Financial Advisors Want to Know: How to Finance an Advisory Firm Acquisition | Ep. 114 Greg Prokott

Welcome to the Financial Advisors Want to Know Podcast, I’m Catherine Tindall, a CPA with Dominion where our focus is helping financial advisors navigate income tax planning and compliance for their firms.

In this episode of Financial Advisors Want to Know, Catherine Tindall, CPA, sits down with Greg Prokott, Managing Partner at Advisor Financing, to discuss the financial realities of buying, selling, and transitioning an advisory firm.

With more than 30 years of experience in financial services, Greg brings a lender-focused perspective to advisory firm acquisitions. He explains how acquisition financing has evolved, the differences between conventional loans and seller financing, and what banks actually evaluate when deciding whether to finance a deal.

Key Takeaways:

Start preparing for an acquisition well in advance. Advisors should ideally begin conversations about financing two to three years before a potential purchase, giving themselves time to strengthen their financial position and address potential obstacles.

Understand what lenders actually evaluate. Banks look beyond the cash flow of the practice being acquired. The buyer's personal liquidity, existing debt, team capacity, and ability to withstand financial setbacks all influence financing decisions.

Know what your advisory practice is really worth. Revenue alone doesn't determine value. Profitability, client demographics, asset flows, operating expenses, and the structure of the business can significantly affect a firm's valuation.

Choose a financing structure that supports the transition. Conventional financing, seller notes, and staged ownership purchases each have different advantages. The right structure should account for cash flow, client retention, and the needs of both parties.

Approach internal succession as both a financial and relationship decision. Differences in valuation expectations, employee contributions, and ownership responsibilities can create tension. Early communication and thoughtful deal structuring can help make the transition smoother.

Connect with Greg:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/greg-prokott/

Greg's website:
https://www.advisorfinancingllc.com/

Connect with Catherine:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/ctindallcpa/

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Financial Advisors Want to Know Podcast: How to Build a Team That Grows With Your Firm | Ep. 113 Jill Barnett

In this episode of Financial Advisors Want to Know, we sit down with Jill Barnett, founder and principal of Valley Consulting Partners and co-founder of The Vested Network, to discuss the people side of building and growing a financial advisory practice.

As an advisory firm grows, the challenges often shift from acquiring and serving clients to hiring, delegating, developing, compensating, and retaining the right people. Jill shares what advisors should consider when making their first hire, including the important distinction between W-2 employees and 1099 contractors, identifying which responsibilities to delegate, and finding people who will represent the firm well with clients.

Key Takeaways

Your first hire is a major transition. Moving from doing everything yourself to delegating requires clarity around the tasks, responsibilities, and type of person you actually need.

Structure becomes more important as your team grows. Consistent meetings, clear workflows, and greater visibility can reduce micromanagement and keep everyone moving in the same direction.

Employee development matters just as much as task management. As firms grow, leaders need to spend more time discussing career paths, mentorship, compensation, benefits, and opportunities for growth.

Succession planning should include your employees. Your team often holds important client relationships, and involving key people in the transition can help preserve continuity and retain talent.

Start succession conversations before everything is finalized. Firm owners can begin communicating with potential successors without guaranteeing an outcome, while making sure effort and reward remain aligned throughout a multi-year transition.

Whether you’re making your first hire, managing a growing advisory team, or beginning to think about succession, this episode offers practical ideas for building the people and processes that can support your firm for the long term.

Connect with Jill:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/jill-barnett04mt/?isSelfProfile=false

Jill's website:
https://valleyconsultingpartners.com/

Connect with Catherine:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/ctindallcpa/

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Financial Advisors Want to Know: The Decisions That Drive Advisory Firm Growth | Ep. 112 Angie Herbers

Welcome to the Financial Advisors Want to Know Podcast, I’m Catherine Tindall, a CPA with Dominion where our focus is helping financial advisors navigate income tax planning and compliance for their firms.

In this episode of Financial Advisors Want to Know, I sit down with Angie Herbers, Managing Partner of Herbers & Company, to talk about the decisions that shape the growth, profitability, and long-term value of an advisory firm.

