What to Expect From American College's New Tax Certification
But far and away the most gratifying thing is to see that we have already had more than 2,000 advisors sign up for our waiting list in under a week. That’s a pretty overwhelming response.
Jeff, were you surprised by how many people signed up for the waiting list this week?
LEVINE: Yes and no. Honestly, I was feeling pretty ambitious about getting folks involved in this. I really expected this to be very popular, and that’s what we’ve seen so far.
Why is that? It’s a few things. To start, advisors today who want to get better at tax aren’t really looking to the Certified Public Accountant designation as often as they once did. This is partly because so much oversight is needed in that effort, and you need to have a certain number of experience hours overseen by a CPA, plus certain education credits. That’s seen as unattainable for many busy advisors.
The IRS enrolled agent exam has been somewhat more popular, but that’s not truly tax planning designation. It’s a tax compliance program. Plus, it’s focused on individuals, yes, but also on businesses and also on representation in tax proceedings.
That’s not what our program is about. What the advisor wants is the knowledge and skills to help clients address their tax liability and manage it — not just recording what has happened in the past. That’s more than what CPAs and enrolled agents do. So, the TPCP really fills that gap.
Jared, can you share anything more about when the formal launch may happen? This year?
TREXLER: Yes, we expect enrollment to begin in early in the fourth quarter. We are still finalizing some details, but the program will have a three-course construction and it will be priced similarly to the Retirement Income Certified Professional program.
Jeff, can you tell us more about the structure of the lessons and the curriculum overall?
LEVINE: Certainly. When you think about how to target and define a curriculum, there’s a few ways to do it. What we’ve done here is striate this program into three main courses, the first about planning for those clients in accumulation, the second about planning for those who are close to and entering retirement, and then finally the third is about planning around legacy, estate and special end-of-life situations.
What’s neat is that, among the other ways students will learn, we’ll follow a number of example families as they navigate these three periods in life. So, it’s just like an advisor guiding a client through the whole tax planning lifecycle. Ultimately, our goal is that, no matter who an advisor chooses to serve as a client niche, we will equip them to do effective tax planning.
I also want to point out that both the college and I share the philosophy of lifelong learning and continuous improvement. We’re in uniform agreement that we expect this to be a dynamite curriculum on Day 1, but we will also continue to iterate, improve and learn from the feedback of students. This is especially important in the realm of taxes, where there is so much constant change and evolution.
We’re putting a pin on the map to say: Not only can advisors do tax planning, they should do tax planning. It’s unequivocal. It’s not an argument in the industry anymore. If you are using a cliché buzzword with your clients about being “holistic” but you’re not talking about taxes — that’s not holistic. Consumers want advice on tax planning, and not in general, but from their financial advisor.
Pictured: Jeff Levine
