How Lawyers and Accountants can Work Together for the Betterment of their Clients

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Ali Ahmari Moghaddam /
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How Lawyers and Accountants can Work Together for the Betterment of their Clients

Having the expertise, guidance and input of a professional in any field can help clients feel more comfortable and safeguarded in protecting their interests as they navigate various business matters and transactions. However, it must be emphasized that certain matters and transactions can be complex, which may in turn require the involvement of more than one professional to properly and professionally address the matter at hand for the client. This speaks to the importance of professionals in different fields following specific guidelines to best represent and serve the interests of their clients. This article will discuss the importance of lawyers and accountants working collaboratively to provide clients with the best possible service and support for their business affairs. There are guidelines that can be followed to ensure the process can be conducted as smoothly, efficiently and effectively as possible.

First, the client must consent to the release of all corresponding information that is relevant to the business affair at hand between the professionals retained by the client. This will allow both the lawyer and the accountant to be made aware of all relevant facts and information pertaining to the business affairs. In turn, by having shared all relevant information the professionals will have the ability to collaborate and work together to provide the best possible advice and guidance for the client to achieve their desired outcome. It is through this sharing of relevant information that the professionals can present different options to address and resolve the issue that the client is faced with.

Second, having the lawyer and the accountant establish a common level of trust and respect will allow for deeper and meaningful conversations to take place that will in turn both serve and protect the client’s interests. Additionally, it is important to recognize that each professional possess distinct skill sets and knowledge that when combined can be used to address the client’s mater. The element of trust comes into play because the lawyer must understand that they may not possess the necessary accounting skills to fully address an issue, and may therefore not completely have the perspective that an accountant has with respect to matters such as taxation ramifications of a particular course of action. Therefore, the collaboration between both professions allows for the merging of these two perspectives to broaden the scope of analysis for the business affair in question and to combine their respective areas of expertise to effectively advise the client on a specific matter having regard to both the legal and the financial/accounting implications of a specific course of action.

Third, the professionals should create a plan of action to follow which can be amended from time to time by both where they see fit to do so depending on the circumstances. Having a tentative plan to follow will help diminish any confusion as to the approaches to be taken in resolving the issue. It will also help outline the areas of work that each professional can contribute to subject to their level of experience and expertise.

The argument that potential issues and conflict may arise between the respective professionals can in fact be properly managed by adhering to the guidelines set out above. For instance, a lawyer is required to maintain strict confidentiality with their client, however, having the client voluntarily share information with the accountant or authorizing the lawyer to release the relevant information to the accountant will solve this particular issue. Among the professionals themselves, it is inevitable that conflict may occur given the different areas of expertise and perspectives; however, establishing a working plan and maintaining a professional attitude by respecting and trusting one another in the process can adequately address this concern.

The respective professionals should always ensure that the client’s interests are considered a priority in any and all discussions. The collaboration of lawyers and accountants can pose more benefits than drawbacks to the overall outcome that the client is seeking. Having a lawyer and accountant work together benefits the client by having their expertise combined to execute a more unified and multidimensional approach in resolving an issue.