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Welcome back to The Dental Boardroom Podcast with Wes Read CPA, CFP!
In today's episode, we're pivoting from last week's discussion about reviewing your own financial statements to a powerful new focus: the 10 critical questions you should be asking your CPA every year — not just at tax time.
Why is this so important?
Most CPAs are historians by training — they look backward. But if you learn to engage them correctly, you can push your CPA into a more analytical, forward-thinking advisor role that will transform your practice’s financial success and help you build lasting personal wealth.
Key Points:
• Why Timing Matters: Waiting until year-end to talk with your CPA can cost you tax-saving opportunities. Meet proactively in Q2 and Q4!
• CPA as Historian vs. Planner: Most CPAs are trained to look backward, but with the right questions, you can push them to think forward.
• Financial Integration: The greatest value comes when your business cash flow planning connects directly to your personal financial goals.
• Personal Financial Independence: Route business profits smartly—either spend on personal expenses or build your balance sheet (assets).
• Avoid Financial Leaks: Without good cash flow control in the practice, money will leak away before strengthening your personal net worth.
• Schedule Smart Meetings: Ideal times to meet your CPA are after tax season (May-June) and after October 15th.
• 3 Sections for CPA Questions:
1 Profit & Loss: Understand your goals-based break-even and if you're hitting it.
2 Taxes: Stay ahead of tax liabilities, deductions, and strategic opportunities.
3 Financial Planning: Align your practice cash flow with your long-term personal financial goals.
• Key Concept: "Goals-Based Break-Even" — how much you must collect monthly to fund your current lifestyle AND save for financial independence.
Wes knows what's best for dental practices. He's been doing this for a long time and he sees lots of practices. He can tell me how our practice is doing, and what we can do to increase our productivity. With past CPA's, there were no ideas. It was all coming from me, saying "I think I can do better, but I don't know how." I come in to meet with Wes and he says "You CAN do better, and I know how."
PracticeCFO is in hundreds of dental offices around the country. They know what numbers should look like. They know what percentages of payroll, rent and supplies should be, and they will hold you accountable to those numbers, which will really help you stick to your plan and your path of growth and savings. That is invaluable
Whenever something comes up, whether it's building or practice related and we weren't sure where the numbers would go, PracticeCFO has been instrumental in helping us figure that out. I can't say enough of how important that is - that it goes beyond that initial partnership. They make sure this business marriage works.
When I go home from work, I don't spend a whole lot of time stressing about what my books look like, or how much I owe in taxes. By using PracticeCFO, the burden of keeping track of a lot of the big financial numbers and metrics are taken off my plate.
PracticeCFO helped me develop a plan for the future. I have colleagues that work with other accountants that don't have a plan - they just look at the numbers of the practice and that's it. There's no plan for 10, 20 years from now. But with PracticeCFO, you get that. PracticeCFO makes you feel like you're they're only client.
(In reference to his practice sale) What could've been super stressful, wasn't! When picking John and Wes, it was from word of mouth recommendations and other people's experiences from the past that really did it for me. And it turns out that those recommendations were right on the line.
Wes knows the business side of dentistry. His comprehensive plan will organize your personal and professional finances so you can focus on taking care of patients. Massive ROI.
I can’t say enough good things about everyone at PracticeCFO. Everyone on the team is professional, organized, knowledgeable, helpful and kind. They also respond to emails and phone calls immediately and are always happy to help. They have helped me navigate year-to-year as a business owner. PracticeCFO gives me peace of mind that my business is in good hands.
I love Practice CFO! They have helped me obtain a practice and maintain a practice. They are incredible people who are on top of everything and make owning and running the business portion of a practice easy. They couldn’t be better for my business and my sanity. They have every detail of the business and taxes taken care of where all I have to do is show up and follow their easy steps to success!
Practice CFO has the best tools I’ve seen for personal tax and financial planning in addition to top-tier corporate tax and accounting services. I have been very pleased with the level of quality service. They manage my monthly bookkeeping and accounts payable. It is a great system and saves me a ton of time, and it allows us to have monthly financial statements within a week of month end.
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