Choosing a Dental CPA

Did you ever hear the saying, “You get what you pay for?” This is so true when it comes time for you to engage an accountant to assist you in understanding your practice’s finances. There are a lot of choices out there for you regarding who will represent you as you move into the dental entrepreneurship stage of your career. This article is intended to assist you in the selection process of hiring and engaging, not an accountant, not a CPA, but a “Dental CPA.” So let’s examine the differences between the three and help you with your selection process.

given to all individuals that are looking to further their profession. The CPA in the financial world is looked at as one of your most trusted professional (business) advisors.

A Dental CPA is a CPA who has chosen to dedicate his or her entire professional career representing just one industry, that being dentistry! The Dental CPA has a significant client base in dentistry, somewhere approaching 200-400 clients, if not more. The Dental CPA has made a conscientious decision to specialize in the dental industry by lecturing at dental schools across the nation, writing articles for various dental trade publications, lecturing on a national basis to organizations such as the American Dental Dental Association (ADA), the Academy of General Dentistry (AGD), the American Association of Pediatric Dentistry (AAPD), the Chicago Dental Society (CDS) and others. So do take the time when interviewing your accountant to make sure he or she has the credentials as listed above, if not more.

An accountant is an individual who has decided to provide financial services to you, but who has not been certified by the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, www.AICPA.org. Since these individuals are not certified, they will not be able to represent you before the Internal Revenue Service, for example.

A CPA is an individual that has passed the CPA exam given by the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants. The CPA exam is one of the most difficult professional exams, if not the toughest,

Some of the questions you may want to consider asking the accountant during the interview phase are as follows:

Don’t Worry About Your Future...Own It!

The Paragon Progressive Ownership (POP) Plan provides a

proven means for a new dentist to gradually enter into a

co-ownership relationship with an experienced dentist.

Call Paragon for a personal consultation

to see if POP is right for you.

Visit PARAGON.US.COM to sign up for our free newsletter.

Are you a Dental CPA? • In your mind, what makes you a Dental CPA? • Why have you chosen to represent just dentists/dental practices? • If a potential client were to choose you, what would separate you from the traditional accountant? • As a Dental CPA, what services do you offer your clients? • Why do dentists seek your services? • What wealth management services do you offer, that will allow your dental clients to retire? • What continuing educational courses do you attend, that will further enhance the dental practice management services you offer?

Locating a Dental CPA

So you may ask yourself, “I like the idea of engaging a Dental CPA, but where would I locate my Dental CPA?” You can visit the Academy of Dental CPA’s website, www.ADPCA.org, to locate a Dental CPA near you.

Services Offered as an Accountant or CPA

The tradition services offered by an accountant or CPA are more of compliance in nature, and can be any of the following:

Preparation of your individual income tax return • Preparation of your business income tax return • Preparation of your state’s personal property tax return • Preparation of your quarterly payroll tax returns • Preparation of your financial statements • Preparation of your monthly bank reconciliations

The Dental CPA will go beyond these traditional compliance services and offer any of the following services, if not more. You will notice from the following that these services are more focused on your practice and more specifically consulting services in nature.

Fees by ADA Procedure – Your Dental CPA will have a database of ADA fees by procedure for the locale in which you practice. Using this information, the Dental CPA can assist you with setting your fees. This one service offered by the Dental CPA alone can be the difference between a marginally profitable practice and a practice that is extremely profitable.

Cost of Capital – Your Dental CPA will have access to extremely attractive interest rates with resources that provide capital to your practice. Recently when consulting with a new client of my firm, the dentist mentioned to me that she felt she was spending unnecessary dollars on her cost of capital. During the interview process, she mentioned to me she had met with her CPA about her concerns, but it fell on deaf ears. Once she engaged us, we made this opportunity a very high priority within my firm. Today, I am pleased to inform you, I was able to negotiate an interest rate modification with her existing bank going from 6.75 percent to 4.25 percent, a savings of over $24,000 of the remaining life of the loan.

profit-sharing, defined-benefit plan and cash-balance plan. Of all of the plans that are available to you, which is the best plan for you and your practice? Your Dental CPA can assist you in making this very critical decision.

A CPA is an individual that has

passed the CPA exam given by the American Institute

Wealth Management – Your Dental CPA is well-versed in investment strategies that can save you countless dollars as well as sleepless nights. Many of members of the Academy of Dental CPAs are also Registered Investment Advisors (RIAs). RIAs are held to a higher standard when it comes to providing wealth management services. This standard is a fiduciary standard, whereby the RIA makes decisions on your behalf. Your stockbroker does not operate under these fiduciary standards. Their decisions are considered suitable on your behalf. If the stockbroker can justify their decisions, they may be suitable, but they also may not be in your best interest. The Dental CPA takes this worry away. They have resources within their firms that make this service a part of the onestop shopping experience within their service offering menu.

of Certified Public

Accountants.

As a Dental CPA, I had resources along with a relationship with this particular bank, which assisted me in getting a more attractive rate for my client. Needless to say, the dentist was extremely satisfied with the result.

CAD CAM Dentistry – As Dental CPAs, we are trained by the leaders in CAD CAM dentistry. We simply understand it, and we are capable of having an intelligent conversation with you about it. In fact, we as Dental CPAs can tell you the difference between the CEREC and the E4D technologies and why we may prefer one over the other. We are often given special pricing that can be passed on to our clients, simply because of our professional relationships with the major vendors that service this part of the industry.

Marketing of Oral Healthcare Services – A Dental CPA has been trained by the best dental marketing experts from across the nation. The Dental CPA brings this knowledge to each and every engagement. This allows the Dental CPA to consult with you and set your practice apart from any local competition. Through the Dental CPA’s training, they can assess your marketing strategies and bring fresh marketing ideas to the forefront that will help you position your practice for future growth.

Dental Overhead –Dental CPAs know what your dental overhead should be. We know this not just for general dentistry, but also for all of the dental specialties – oral surgery, endodontics, orthodontics, periodontics, pediatric and prosthodontics. A few percentage points the wrong way can be the difference between funding your retirement plan on an annual basis and not funding your retirement plan at all.

Leasing – A Dental CPA will have professional relationships with a number of leasing agencies in your market. These relationships are essential when choosing between locations A, B and C. The dental lease expert will share their reasons as to why a location (A, B, or C) will be more likely succeed than an alternative location. The Dental CPA has relationships with these folks in your market that foster trust and confidence in the decisionmaking process of choosing a location over one or the other.

Retirement Planning – A Dental CPA can assist you in the design of your retirement plan, so the majority (if not all) of the annual contribution goes to you. You have many choices when it comes to retirement planning: SEP, SIMPLE, profit sharing plan, 40lk plan, 401k with

In conclusion, when selecting your most trusted professional advisor, the Dental CPA, get the information and direction you richly deserve in running your dental practice. Please, do not settle for, “You get what you pay for,” and don’t be penny-wise and dollar-foolish! I wish you lots of good luck with your search!