re: Future Tax/Investment Question

quote:

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as you client, i'd be upset if you let your "morals" get in the way of the best legal solution to my financial issue.

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I wonder if that wouldn't breach his fiduciary duty. Very unethical of him if so. Hell, I'd say it was unethical either way. A fire-able offense.

ETA: From the AICPA:

quote:

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A fiduciary has a legal duty to act solely in the best interests of the beneficiary. While an accountant normally is not considered to be a fiduciary to his or her clients, the AICPA Professional Code of Conduct embodies standards of conduct which are closely analogous to a fiduciary relationship—objectivity, integrity, free of conflicts of interest and truthfulness. Accountants who provide audit services cannot be held to a fiduciary standard given their duty to the public.

Courts have found that an accountant can be a fiduciary to his or her client when providing certain professional services including tax services, asset management and general business consulting. Generally, if the following three elements are present in a client relationship, an accountant may be deemed to be a fiduciary to their client: (i) the accountant holds himself or herself out as an expert in an aspect of business, (ii) the client places a high degree of trust and confidence in the accountant and (iii) the client is heavily dependent upon the accountant’s advice. An accountant who provides investment advisory services as a registered investment adviser is a fiduciary to his or her advisory clients.

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Uh OH

Again, if my lender was named "Goldman Sachs" or "Chase" he'd be all over it with an accountant boner, and thus, a hypocrite.