FAQs

At Elevate, we are proud of our clients and our work. Every one of our RIA firm clients has received a tailored solution to achieve their specific goals. As your strategic growth partner, the process we follow will depend largely on your needs. That said, we generally follow a process that involves the following:

This is a great question and one that generally revolves around numbers. Our clients typically have $100 million-plus AUM and range from newly established RIAs to seasoned financial planning firms. That said, being a good fit for Elevate CPA Group is mostly about a desire to become a successful industry leader. In other words, Elevate is for those who are determined to nurture and grow their firm. If this sounds like you now or like where you want to be, give us a call.

No, you will not. Our initial consultation is all about discovery. It’s imperative to make sure we’re a good fit for one another before entering into an engagement. We work best with motivated, driven RIA firms that are hungry for growth. By the same token, you’ll work best with someone who can be your trusted strategic growth partner.

Simply put, we offer a full-service financial team for you, your firm, and, if you’d like, your clients. View our full services listing here.

Our clients typically prefer a monthly engagement for budgeting and planning purposes. The monthly fee covers all services including ongoing support via meetings, phone calls and emails. Because we tailor our solutions for your firm, it’s best to give us a call about our fees. We aren’t shy about the fact that we work best with financial planning firms that are driven for growth. If your firm isn’t ready to partner now, that’s ok. We can have a conversation and see when it makes sense to work together.

Yes, our services can complement your current CPA relationship as well as any other professionals with whom you’re currently engaged.

We use this term because it illustrates the kind of relationship we have with our RIA firm clients. We partner with you to help you strategically grow and achieve your goals. Sometimes this begins with helping you define your goals or what success means to you. Other times it starts by giving you a clear financial picture of your financial planning firm. We lend our expertise to enhance and move your business forward.

Far from it. Every financial advisory firm is unique. We tailor our dedicated solutions to meet each firm’s specific needs. One of the benefits of working with Elevate is that, through our focus on the financial planning industry, we can bring a significant depth of knowledge to empower your firm. What’s more, because we have a good grasp on your industry, we can dive in to helping your RIA firm rather than waste your time getting up to speed.

Yes. All of our tax planning services are available to your clients and you. We sit on your side of the table, allowing you to bring our tax expertise to your clients as needed—without any sales pressure. Think of us as your in-house tax advisor. As such, we can provide significant value for your clients, particularly when the relationship or trust you have in your client’s tax advisor is lacking. Our goal is to make you more valuable to your clients.

Some of our RIA firm clients choose to have us provide tax planning for a select number of high-net-worth clients; others choose to not make our tax services available to any clients.

We have offices in Boulder, Colorado and Chicago, Illinois.  Thanks to technology, your location is irrelevant to our ability to serve you. Our dedicated solutions are available nationwide.

If your financial planning firm requires an annual surprise exam, our sister company, DeMarco Sciaccotta Wilkens & Dunleavy, LLP can perform this service for you.

Yes. Elevate can perform a fee calculation review as part of our full-service offering. The results often reveal instances of overcharging or undercharging and, as a result, are extremely worthwhile to our clients.

We are experts in the financial services industry. As such, we understand what you need to do to achieve your goals. Our CPAs, advisors, and accountants know the trends affecting your industry, the challenges of doing business as an RIA firm, the ways in which you can drive value, and the market for selling or acquiring other firms. We work only with clients in the financial services industry because we are uniquely positioned to bring value to this space. You deserve more from your CPA firm, we provide the expertise you need to achieve your goals and make your business more valuable.

Knowing your numbers is very important to growing your RIA firm. You encourage your clients to be involved in their financial plan, right? So, why wouldn’t you want to be involved in your firm’s numbers?

Without a clear picture of your firm’s current and projected finances, you can’t be nimble or make good long-term decisions. As your business becomes more successful, what expenditures facilitate the growth.  As markets decline, what costs can be cut without jeopardizing quality operations.  Knowing your numbers also lets you see how you stack up against other firms your size. What does a firm with $100M more in AUM than yours looks like? How can your firm get there? Elevate cannot only provide you with a clear financial picture—we can help you achieve your desired growth.