Why Wealth Managers and Accountants are Vying for the Business Owner Relationship
Tax planning has quietly become one of the most valuable services a business owner can access—and the most contested. Once considered a once-a-year task to check off, tax strategy is now central to year-round financial decisions, wealth preservation, and growth. As a result, two traditionally separate professions—wealth management and accounting—are converging around the same value proposition: helping business owners make smarter, forward-looking financial decisions.
But this convergence is not without friction. For wealth management firms and accounting practices alike, offering deeper tax planning is more than a client service upgrade. It’s a strategic move to protect revenue, increase client stickiness, and assert their place at the table for bigger financial decisions.
Why Wealth Managers Are Moving Into Tax Strategy
Wealth management firms have long relied on a combination of AUM fees, insurance commissions, and other product-based compensation. But fee compression, the rise of robo-advisors, and clients’ demand for greater value have pushed firms to rethink how they differentiate.
Tax planning is increasingly becoming that wedge. By proactively offering strategies to minimize tax burden—through corporate structure, income splitting, compensation planning, and more—advisors position themselves as indispensable year-round partners, not just investment managers.
And there's another benefit: visibility. Advisors who are engaged in ongoing tax planning discussions often gain access to more detailed business financials, which opens the door to more timely and relevant product conversations—whether it’s cash-flow planning, group benefits, or corporate-owned insurance.
Why Accountants Are Shifting Beyond Compliance
For accounting firms, the pressure is different but no less intense. Compliance work—especially tax filing—is seasonal, repetitive, and increasingly automated. Cloud accounting platforms, AI-driven bookkeeping, and government-prepared tax returns are squeezing margins and commoditizing once-premium services.
To remain relevant and profitable, many firms are seeking to reposition as strategic advisors. That starts with delivering insights beyond what happened last year. Business owners want help understanding what’s coming next—whether they should pay themselves via dividends or salary, whether they can afford to invest in new equipment, or how they can reduce taxes before the year ends.
Tax planning becomes the gateway to this deeper advisory relationship. It’s concrete, actionable, and urgent—an ideal entry point for firms looking to make the leap from compliance to consulting.
The Problem: Business Owners Are Stuck in the Middle
While both sides see the opportunity, business owners often get caught in the crossfire. One advisor holds investment accounts, another files corporate tax returns, and both might offer overlapping advice—or worse, contradict each other.
This leads to confusion, fragmented financial strategies, and missed opportunities. What business owners actually want is coordination: a trusted advisor (or team of advisors) who understands the big picture and can help them make better decisions without navigating professional silos.
The Solution: Facilitating the Right Conversations at the Right Time
Whether you’re an accountant trying to deepen your value to clients or a wealth manager aiming to broaden your scope, the key to winning in this space isn’t just offering tax advice—it’s facilitating more frequent, collaborative, and data-informed conversations.
That’s where interVal comes in.
interVal helps bridge the gap between business owners and their advisory teams by continuously analyzing real-time financial data and surfacing strategic insights—not just during tax season, but throughout the year. With automated analysis of financial statements and cash flow trends, advisors can proactively initiate conversations about tax implications, compensation strategies, reinvestment opportunities, and more.
The result? A more engaged client, a stronger advisory relationship, and a service offering that goes far beyond traditional boundaries, whether you’re on the wealth or accounting side.
Author: Dave Bunce, CPA, CA