Drawing on more than two decades of experience working with advisory firms of all sizes, Angie explains why solving a business problem often requires looking beyond the most obvious solution. A compensation issue might actually be a service-model issue. A capacity problem might require a different hiring strategy. And preparing for an eventual exit may mean focusing less on maximizing short-term profitability and more on maintaining sustainable growth.

Key Takeaways:
Look beyond the obvious problem. A compensation or hiring challenge may actually point to a deeper issue with capacity, profitability, or the firm’s service model.

Hire based on what you want to achieve. Support staff can provide immediate relief, while adding an advisor can create significantly more capacity for future growth.

Design compensation around your culture and goals. Before focusing on numbers, consider the type of firm you’re building, the people you want to attract, and how you want to serve clients.

Don’t lose sight of the fundamentals. Industry trends come and go, but strong revenue, profitability, capacity management, client experience, and talent remain the foundation of a healthy advisory firm.

Keep sustainable growth a priority when planning an exit. Rather than maximizing short-term margins at the expense of growth, firms approaching a sale or merger should continue building a growing, reasonably profitable business.

Connect with Angie:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/angieherbers/overlay/background-photo/

Angie's website:
https://www.herbersandcompany.com/

Connect with Catherine:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/ctindallcpa/

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Contact Catherine's Team:
admin@dominiones.com

Looking for a more holistic relationship with your taxes? Book 15 minutes to have a coffee chat with Catherine to see if you could be doing more: https://calendly.com/ctindall/podcast-getting-to-know-you

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Financial Advisors Want to Know: What Happens When an Advisor Leaves? | Ep. 111 Andrew Shedlock

Welcome to the Financial Advisors Want to Know Podcast, I’m Catherine Tindall, a CPA with Dominion where our focus is helping financial advisors navigate income tax planning and compliance for their firms.

In this episode of Financial Advisors Want to Know, I sit down with attorney Andrew Shedlock to discuss the legal and practical considerations surrounding financial advisor transitions.

Key Takeaways:

Review your agreements before you’re ready to make a move. Advisors considering a transition should understand their employment agreement, what information they can take, how they can communicate with clients, and where potential litigation risks exist well before resigning.

Firm owners should review employment agreements regularly. Laws and court decisions change, which means an agreement written years ago may no longer provide the protection a firm owner expects. Andrew recommends reviewing these agreements with counsel every year.

Clearly define confidential information and solicitation. Small differences in contractual language can have major consequences. Firm owners should be specific about what constitutes confidential information and what actions qualify as soliciting a client.

Build a firm people want to stay at—not one that’s simply difficult to leave. Competitive compensation, incentives tied to growth, and potentially equity or other participation can help align an advisor’s success with the firm’s success and encourage long-term retention.

During a transition, focus on what you can control. You may not be able to change an agreement you signed years ago, but you can control your actions before and after leaving. Understanding your obligations and planning early can help reduce unnecessary legal risk.

Connect with Andrew:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/andrew-shedlock/

Andrew's website:
https://www.kutakrock.com/

Connect with Catherine:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/ctindallcpa/

Sign-up for our newsletter:
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Contact Catherine's Team:
admin@dominiones.com

Looking for a more holistic relationship with your taxes? Book 15 minutes to have a coffee chat with Catherine to see if you could be doing more: https://calendly.com/ctindall/podcast-getting-to-know-you

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Financial Advisors Want to Know: The Numbers That Matter in Your Practice | Ep. 110 Molly Pierce

Welcome to the Financial Advisors Want to Know Podcast, I’m Catherine Tindall, a CPA with Dominion where our focus is helping financial advisors navigate income tax planning and compliance for their firms.

In this episode, Molly and I discuss why firms struggle to get meaningful insights from their existing data, the benchmarks advisors can use to evaluate performance, and why common metrics like leads or cost per lead don’t always tell the full story. Molly also shares how small improvements in areas like close rates and average case size can create significant opportunities for growth.

