BC Accounting Services offers a range of solutions for you and your business. We have expertise in the areas of accounting, tax and payroll. We certainly do not act as a financial planning expert. The financial services industry has a huge scope, one of which is financial planning.
Over the years, we have built a relationship, based on mutual respect, with an FPI certified financial planner, Alfred Meeding. We sat down and had a Q&A with him.
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Tell us 3 interesting facts about yourself and how you got to be a financial planning expert
- I am a CFP (Certified Financial Planner) and licensed with the Financial Planning Institute of SA.
- I follow a highly regarded international advice methodology and process, using a holistic approach and focusing on the person and lifestyle and not just the money.
- I am passionate about what I do. I am equally passionate about my clients and am driven by the desire to dispel the cliché of financial advisors who just want to sell you a product and disappear thereafter!
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Please give a short description/definition of your job?
As a professional financial planner, I act as a long term financial coach. I help people to define lifestyle goals for themselves, their family and their business. Together develop a financial action plan to best achieve these goals with the resources available. These plans include the protection and creation of wealth, funding lifestyle goals, tax, liquidity and estate planning. Essentially it is planning. The optimal route from where you are now to where you would like to be and constantly reviewing your progress.
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How did you get into this industry?
Like many in this industry, not by design but by chance I suppose. I initially started my career in the short-term industry but moved across to the Life Assurance and Financial Planning industry shortly thereafter. I lost my father at a young age and experienced first hand the impacts of a lack of financial planning.
With a little experience in the industry, I soon realised the passion to advise and try to help other people to avoid these unnecessary hardships.
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What is your target market?
While I advise virtually any person no matter the circumstances, I have a preferred target market in which I have developed a clear value proposition.
Professionals in private practice or senior management, business owners and partners, senior government employees (e.g. SAPS and Education) and specifically the pre-retirement and retirement planning market (age 55 upwards)
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How are you able to work with an accountant?
I think an accountant and financial planner are a natural fit in terms of the coaching and advice for individuals and businesses. Both professions work with the financial aspects of clients and in many respects, particularly a business, the accountant and myself work together to deliver the best outcomes for clients in terms of cash flow, taxation, business and staff protection.
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How can an accountant refer business to a financial planning expert like you?
The most effective way is for an accountant to develop a business relationship with a financial planner and as a priority to build a relationship of trust.
This trust together with an acquired understanding of planning scenarios allows the accountant to identify client risks, opportunities and situations in which he or she can raise issues, ask pertinent questions and introduce the financial planner to a client meeting.
If you would like to learn more about how we work with Alfred, please contact us and we will make the arrangements. His contact details are below:
