Broker Check

Strategic Alliances

What It Is: Professional Advisors Alliance (PAA) helps CPA and Property & Casualty firms understand and evaluate their choices for expanding their service offerings. The PAA comprehensive package of knowledge, prospecting tools, personal coaching and planning support are designed to jump start your efforts. However, unlike other programs, it works with you as partners throughout the expansion process to ensure that you::

  • Understand your choices for expanding
  • Have the guidance and support you need throughout the process
  • Continue to make profitable decisions for your firm's future

How It Works: PAA helps CPA and Property & Casualty firms successfully introduce financial services into their businesses. It helps you understand how to:

  • Integrate financial services into your practice*
  • Strengthen your client relationships
  • Increase your firm’s revenues and overall value beyond tax season

Three Basic Business Models: PAA begins with the premise that CPA firms will make the choices that are in their own best interest for responding to changes and expanding services. It does not try to dictate service expansion menus, business structures or models to them. Instead, it works with CPAs (and other Property & Casualty professionals) as consultants to help them understand, compare and choose among the available options.

While there are many different variations in strategic relationship, they tend to fall into three basic categories:

  • Referral sharing: The CPA and/or Property & Casualty firms and a financial services strategic partner provide cross-referrals to their respective client bases.
  • Do-it-ourselves: The CPA and/or Property & Casualty firms (or its partners) become licensed in securities, insurance and/or registered as an Investment Adviser or Investment Advisers Representative. This approach works best for larger firms that can commit the resources to operate their own financial services units.
  • Partnership: A CPA and/or Property & Casualty firm and a financial services Strategic Alliance Partner form a written agreement to set up a new joint venture firm or unit. This approach has proven very successful among many fairly small firms that don't wish to capitalize their own financial services units from scratch.