About Us
I assist lawyers and fiduciaries in preparing their fiduciary accounting reports. This blog is to document my journey of…
-Learning more about fiduciary accounting, trust administration and elder law in general.
-Meeting and somehow collaborating with other fiduciary accountants, and helping them promote their practices.
-Meeting and helping more potential clients (trust & estate attorneys and professional fiduciaries) and helping them promote their practices.
I'm Invested In Your Success!
I've seen firsthand how successful lawyers and professional fiduciaries have to be the coach and the player, the strategist and the analyst, the CEO and dealmaker and head of operations... all at once. Sometimes it's too much!
I'm at my best when I'm supporting smart people with higher billing rates than me. My only job is to make you look good. If I can find a way, at my relatively lower billing rate, to help you find more hours in the day, or help reduce costs to your client, I count it as a win.
The opportunity to be involved with high-level and important issues, from behind the scenes, is perfect for me. I can't do what lawyers and professional fiduciaries do, but I get satisfaction from figuring how to provide assistance in just the way you were hoping. Or, in a way you didn't even know you needed, but that ends up getting you over the hump.
I love being part of a team. A large litigation team with multiple attorneys, paralegals, experts and clients. Or, a small team of just you and I, working together to help the fiduciary to prepare their accounting.
Background
I became a licensed California CPA and worked in public accounting in the 1990s. Although I did some accounting, tax prep and audit, much of my time in CPA firms was spent on special projects, investigating things or solving problems other accountants didn't figure out.
I got a master's degree in real estate from USC, and worked for a commercial real estate developer in the 1990s and 2000s. Financial modeling, due diligence and acquisitions, development/project management and marketing and sales of finished assets. Details aside, it was a job of solving new types of problems every day, and trying to foresee and prevent problems before they happened.
In the 2000s and 2010s I was a self-employed land broker and originated commercial loans.
For the past six years I've been an independent contractor working with trust and estate lawyers.
FAQ's
Billing Rate?: $100/hr - $300/hr depending on the situation. Tell me what you need and we can work something out.
Billing Structure?: It can be risky trying a new service provider.
For fiduciary/probate accountings for new clients, the engagement includes a "work product satisfaction guarantee or the Client doesn't pay" clause.
For forensic accounting / litigation support, I can can be flexible on rates and structure. Not opposed to initial scoping on spec, if it's an interesting project and will help you decide I'm right for the team.
Not opposed to a flat fee for definable projects, if we can agree on reducing risk for both sides.
Why No Expert Witnessing?: Have never done it. Would I say the wrong thing? Would I pass a Daubert challenge? I don't know, but I'm comfortable where I am. I like being part of the team from behind the scenes.
Why Fiduciary and Forensic for Trusts and Estates?: This is something I do to be self-employed with minimal market risk, overhead and employee hassles. I find it interesting and if I wasn't doing this, I'd be researching something else that wasn't as interesting and didn't generate income. Trusts and estates often center around the types of investment assets and transactions that I'm most familiar with.
Our Team
Andy
Accountant/Consultant
Andy is a CPA (link to licensing details) with an interest and experience in efficiently and cost-effectively solving financial puzzles for trust and estate attorneys. He’s been working with investment capital, contracts, financial reporting, spreadsheets and data of various kinds for over three decades.