The Dilemma Of Bad Advice From Trusted Advisors

Unfortunately, I run into this frequently. Virtually all my clients in workout mode have trusted accountants and attorneys, advisers who have either allowed them to fall into harm’s way by not providing appropriate guidance and counseling or they provide either wrong or useless guidance for resolving problems effectively. I frequently confront attorneys and accountants who simply do not agree with my tried and true strategies, thinking them “too aggressive” even despite my years of successful implementation.

It’s a difficult position for a client in trouble to be in, on the one hand is offered a resolution to his problems, on the other hand are his trusted advisers who, while letting him fall into this problem with no viable exit strategy, take an opposition stand against a new idea and a creative way to survive. Definitely a tough situation for the client to be in. Since there is no trust or experience with the new consultant the client typically follows the advice of his trusted advisers, rejecting the new ideas from the new consultant. I see so many clients misdirected by their trusted advisers, I feel badly for them. The client wants the relief my plan provides and wants support and conformation from his advisers that this a good path to take and instead gets resistance and rejection. Trusted advisers occasionally feel that the new plan makes them look inept and so they attempt to save face by trashing the new consultant and his “ridiculous plan” and the client’s chances for secure reemergence.

Some of the issues I run into frequently are:

1. The accountant does not yet trust LLC organizations. I am told that they are “too new” and “not any good”. For the record, an LLC is probably the best form of organization for most business situations available today especially if chosen to be taxed as a partnership, huge flexibility and maximum protection, coupled with numerous tax advantaged opportunities.

2. Frequently, the lawyer does not like my 941 payroll tax plan and doesn’t believe it will work despite the statutory path it follows, my repeated success with a zero failure rate and the involvement in the plan–from beginning to end–by the IRS.

3. In general consulting situations, the accountant loves to think to himself that if he can provide this service, why should I support him? This would be OK if he followed through and in fact provided the training and development I am proposing, but typically they never do follow through and thus the client losses twice.

Others simply do not feel it’s worth it, not realizing how valuable and successful the client can become as a direct result of my efforts. There are many other opportunities I see both attorneys and accountants squash out of fear of looking bad or being upstaged and outgunned by an outsider. They resist supporting the only real workout plan for their client. Or worse, they are unfamiliar with my strategies and are more unfamiliar with the way the IRS works and reject my plans out of ignorance. In that case, what choice do they have other than to discredit the suggested strategies and prevent the client from moving forward with new leadership, even at the client’s cost?

My answer to this dilemma is the need for all of us to be reminded that this is a world of specialization. The general practitioner may not also be adept in IRS workouts. Thus, it is appropriate to seek specialized consulting from practitioners who have experience and skill in the specific technical areas we are addressing. If we remember that this is all about the client and our extricating him from harm’s way, not about the advisers (who should remain the trusted advisers working alongside the specialist), all in the best interest of the client. That’s the scenario I try to encourage, but I frequently have an adviser who takes the issue personally and defends his turf… at the client’s cost. Ultimately, it is the client’s decision as to what course to take with his assets at risk.

Listen, think, evaluate, accept and ask for advice–from all your trusted advisers–then evaluate the advice and act independently. Only you know what is the best for you. That’s the way.