edfan wrote:

- quote -

In the tax world, there are three sets of professionals who
are generally authorized to practice before the Internal
Revenue Service:

1. Attorneys

2. Certified Public Accountants

3. Enrolled Agents

A serious tax professional is going to hold one of those
three credentials. As for an ATA--I certainly haven't seen
any rush to obtain that credential by those who hold one of
the "magic three" <grin> credentials.

I would also wonder about someone who had only this "other"
credential and did not have one of the other certifications.
Anyone can sit for the enrolled agent examination and
demonstrate their understanding of federal tax law that
way--and someone with a true tax practice will want the
ability to represent clients in an examination context, as
it eases a bunch of other interactions short of the exam
(getting a power of attorney to communicate with the IRS on
a matter, for instance).

Frankly, if someone had *only* a third party credential in
this area, I would wonder whether they had obtained that one
because they didn't have the knowledge to get the "more
official" one.

--
Ed Zollars, CPA
Phoenix, Arizona

I am looking for financial *planning* advice, from a person familiar
with tax questions, who is used to thinking long term. I found a web
site put up by the Certified Financial Planner organization where they
defined some specialists. One of which was an ATA, an Accredited Tax
Advisor.

Is this the credential to look for? Does its sponsorship by the
CFP.org mean anything besides membership in a guild?