Testimonials
Here are what a few CPA experts and other financial planners say about our professional knowledge
and abilities regarding tax and cash flow planning:
Andy Biebl, CPA (New Ulm, MN)
Recipient of the Outstanding Discussion Leader Award from the AICPA
"Thanks so much for the outstanding presentation to our firm. The reaction on the part of our
associates has been universally enthusiastic. You really opened our eyes as to the tremendous
opportunity for client service regarding tax and cash flow planning in the educational funding area."
Robert Ranweiler, CPA (New Ulm, MN)
Member of the AICPA's Board of Directors
"You have unlocked the secret of the College Financial Aid System and your seminars help
practitioners understand the financial aid process and explain how it relates to tax planning. The
new higher education tax incentives are only part of the puzzle.
Jim Reeves, CPA (Fort Worth, TX)
Vice President and Publisher, Practitioners Publishing Company (PPC)
"Higher education is a potential gold mine for CPAs, and a great practice development opportunity. The
demographics certainly support this as children of baby-boomers reach college age. The great enigma is
that traditional tax planning is often in direct conflict with college financial aid planning. In many
cases such traditional tax planning will cost the client more in lost financial aid than it saved in
taxes. If CPAs can seize the opportunity to become the "planner of choice," they could clean up!"
Vern Hoven, CPA, (Missoula, MT)
National Tax Expert quoted in Newsweek, Money Magazine and Associated Press
"I believe tax and cash flow planning for college will become the next trend in financial
services, especially in the light of the new tax legislation."
Kriss Mann, CPA (Glendale, CA)
Ashlock & Trimarche, Inc., CPAs
"The entire focus of our CPA practice has changed significantly since Rick Darvis showed us the
little-known options for college planning through tax savings. Our clients love it! Nothing we have
ever added to our practice has been so well received, or expanded our practice so rapidly."
Mark Reich, CPA, CFP (New York, NY)
Committee member of the NAPFA 1999 Northeast/Midatlantic Regional Conference
"The impact of your presentation was tremendous. Clearly, you gave our community of fee-only
financial advisors important exposure to a topic that is inadequately discussed and yet so relevant
to the education and financial planning concerns of our clients."
Noelle Allen, CPA (Cupertino, CA)
Member of the AICPA Tax Practice and Procedure Committee
"Thanks for being a guest speaker at our annual Las Vegas tax update seminar. You gave a wonderful
session with invaluable insight as to how the new tax incentives for education fit into the "big picture"
of overall college financial planning. The information was an "eye opener" for many tax-only oriented
practitioners. The presentation underscored how personal financial planning issues affect tax planning."
H. William Kuehl, Jr., CPA, PFS, CFP (Richmond, VA)
Past member of AICPA Personal Financial Planning Committee and the Virginia State Board of Accountancy
"Your "College Financial Aid" course provides immediate value to a CPA's tax practice. It is packed
with good information and practical ideas. Must reading for any CPA tax practice."
Alan J. Straus, CPA, JD, LLM (New York, NY)
Chairperson of New York Society of CPAs Personal Financial Planning Conference
"I wanted to take this opportunity to thank you for speaking at our Personal Financial Planning
conference. Most important, I wanted to let you know that your presentation, "College Financial Aid - Best
Kept Secret in America" was extremely well received by your CPA peers in regards to their tax
practices. There were many comments about how it was "the most valuable piece of information I got
out of the day" and many comments about how knowledgeable Rick (Darvis) was. On a personal note, with
two daughters in college, I certainly learned a great deal of important information from your
presentation."
Richard Brekke, CPA, JD, LLM, (Billings, MT)
Dorsey & Whitney Law Firm
"Before reviewing your course, I didn't think the financial aid topic related to my more
affluent clients. Now, I can think of many clients that could utilize tax and cash flow planning
to get financial aid for their children."
Paula Hart, CPA, PFS, CFP (Fort Worth, TX)
Senior Technical Editor, Practitioners Publishing Company (PPC)
"I learned so much from your training course. It convinced me that the tax planner can cost the
client dearly by assuming the client is ineligible for college financial aid. Incorporating college
financial aid planning into the tax planning process not only serves the client's interests, but
it can protect the planner from errors and omissions claims. I sincerely wish I had taken your
course when we were planning for our own children's college educations."
Philip E. Harris, JD (Madison, WI)
Co-author of Farm Income Tax School Workbook
"These materials provide tremendous insights into the nuts and bolts of how the financial
information of a student's family is used to calculate financial aid packages. Those insights
are combined with other practical tax and cash flow planning strategies to give the reader a
complete understanding of how to minimize the cost of attending college."
Danny Santucci, JD (Costa Mesa, CA)
Nationally known tax and retirement planning author and lecturer
"Today's high cost of college is forcing parents to rethink their retirement plans and programs. This
course is a must for financial professionals in order to properly counsel clients before they deplete
their retirement funds to pay for college."
John F. Cowan, CPA (Salt Lake City, UT)
College Financial Aid Administrator and Federal Financial Aid Funds Auditor
"I found your CPE course unique and enlightening. This course is a must for every CPA and financial
advisor that deals with taxes and cash flow planning."
Richard M. Broich, CPA (Minneapolis, MN)
Past President of the Minnesota Society of CPAs
"I would like to thank you for your wonderful presentation of how we can help our clients with
college financial aid and tax planning for college. I am going to send along a copy of this to our
Minnesota Society of CPAs as a recommendation that they should consider having you present the course
to our state."
Garry Spitzer, CPA (Bozeman, MT)
Partner, Galusha Higgins and Galusha
"College expenses are becoming an increasingly important part of family financial planning. Anyone
involved in family financial planning needs this information."
Ken Williams, CPA (Minot, ND)
Brady, Martz and Associates, PC
"This was a significant wake up call for many of us CPAs who knew little or nothing of the
mysteries of college financial aid. In my own case, after this session I discussed these issues
with at least a dozen of my own clients, resulting in scheduled planning meetings before year end
to discuss both tax and cash flow planning for college. I could definitely tell from my client's
body language that this is an area they were keenly interested in and were genuinely pleased that
we can help them with it."
Jane Egan, CPA (Helena, MT)
Director of CPE for the Montana Society of CPAs
"Rick (Darvis) was a guest presenter at a recent annual Montana CPA convention. Some of the
comments received by course participants include: "Very good-do a follow-up", "Interesting presentation,
excellent topic" and "Wish this could have been an eight-hour course."
Dan Reinhold, CFP (Chicago, IL)
Senior Vice President of Franklin Templeton Retirement & