I had been on the phone to a potentially new prospect and he said that trying to speak with his accountant and financial advisor was like trying to speak with the Pope.

He has enjoyed the conversation and was a lot wiser on why he was paying oh so much tax. He had been told that the structure he was given was the way to do it – and that was that.

I couldn’t have designed it better myself, if my brief was for my client to pay as much tax as possible.

But let’s get back to the Pope.

I went on the net and found Monsignor Tommaso Caputo, the chap I needed. I found a picture of him talking to the Pope and he was listed as Chief of Protocol, so I thought I had his phone number. You see a picture of him with the Pope, so he must know him.

I tried to phone, but the Vatican Phone lookup had given me the wrong number. So yes, speaking to the Pope does seem a bit hard.

Now if I did get through to the Pope, we would of course have had a rather subjective conversation about belief and faith, something that is what the Pope is charged with.

Not accountants. The problem is that when it comes to professionals, many clients just have faith. I think that accounting clients need more, including a bit of knowledge to know what the background and reasoning is behind their structure or advice.

Make sure you ask; “Why this structure?” “Why this advice?”

At Fresh Numbers / Your Business Angels we always work to get our clients updated with new legislations and best practice regarding business structure and ideas for their financial future. Any change could mean more transparency around income and loan. This means it is crucial to plan ahead with updated knowledge around the legal and regulatory framework.

Paying too much tax? Need a review because it feels too much? Then give us a call and see if the faith you had in others was true.