No mystery here: ElderCare Services Play to CPA strengths.

• Author: Freedman, Mitchell

The facts point to CPA ElderCare Services as a logical next step for CPAs in public practice. But when I've posed the idea to CPAs across California and the nation, I often hear, "Will I have to provide transportation?" "Do I have to empty bedpans?" or "What do I know about medical treatment?"

Apparently there is some confusion about what eldercare services are, so let's demystify.

NO MYSTERY HERE

CPA ElderCare Services play to our strengths. In fact, we already provide much needed services to our aging and aged clientele.

Traditional CPA ElderCare Services are those commonly provided to all clients, but are targeted to the elderly. These include:

* Tax planning and compliance;

* Cash flow and budgeting of care needs;

* Networking with clients and their financial planners or investment advisers to assure the elderly that they will not outlive their assets;

* Examining estate planning issues with clients and their legal counsel to determine if they have been properly addressed, and if dispositive and other estate planning documents are current and in accordance with clients desires; and

* Providing insurance policy reviews in the areas of life, health, long-term care, and even property and casualty, in association with clients' insurance brokers.

More specialized eldercare services may include cash depositing, bill paying and bank account management; preparation of insurance claims; tax and financial counseling about relocation issues; weighing long-term care living alternatives; and portfolio management for those who have the expertise and licenses to deliver such services.

For CPAs who want to provide the most specialized services, offerings will likely include: referrals and oversight for in-home care; resolving transportation issues; coordinating home maintenance, lawn care and home cleaning; and running errands for clients. To provide these services, CPAs will need extensive resource lists or access to caregivers and service providers.

TRAVELLING DOWN THAT ROAD

The diagram on Page 18 reveals that CPA ElderCare Services start with the traditional strengths that CPAs bring to an engagement, and that services progress depending on the practitioner's comfort level, expertise and desires. A CPA can dip her toe in the water (outermost circle), go in up to his knees (second circle), go up to her waist (third circle), or go swimming in the ElderCare pond (bull's-eye).

Currently, CPAs across the United States and Canada provide eldercare...