If you run a business, chances are you’ve got a few people in your corner—an accountant, a wealth manager, maybe a banker. And each of them has probably claimed at one point or another to be your “trusted advisor.”
Here’s the uncomfortable truth: none of them really are.
Not because they’re bad at their jobs. But because they’re not actually set up to help you think about the full picture. They’re looking at your world through a keyhole and offering advice based on what they know best—not what you need most.
I’ve learned this firsthand, as a business owner who's been in rooms with all of them. I’ve had great accountants, smart investment professionals, and sharp banking contacts. But here’s what always struck me: they rarely talked about the same things, and none of them talked about what I cared about most—the value I was building inside my business.
The Silo Problem
Each of these professionals is highly trained in their own field. That’s not the problem. The problem is they stay in their lane, and they each assume someone else is covering the rest.
- The accountant wants to minimize your tax bill—but won’t talk about your business model.
- The banker wants to see cash flow and security, but doesn’t ask where your business is going.
- The wealth manager wants to diversify your portfolio, but ignores the fact that your biggest asset is the company you're pouring your life into every day.
And then it’s on you, the owner, to piece it all together. You're left trying to stitch their input into a coherent strategy. That’s not advice—that’s a scavenger hunt.
Expertise ≠ Strategic Advice
What I’ve come to realize is this: specialized knowledge, on its own, often makes things more complicated. Each expert speaks their own language, uses their own tools, and throws out their own set of KPIs. And none of it adds up to a clear, aligned plan for how to grow and protect the value of the business itself.
They’ll all give you advice—but it’s tactical, reactive, and isolated.
What’s missing is someone who starts at the top. Someone who asks:
- What are you building?
- How do all the moving parts—personal and business—fit together?
- What levers should you actually be pulling right now?
And maybe most importantly: What’s your business worth, and what’s the plan to make it worth more?
The Role No One Is Playing
The role that’s missing is a true integrator. A strategic generalist who understands enough about tax, finance, operations, and capital to zoom out and ask the uncomfortable but essential questions.
This person doesn’t replace your accountant or your wealth manager. But they do challenge them. They do connect the dots. And they do make sure you’re not over-optimizing in one area while neglecting the big picture.
Because here’s the reality: if no one is owning the full conversation, then no one is really advising you. They’re advising parts of you. And that’s not enough when you’re trying to build and exit from something valuable.
Owners Deserve Better
Business owners are some of the most sophisticated creators of wealth in the economy. But we’re underserved—because most of the “advice” we get is just a narrow, productized version of guidance.
We don’t need more complexity. We don’t need more dashboards. We don’t need to become financial translators between three different professionals.
We need someone to help us see clearly.
Someone who’s not pushing a product or protecting a scope of work. Someone who knows that our business isn’t just a source of income—it’s the primary engine of wealth, control, and impact in our lives.
If You're the Owner, You Shouldn't Be the Integrator
I’ve spent too long in the seat you’re in now, trying to triangulate advice, double-check recommendations, and make big-picture decisions with partial information.
That’s what’s driven me to think differently. And it’s why I believe more business owners need a go-to advisor who isn’t stuck in a silo. Someone who can hold the whole picture, not just their slice of it.
Because if you’re not getting that kind of guidance, then you’re still on your own.
Author: Dave Bunce, CPA, CA
