The wisdom of crowds..

The wisdom of crowds..

In 1907, Francis Galton, a cousin of Charles Darwin, asked 787 villagers at a country fair to estimate the weight of a prize Ox. Nobody got the weight of 1,198 pounds spot on, but the mean of the guesses was 1,200 pounds. Near enough is good enough in agriculture, but not sophisticated tax planning

Finding the right partner to advise on technical tax matters like investment, property or family legacy planning, can be something of a lottery

I’m using the word lottery to emphasise the element of chance inherent in believing your average ‘kitchen-sink’ accountancy firm has on-tap, in-house, the technical tax skills absolutely required for bespoke, technical tax structuring

Then there’s the assignment process within the accountancy practice. Effectively the task could be assigned to anyone with relevant qualifications, but what about experience?

It’s like the relative merits of the Beatles versus the Rolling Stones, of salmon versus tuna

Likely, an individual will be assigned your case, and you’ll never know what would have happened if a different colleague had been selected instead

If ten film critics watch the same movie, if ten wine tasters rate the same wine, if ten people read the same novel, we would not expect them to have the same opinion

Judgement is difficult because the world’s a complicated, uncertain place. Complexity prevails in tax planning. Disagreement is unavoidable wherever judgement is involved. Successful, relevant, recent experience is paramount

With legacy planning, you won’t know the outcome. Worse, you will never be in a position to verify your judgement. Others will, but not until after the fact..

There’s no substitute for successful, experienced, hands-on, Chartered Tax Advisers who specialise in all aspects of property, investment and family legacy tax and associated planning

Arrange your free power-hour family legacy planning discussion here . You’re free to accept, or refuse, and there’s no obligation whatsoever

Toodle Pip