Case Study

Last year when the House bill on the new tax law was passed, WBL's tax department carefully reviewed it to see if any of the provisions would negatively impact our clients. We identified one provision that would have significant negative impact on one of our clients and their industry. We pointed out our concern to our client and they, in turn, checked with other major players in their industry. Their largest competitor told our client that their national CPA firm's Washington D.C. expert had reviewed the House version of the bill and concluded that there was nothing to worry about. We reviewed the proposed bill again and could not agree with the national CPA firm's conclusion. Our client shared WBL's analysis of the bill with their representatives in Washington and was able to demonstrate why the law change as proposed would not meet the policy goals that Congress intended. They were able to rally others in the industry to contact their representatives to advocate for the removal of the potentially costly tax change. The Senate and House conference committee ultimately removed the detrimental provision from the final tax bill.

A new tax client's former accountant had been trying to resolve an issue with the IRS for more than six months and it was heading to appeals. The client was frustrated but was also concerned that changing CPA firms while the matter was pending would further delay resolution. WBL reviewed the IRS's position on the major item and realized it was not correct. We contacted the IRS appeals agent and demonstrated why his position was not correct. The matter was settled satisfactorily for the client within two weeks.

After a partner facilitated a panel discussion recently, a CFO came up to introduce himself to the partner. The CFO said he'd been hearing for years from a colleague in a key financial role at one of WBL's significant clients about the great work WBL does for them. He said that although our client is approached frequently by large CPA firms trying to lure them away, our client does not engage them since they have been so happy with WBL. He said he just wanted to meet the partner and pass on what he had heard about our firm.

When WBL hires associates with experience working at other local and national firms, we often hear from them that WBL's quality control and review procedures are significantly more rigorous than what they had experienced at their prior firms. Many have said the firm's increased attention to procedure and review has increased their pride in their own work and confidence that they are delivering better quality products to their clients.