Financial planner vs. CPA: What is the difference and which one should you hire?

Financial planners, also known as financial advisors, wealth managers, or other specialized titles based on their area of expertise, are professionals who assist individuals with money and wealth management to help achieve their financial goals. They create personalized strategies based on their client’s unique financial situation and offer guidance on several aspects of financial management, such as investing, saving, taxes, retirement, wealth management, or estate planning. 

Financial advisors work with clients of various backgrounds and may sometimes offer specialized services such as financial planning for retirement or financial planning for women. Certain qualifications, such as becoming a certified financial planner (CFP®) or a fiduciary, can help you find a more trustworthy financial advisor. 

A CFP® is a financial professional who has earned the Certified Financial Planner™ designation from the CFP® Board. The CFP® certification shows a commitment to education, ethics, and professional standards. 

In the context of financial advisors, fiduciaries are someone who is legally and ethically obligated to act in the best interest of their client and uphold fiduciary duties. CFPs® are also required to act as fiduciaries when providing financial planning services.

However, not all financial planners are fiduciaries or CFPs®, but finding an advisor who is both can help ensure they are well-trained and legally and ethically bound to act in your best interest as a client.

Accountants are professionals who help individuals and businesses prepare, analyze, and manage financial records. While they also deal with financial matters, they have a narrower field than financial planners. Accountants can help clients: 

• Track income and expenses

• Prepare budgets and financial reports 

• File tax returns

• Maintain accurate bookkeeping

• Ensure compliance with financial regulations

While general accountants don't necessarily need a specific license to call themselves accountants, they may have to hold an accounting degree and relevant experience. However, accounting certifications also exist, which are held to higher professional and ethical standards.

A certified public accountant is a licensed accounting professional who has met state and national requirements, including: 

• A bachelor’s degree (or relevant coursework) in accounting 

• Passed the Uniform CPA Exam

• Has at least one to two years of experience

• Participates in ongoing continuing education to maintain their license

• Is licensed through a state board of accountancy

CPAs have more training, legal rights, and responsibilities compared to normal accountants, especially when it comes to dealing with taxes, audits, or financial reporting.

While CPAs provide services to prepare and file taxes and other accounting matters, they usually do not provide as in-depth personal financial planning services as financial advisors do. While CPAs can help give you advice on certain aspects such as taxes in retirement, or estate planning, it is usually focused on mitigating taxes and minimizing tax liabilities versus how to reach certain financial goals.
This is where the difference between a CPA vs. a financial planner comes in — so, if you are looking for financial advice that goes beyond tax preparations, you may want to consider a financial planner for those specific matters.

Although financial advisors and accountants share expertise in a variety of financial matters, accountants are geared more towards providing tax advice and helping with tax preparations, while financial planners help clients develop comprehensive wealth management plans and assist with investment advice. 

Other key differences between accountants and financial planners include:

Different financial situations can lead you to seek support from a financial planner or accountant — or sometimes even both. Depending on your situation and personal needs, it is important to know when to reach out to an accountant vs. financial advisor (or vice versa) to best meet your demands.

Here are some possible situations where you might need a financial planner, an accountant, or both:

Financial advisors can help you resolve various financial issues or meet certain financial milestones, including: 

• Developing an investment strategy

• Portfolio balancing or management 

• Retirement planning

• Saving for a child’s college education (e.g., a 529 plan)

• Tax-efficient investing

• Asset allocation and risk management 

• Divorce or marriage 

• Inheritance or sudden wealth

A financial advisor can be thought of as a long-term financial coach. It is important to do your research when looking into finding a financial advisor to ensure the person in charge of your money is someone you can trust and build a lasting relationship with.

You might want to consider hiring an accountant or CPA if you need help with:

• Individual or business tax returns 

• Avoiding errors in tax returns and IRS penalties 

• Minimizing tax liabilities after receiving an inheritance

• Planning for major life changes that can affect taxes

• Bookkeeping and payroll 

• Preparing financial statements

• IRS audits

• Navigating new tax laws or regulations

Accountants can be thought of as your go-to experts for anything tax-related and financial compliance.

Sometimes, life events can happen, in which case you may benefit from working with both, especially if you have a complex financial situation. Some examples include: 

• Running a small business: An accountant can handle your bookkeeping and taxes, while the financial advisor helps you with retirement planning and reinvestment. 

• Approaching retirement: An accountant can help you ensure tax efficiency, and financial advisors can help you create a retirement withdrawal and investment strategy.

• You recently got married or divorced: An accountant can help you sort out any changes in taxes, and an advisor can help you reevaluate your financial planning.

• High-income earners or dual-income households: An accountant can help you keep your tax obligations in check, while an advisor can help optimize savings and financial goals.

Financial planners, like CFPs®, and accountants, like CPAs, can help you to keep your financial and tax matters in check. When it comes to hiring a financial planner vs. an accountant, your issue in question might determine which one can best help you. It is also important to conduct your own background research when seeking these resources, as you want to ensure you trust the person you are handing your money over to.

However, they are not the only option available to help you meet your financial goals. Saving doesn’t always have to be complicated, and Raisin is here to help. The Raisin marketplace gives you access to multiple high-yield savings products, all within one dashboard. Compare competitive interest rates, and sign up to start reaching your savings goals today!

The above article is intended to provide generalized financial information designed to educate a broad segment of the public; it does not give personalized tax, investment, legal, or other business and professional advice. Before taking any action, you should always seek the assistance of a professional who knows your particular situation for advice on taxes, your investments, the law, or any other business and professional matters that affect you and/or your business.