Key Takeaways:
Your data is only valuable if you can make decisions with it. Tracking more numbers isn’t necessarily better. The goal is to identify metrics that actually help you understand what’s working, what isn’t, and where you should focus next.

A “good” close rate might be lower than you think. Molly discusses why a roughly 30% close rate can actually be healthy. An extremely high close rate may indicate that an advisor isn’t meeting with enough prospects or taking enough opportunities.

Average case size can shape the economics of your entire practice. Understanding the size and value of the clients you’re bringing in helps inform everything from marketing and staffing to capacity and long-term growth decisions.

Marketing metrics need context. A campaign can appear successful when referrals or other lead sources are masking its actual performance. Looking beyond surface-level metrics like cost per lead can give advisors a much clearer picture of ROI.

You don’t need to overhaul everything at once. Start with one meaningful metric, establish a baseline, and work from there. Even relatively small improvements across key areas of the business can compound into significant growth over time.

Connect with Molly:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/molly-pierce-9a9270108/

Track That Advisor Website: https://trackthatadvisor.com/

2026 National Benchmarks by Advisory Practice: https://drive.google.com/file/d/174Z4rPtO9m6S2X1H8EqBto1urzJia6Sz/view

2026 Benchmarking Guide: https://onedrive.live.com/?id=160E6F8B0BF5957A%21s9656db7defc846f38a8f266e4aa211c3&cid=160E6F8B0BF5957A&redeem=aHR0cHM6Ly8xZHJ2Lm1zL2IvYy8xNjBlNmY4YjBiZjU5NTdhL0lRQjkyMWFXeU9felJvcVBKbTVLb2hIREFhWjJrSEpndGxkVHE2NzV3cVNURzlRP1RlYW1zQ0lEPTI0MzViYzZlLWJkMGItNGM2Zi05MjcwLTZjYmQyODg1NTQyOSZsaW5rT3BlblRpbWU9MTc4NzY2NDAxOTI0Mg&parId=160E6F8B0BF5957A%21sde100f5627ca4627a17fb17c11fb7259&o=OneUp

Link to our Resource Center: https://trackthatadvisor.com/the-10-billion-library/

Connect with Catherine:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/ctindallcpa/

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Financial Advisors Want to Know: What to Do When the IRS Comes Calling | Ep. 109 Patricia Gentile

Welcome to the Financial Advisors Want to Know Podcast, I’m Catherine Tindall, a CPA with Dominion where our focus is helping financial advisors navigate income tax planning and compliance for their firms.

In this episode of Financial Advisors Want to Know, I sit down with Patricia Gentile, attorney, CPA, and founder of New England Tax Relief, to demystify what happens when the IRS comes calling.

We discuss how IRS notices actually work, why many notices are generated automatically, and what taxpayers should do before paying a proposed assessment. Patricia also explains why response deadlines matter, how unresolved notices can escalate, and what rights taxpayers can lose by waiting too long.

Key takeaways:
Don’t panic when an IRS notice arrives—but don’t ignore it either. Many notices are automatically generated, and responding early can keep a relatively simple issue from becoming much more complicated.

An IRS notice doesn’t automatically mean the IRS is right. Before paying a proposed assessment, take the time to understand what the notice is asking for and whether the IRS has the full picture.

Strong recordkeeping is one of your best defenses. Business owners should be prepared to substantiate deductions, mileage, travel, and other expenses—and even incomplete records may sometimes be reconstructed.

Keep business and personal expenses clearly separated. Clean records and proper documentation make tax preparation easier and put you in a much stronger position if deductions are ever questioned.

Owing more than you can pay doesn’t mean you’re out of options. There are ways to address outstanding tax debt, but acting quickly—and staying current on new tax obligations—is critical to resolving the problem.

