help clients with employment compensation

older man and younger man in meetingyou might find yourself negotiating a contract.

by ed mendlowitz
how to build a stronger tax practice

this service includes employment contract negotiations and executive compensation review and planning.

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who needs this service

every client employed by a mid- to large-size company or a public company will need some sort of employment compensation assistance.

why the accountant is suited to offer this service

accountants acquire an extensive knowledge of employment compensation arrangements from the wide range of tax clients they service. this knowledge can be applied to clients in situations similar to other clients. many times accountants have more than one client working for the same company. without abusing any confidential information, their knowledge of what the company does can indicate how far their client can go in suggesting arrangements and compensation grids.

introducing the client to the service

the accountant is usually the client’s closest financial adviser. if you meet with the client to do a tax projection, and again to get tax information, and call with a few words about his or her tax return or to follow up on something that was said at one of your two meetings, you would pretty much know what’s going on with the client.

during these meetings and discussions, you might find out that the client is looking for a job or negotiating for one. if the job is a high enough or important enough position the client might need some advice or guidance from you. again, the hook is the tax advice in connection with the new job, but your involvement can extend to negotiating the entire contract.

some of the clients may want to discuss stock options, deferred compensation, life insurance benefits, employer stock benefits, tax-free fringe benefits and nonqualified compensation plans.

buyout settlements are also included in this category, particularly because there are many tax consequences to these discussions. clients will have many decisions to make regarding their pension, accelerated vesting, severance pay, exercising options, health insurance, cobra, fringe benefits, and outsourcing or displacement services and counseling.