. This rapid-fire episode arms CPA financial planners with critical year-end strategies, from Roth conversions to trust distribution traps. Don't miss your chance to finish strong and plan ahead with confidence.

AICPA Resources:

• Article: Tax code changes: What H.R. 1 means for you and your clients
• Article: Tax Trifecta Trust after H.R. 1, known as the One Big Beautiful Bill Act
• Chart: PFP Tax Bracket Management Chart

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.