So, lots of questions immediately come up when I tell them I am starting a Sole Practitioner Planning and Tax firm, after 27 years working for The Coca-Cola Company. The main one is, “Why don’t you just stay retired?”

I want to fill what I perceive to be a unmet need for people looking for help in navigating the sometimes complex world of planning, investment, and managing taxes. Here are the qualifications I have to meet that need.

I’ve held a Certified Public Accountant license in the State of Georgia since 1995. After retirement, I completed a Capstone Class to complete my educational requirements to sit for the Certified Financial Planner exam, and passed it in March 2019. In January 2020, I completed the experience requirement, and am a licensed CFP®, license number 324298.

I have been preparing tax returns on a volunteer basis through the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) program since 2014, and currently serve as the Site Coordinator for VITA at North Fulton Community Charities.

In addition, I am in my second year of a three-year term as one of two Georgia representatives on the Taxpayer Advocacy Panel (TAP). The mission of TAP is to identify taxpayer issues and make recommendations to the IRS for improvement. This activity has given me a much better understanding of how the IRS works and how best to work with them.

Finally, I feel that my best credential to offer is this. I developed my own plan, worked it successfully and met my own goal of retiring from Corporate life at 60. Whatever your family’s goals are, let’s talk about what actions you need to take today to make them happen.