创业企业最需要的四类顾问

这些年有种现象越来越普遍：即每位成功的企业家身边都有四类专业人士当核心顾问，而且随时保持联系。虽然企业家对四类人士的需求各不相同，但起到的关键作用是一致的，就是帮助企业家专注于最重要的问题——发展业务。

因此，请将以下这些顾问纳入团队。

律师

为何企业要有一位信得过的律师当顾问？理由可能显而易见，也可能没那么明显。因为所有的企业家都必须处理合约、用工、客户纠纷等问题。近来更重要的一点是保护自有知识产权。

请一位知识产权的专业律师，不仅能解决法律纠纷，还能保护企业实体的创新、权力、产品与服务。

纽约的知识产权律师史蒂芬.R.斯托亚诺夫说：“今天（人们）依赖软件、网页内容和其他技术，也能轻易获取资源，但各种技术都涉及到知识产权，企业与个人都有可能因侵权或者滥用而承担昂贵的法律风险。如果刚开始就寻求法律建议降低风险，往往花费并不多，但最后可能节省成千上万美元，有时甚至高达数百万美元，从而避免财务危机。”

与一位知识产权律师合作还有可能提高企业的商业价值，顺利进入新市场，研究不同的业务领域，还有（国内与国际）知识产权法知识，作为个人可能用不上，但企业一定需要。

注册会计师（CPA）

注册会计师是企业团队不可或缺的一员，因为他们能遵守美国国家税务局、州政府和地方政府纳税法规处理企业和个人所得税。经营活动越复杂，就越需要有人根据企业的特点有针对地解决问题。

作为企业家，应该把重心放在重要的业务发展和运营上，而不是成天担心纳税问题。收到美国国家税务局发来的长篇信函后，交给注册会计师处理就能让企业家安心多了。会计师仿佛就是能保证企业家不会因为债务遭受牢狱之灾，所有问题都可以放心交给他们。不过，如果你扔过去一大盒收据，或者把存在云服务器上的纳税详单表格整个发过去，注册会计师可能也会抱怨一下。

注册会计师有责任保持当前会计操作，理解税法条款细节以确保合规，因此可以统筹税务方面的工作。

丹尼. E.德雷克是麦楷会计师事务所纽约/新泽西州商业企业服务集团的税收与商业服务主管，也是这家全美知名事务所的合伙人。他总结了企业对金融顾问的需求：“财会和纳税合规的问题越来越难掌握。因此，企业一定要请财会专家，一位拥有丰富的专业知识，能找到潜在问题，还能辨别机遇的专家。如果缺少这样一位有经验的专业人士提供适当指导，企业不可避免会犯错，或者错失商机，有些时候可能代价很高，甚至可能影响整体业务发展。”

财产保险代理

财产保险（P&C）的专业人士可以帮助企业应付潜在风险。他/她与企业密切合作，以支付保费的形式将犯错的风险转嫁给承保公司，从而保障企业运营。

保险专家会向企业提供一份详细的分析报告，其中包括企业有哪些保险需求、如何管理潜在风险、如何向承保公司描述企业面临的风险。保险条款应该包括但不限于综合责任险、产品责任险、业务中断险、火灾、洪灾和暴雨破坏险、产品缺陷责任险、盗窃险、错误疏漏责任险。这是经营企业必然会承担的费用。

如业务的基本框架和运营有任何变动或者更新，企业必须通知财产险专业人士。美国保险公司Mill Creek Agency, Inc.的总裁C. 斯科特•希尼说：“企业的保险专家需要知道企业家打算如何升级和调整业务，以便有效地建议企业转移、保持以及尽可能降低风险。”

注册金融策划师

企业家最经常误解的就是注册金融策划师的作用，除非请来一位通过合作互相了解。注册金融策划师不仅能管理企业投资或规划方面的需求，还是企业财务的核心。

注册金融策划师帮助企业规划业务目标和个人目标，并且确保顺利实施，他们会建议合理利用债务，建立适当的应急储备以应对企业经营期间可能的意外（关键人保险、买卖协议、健康、事故、失去劳动能力、长期护理等），还能确保购买合适当前发展的财产保险，而且成本合理。根据风险承受度，注册金融策划师会建议、监督及评估收益平衡点，保证投资目标符合企业的规划目标和战略。

注册金融策划师还能梳理企业规划与个人财务规划之间的关系。个人财务规划可能包括：子女教育基金、退休或财务独立、纳税计划、财富保值/遗产转移和信托计划。企业怎样将资产转移给其他企业或者企业家的家族成员？

注册金融策划师还能与企业合作，制定企业继承人计划，有效规划其对个人理财计划可能的影响。在拥有相关资质的律师拟定遗产转移计划后，注册金融策划师将负责监督计划实行。根据美国注册金融策划师标准委员会规定，注册金融策划师有财产受托的责任，要为客户争取最大利益。

注册金融策划师的作用是保证明星顾问团队密切协作，共同为实现目标奋斗，保证企业和个人财务规划处于正轨，同时帮企业家将工作重心放在首要任务——发展业务上。

因为生活总要继续，活在当下，规划明天。（财富中文网）

作者彼得.J.柯威里是注册金融策划师、特许理财顾问（ChFC）、特许人寿理财师（CLU）。他曾为美国企业效力，2013年自立门户成为企业家，成立了纽约投资顾问公司Crystal Brook Advisors，任首席执行官。该司致力于帮助年轻的专业人士和企业家实现个人财务目标。

译者：Pessy

校对：夏林

Over the years, it has become abundantly clear every successful business owner has 4 professionals acting as their core advisers and kept on their speed dial. The need for each varies, but all have a critical role to play in keeping a business owner focused on the important issues at hand — the business.

Put these advisers on your team:

The Lawyer

The reason for having a trusted attorney may or may not be obvious because all business owners have to deal with contracts, employment, customer disputes, etc. One area that has become more important, however, is the protection of your intellectual property.

An intellectual property attorney works with you to protect your business entity’s innovations, rights, product, and services; in addition to settling legal disputes. “Today’s reliance on, and easy access to, software, web content, and other technologies, all of which embody someone’s Intellectual Property, carry risks that may expose businesses and individuals to very costly legal liability for infringement or misappropriation. Obtaining early legal advice on how to reduce these risks, often at a modest cost, may save thousands and sometimes millions of dollars, and prevent financial ruin,” states Stefan R. Stoyanov, Esq.

Working with an intellectual property lawyer may provide you increased commercial value, access to new markets, research in different business areas, and IP law (domestic and international) knowledge you may not have but need as a business.

The Certified Public Accountant (CPA)

The accountant is a vital member of your team, since they keep your business and personal taxes and other reporting requirements in line with the ever changing IRS, State and Local Tax regulations. The more complicated your life gets the more you need a person that can handle the uniqueness of your business.

As a business owner, it is more important to focus on the important issues and operations of your business, than worry about taxes. If you get one of those multi-paged letters from the IRS, it is reassuring to give it to your CPA. They seem to have the ability to reassure you that you are not going to wind up in debtors prison, and they handle the issue. Your CPA may groan, however, when you bring in the shoe box full of receipts or a detail summary of your taxes from your cloud based excel spreadsheet.

The CPA is in charge of the tax landscape since they have the obligation to keep current and understand the accounting nuances of the tax codes and compliance.

Dane E. Dickler, CPA, Partner, Tax & Business Services Leader, NY/NJ Business Enterprise Services group at Marcum LLP summed up the following need for financial advisers: “The accounting and tax compliance landscape has become increasingly more complicated to navigate. That’s why it’s important for business to have a seasoned accounting professional on the team who is knowledgeable and able to identify potential issues and opportunities. Not having a professional with experience and expertise to provide proper guidance will inevitably result in mistakes or missed opportunities — some of which can be very costly and detrimental to the business at large.”

Property & Casualty Insurance Agent

The Property and Casualty (P&C) Insurance professional protects the foundation of your business against potential risks. He/she works with the business entity to protect your business operations by transferring risk of mistakes to an insurance carrier, for a price, called a premium.

The insurance professional will provide the business entity a detail analysis of the insurance need, how to manage the potential risk, and how to best present your exposure to the insurance carriers. The protection includes but is not limited to general liability, product liability, business interruption, fire, flood, storm damage, product defect, theft, and errors or omissions. It is a necessary business expense of doing business.

The business entity must inform the P&C Insurance professional of any updates or changes of the business infrastructure and operations. “Your insurance professional needs to know all updates or moves you are planning to make in order to affectively advise you on how to transfer, retain, or reduce risk as much as possible,” says C. Scott Heaney of Mill Creek Agency, Inc.

The Certified Financial Planner (CFP ®)

The most misunderstood adviser, unless you have one, is a Certified Financial Planner (CFP®). The CFP® is not just managing your business investments or planning needs, he/she is the quarterback of your business financial life.

The CFP® helps you plan and keep you on track to achieve your business and personal goals, using debt wisely, building appropriate emergency reserves, covering the “what if’s” of life (key-man insurance, buy-sell agreement, health, accident, disability, LTC), and ensuring your P&C coverage is appropriate and cost effective for your situation and in place. He/she recommends, monitors and evaluates a proper balance given your risk tolerance for investments and makes sure your investment goals are on track to reach your business planning goals and strategy.

The CFP® integrates how your business planning impacts your personal financial planning. Your personal financial planning may include: funding children education, retirement/ financial independence, tax planning, wealth preservation/estate/trust plans. How is the business entity transferring the assets to another entity or family member?

The CFP® will work with the business entity to develop the business succession plan and effectively plan how it may impact your personal financial planning. The estate plan is written by a qualified attorney and monitored by your CFP®. A CFP® is held to a fiduciary responsibility to work only in the best interest of the client which is mandated by the CFP® Board of Standards (cfp.net).

The CFP® role is to ensure your all-star team of advisers are coordinated and working toward your business planning goals and objectives that keep your business and personal financial planning lives on tract while you focus on the important tasks at hand — your business.

Because life happens, live for today and plan for tomorrow.

Peter J. Creedon, CFP®, ChFC, CLU went from working in corporate America to becoming an entrepreneur and business owner in 2013. He is founder and CEO of Crystal Brook Advisors, a NY Registered Investment Advisory firm, focusing on helping young professionals and business owners in reaching their financial goals.