Documents You Need to Take to Meet With an Accountant and Financial Planner

Deciding to meet with an accountant and financial planner is a good step in helping you plan your financial future. Knowing that a professional is helping you manage and invest your accounts can give you peace of mind.

Besides, when you work with an advisor with both accounting and financial planning experience, they can offer more services. If you aren’t ready to retire, they can help you through the other stages of life. This might include helping you plan for college or helping with your business taxes. No matter what, working with an accountant and financial planner will set you on the right path to having your money work for you.

You should feel confident in your decision to meet with this advisor, but you may not know exactly what information they’ll need. Thus, before your first meeting, it’s helpful to know which documents you should bring with you.

Why should you have all the documents?

There are a lot of components that impact you and your family’s financial outlook. You have to account for your investment portfolios, retirement accounts, savings accounts, mortgage, life insurance, and other things in between, as all these impact your finances. Your accountant and financial planner won’t be able to put together an informed and strategic plan for your money if they don’t have all the information.

Documents you’ll need to prepare

Providing your planner with as much information as possible will ensure they have what they need to develop a financial plan that will work for you. Every person is different, and you may not have all of the documents on the list, and that is fine. Take what you have, as they will at least give the planner an idea of what they are working with.

Personal identification and income

You’ll need to bring a driver’s license, government-issued photo ID, or passport so that your planner can verify your identity.

In addition to your personal identification, you’ll also need to bring in documentation that shows how much money you make. This will include tax returns, pay stubs, 1099 forms, or W-2 forms.

If you have life insurance plans or retirement accounts from your place of employment, make sure you take that information along as well. Your planner will also want to see your living will and estate or trust documents if you have any of these.

Information About Financial Institutions

Your accountant and financial planner will need to know about all of your accounts and their balance, so bring any information you have about your checking and savings accounts, savings bonds, CDs, money market funds, mutual funds, or tax-deferred annuities.

It’s also helpful to let your planner know the name of the financial institutions where these accounts are located, as well as their current balance. You should have statements from the past few months, and bringing these in should give your planner the information they’ll need to develop your financial plan.

Investment information

If you have any business or personal investments, make sure to bring in the name of the firms, the types of accounts, and what they are worth.

Personal assets and debts

Bring in a list of valuable personal assets that you own, including jewelry, vehicles, furniture, art, etc. You’ll also need to bring in a list of your debts, including credit cards, auto loans, personal loans, or student loans. If you own a home or any real estate, you’ll need to bring that information in as well.

Working with a professional planner is a great way to secure your current and financial future. To ensure they create a plan that works for you, bring in the right documentation.