Connect with Patricia:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/patricia-gentile-50137134/

Patricia's website:
https://newenglandtaxrelief.com/

Patricia's podcast:
https://newenglandtaxrelief.com/podcast/

Connect with Catherine:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/ctindallcpa/

Sign-up for our newsletter:
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Contact Catherine's Team:
admin@dominiones.com

Looking for a more holistic relationship with your taxes? Book 15 minutes to have a coffee chat with Catherine to see if you could be doing more: https://calendly.com/ctindall/podcast-getting-to-know-you

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Financial Advisors Want to Know: How to Build a More Valuable Advisory Firm | Ep. 108 with Ben Douglas

Welcome to the Financial Advisors Want to Know Podcast, I’m Catherine Tindall, a CPA with Dominion where our focus is helping financial advisors navigate income tax planning and compliance for their firms.

In this episode of Financial Advisors Want to Know, I sit down with attorney Ben Douglas to discuss one of the biggest transitions an advisory firm owner can make: buying or selling a practice.

Drawing from his experience advising wealth management firms on M&A transactions, succession planning, regulatory matters, and ongoing legal counsel, Ben shares what actually drives firm value, how advisors can position their businesses years before a sale, and the legal and operational issues that buyers and sellers often overlook.

Key Takeaways:
Start planning for succession earlier than you think. The most valuable firms are often sold while the owner is still actively engaged—not after they've decided to retire.

Firm value is about more than AUM. Buyers look closely at client relationships, growth potential, team structure, and operational quality—not just assets under management.

Culture fit matters as much as financial fit. Whether buying or selling, a successful transition depends on aligning people, processes, and client experience.

Build your firm as if you'll eventually sell it. Improving systems, compliance, documentation, and infrastructure benefits both future buyers and your current business.

Connect with Ben:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/bendouglas1/

Visit Ben's website:
https://www.rimonlaw.com/

Connect with Catherine:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/ctindallcpa/

Sign-up for our newsletter:
https://dominion-enterprise-services.kit.com/9944b047d9

Contact Catherine's Team:
admin@dominiones.com

Looking for a more holistic relationship with your taxes? Book 15 minutes to have a coffee chat with Catherine to see if you could be doing more: https://calendly.com/ctindall/podcast-getting-to-know-you

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Financial Advisors Want to Know Podcast: When Does Your Firm Need a Fractional CFO? | Ep. 107 with Max Holvik

Welcome to the Financial Advisors Want to Know Podcast, I’m Catherine Tindall, a CPA with Dominion where our focus is helping financial advisors navigate income tax planning and compliance for their firms.

In this episode of Financial Advisors Want to Know, I sat down with Max Holvik to discuss why financial reporting is about much more than bookkeeping. We talked about the financial metrics every firm owner should understand, how advisors can use their numbers to make better strategic decisions, and why having clean financials is essential for everything from hiring and pricing to acquisitions and long-term growth.

We also explored common financial blind spots, client profitability, forecasting, and how a fractional CFO helps firms move beyond simply recording history to planning for the future.

Key Takeaways:
Good financials help you make better decisions. Financial reporting isn't just for taxes—it provides the visibility needed to make informed decisions about hiring, growth, pricing, and profitability.

Know what it costs to serve your clients. Understanding client profitability helps advisors allocate resources more effectively and identify opportunities to improve pricing or service models.

Revenue growth doesn't always equal business growth. Organic growth, operating margins, and profitability often tell a more complete story than revenue alone.

Separate bookkeeping from strategy. Accurate books are the foundation, but financial planning and forecasting are what help firms achieve long-term business goals.

Your financials should support your future. The best firms don't just review historical numbers—they use financial data to build a roadmap for where they want the business to go.

Connect with Max:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/holvik/
https://theadvisorscfo.com/

Connect with Catherine:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/ctindallcpa/

Sign-up for our newsletter:
https://dominion-enterprise-services.kit.com/9944b047d9

Contact Catherine's Team:
admin@dominiones.com

Looking for a more holistic relationship with your taxes? Book 15 minutes to have a coffee chat with Catherine to see if you could be doing more: https://calendly.com/ctindall/podcast-getting-to-know-you

Sign-up for our newsletter for the only tax update you’ll need to read and future episodes here and how to get in touch with Catherine: https://dominion-enterprise-services.ck.page/9944b047d9

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