Partner

Seim, Johnson, Sestak & Quist, LLP

Omaha, NE 

 

 
I have been a CPA in public accounting since 1982. I am currently a partner providing tax and financial planning services at Seim Johnson LLP. My husband, Bruce, and I enjoy golf, our vineyard, and traveling to scenic locations.

1. When did you get started in Financial Services? I began learning and providing financial planning services in the early 1990s at another firm. I became a certified financial planner in 1997, and became licensed for financial services at Seim Johnson in 2000.

2. How are you able to help your clients with the additional services?  It is great to have services other than income tax compliance to offer to clients with concerns about investments or insurance. There have been many instances in which clients have received investment or insurance advice from other professionals and turned to Seim Johnson for a second opinion. It is great to know that Jim Siemonsma, our FA, is always readily available to help with these discussions.

3. How do you feel client relationships are strengthened? Can you give an example? Providing financial services makes my clients’ lives easier. They have one primary advisor for income tax, retirement planning and investment management needs. An example is a couple for whom I prepared a retirement plan following a bad experience they had with another advisor. They felt much more comfortable with our projections and explanations. We have updated that plan several times over the years as they faced various decisions with significant financial repercussions.

4. How do you feel financial services differentiates and positions you in the marketplace? What are some things you have done to market financial services? My marketing efforts take place primarily in face-to-face consultations with clients. When they express a concern or when I see something in their financial information that I feel we can improve upon, the conversation flows easily into a discussion of the investment management and insurance consulting services we facilitate through our subsidiary, Wealth Management Advisors, LLC.

5. Do you have any suggestions for those new CPAs just getting started? Starting a financial services practice requires embracing and communicating the benefits of the service for our clients. HKFS and Jim Siemonsma do a wonderful job “teaching”, by example, how to present these services to clients. It is essential for CPAs new to the financial services business to partner with a registered investment advisor, like HKFS, who can lead them through all the legal and regulatory requirements, AND support the CPAs in the delivery of the service.

Advisory Services offered through Honkamp Krueger Financial Services, Inc., a Registered Investment Advisor.