Why I'm Studying for the EA While Running Two Firms

I hold the CFP, CFT, APFC, and ACC designations. A master's degree in Financial Life Planning from Golden Gate University. I run two advisory firms. I'm raising a family.

And I'm studying for the Enrolled Agent exam.

People ask why. The honest answer is that I can't stop. But the useful answer is more specific.

What an Enrolled Agent actually is

An Enrolled Agent is the only credential granted by the IRS itself. It gives you the right to represent clients before the Internal Revenue Service — in audits, appeals, collections, everything. A CPA can do this too. A CFP cannot.

That gap has always bothered me.

I sit across from entrepreneurs and real estate investors with complex tax situations. Multi-state income. 1031 exchanges. Rental depreciation schedules. Entity structuring. These conversations require tax depth that the CFP curriculum doesn't provide.

I've always worked closely with CPAs. Good ones. But there's a difference between coordinating with a tax professional and actually understanding the code well enough to challenge their work, catch their mistakes, and represent the client directly when the IRS comes calling.

The EA closes that gap.

Why now

Two reasons.

First, my TSPW clients — professional hockey players — face some of the most complex tax situations in the country. Jock tax across dozens of jurisdictions. Cross-border US-Canada treaty issues. Players who earn money in 20+ states in a single season. The tax side of a hockey career is genuinely insane, and I refuse to advise on it without understanding it at the deepest possible level.

Second, I believe in the credential stack. Not for the letters on a business card — for what they represent. Each designation I've earned changed how I think about the work.

The CFP taught me planning frameworks. The CFT taught me the human side of money. The APFC taught me military financial planning. The ACC taught me coaching. The MS taught me life planning.

The EA will teach me tax at the level where I can stand in front of the IRS and say: I represent this person. And I know what I'm talking about.

What I'm learning right now

I'm in the individual taxation section. And I want to share something that's already changing how I think about client work.

Most people — including many advisors — treat taxes as a compliance exercise. File the return, pay what you owe, move on. But taxes are actually one of the most powerful planning tools available. Every dollar you save in taxes is a dollar that goes back to building the life you want.

The difference between a reactive tax strategy (file and pay) and a proactive tax strategy (plan, structure, time, and minimize) can be tens of thousands of dollars per year for the clients I work with. And the EA material is making me sharper at finding those opportunities.

I'll write more about specific tax insights as I work through the material. This is the beginning.

I am still in school

I put myself through school from the beginning. Community college, then undergrad, then the master's at GGU. Self-funded every time. And I'm still going.

This is how I'm built. Not because I'm trying to collect letters. Because every time I go deeper into a domain, it makes me better at the one thing that matters: serving the people who trust me with their financial lives.

The EA won't be the last designation. I'm already thinking about what comes after. That's not ambition — it's just the instinct that's been there since I was 15, taking a job at the YMCA for the free gym membership. Find the edge. Close the gap. Outwork the room.

That never goes away. I'm glad it doesn't.

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This is personal reflection, not financial advice. For personalized guidance, see wealthinyourself.com or topshelfprivatewealth.com.