The Most Trusted Advisors Trust Their Spouses Most

While accountants may be other people’s most trusted advisors, when it comes to their own lives, they put the most trust closer to home: with their spouses.

As part of our monthly Accountants Confidence Index poll earlier this month, we asked 331 CPAs and accountants whose advice they value most, and more than half (52 percent) named their spouse or significant other as their top advice-provider.

The two closest rivals for most-valued advice were the respondents’ fellow accounting professionals, at 48 percent, and colleagues in their business, at 46 percent. (Respondents were allowed to pick their top three.)

Parents ranked much lower, at 23 percent, just above business thought leaders at 20 percent.

Here’s how they ranked all their sources of advice:

  • Spouse/significant other: 52 percent
  • Fellow accounting professionals: 48 percent
  • Colleagues in their business: 46 percent
  • Parent(s): 23 percent
  • Business thought leaders: 20 percent
  • Other professionals (lawyers, financial advisors, etc.): 18 percent
  • Thought leaders in accounting: 13 percent
  • Business or life coaches: 9 percent
  • Other family members: 4 percent
  • Other partners in your business: 3 percent

Note that many of the respondents were sole practitioners or sole proprietors, and so don’t have partners.

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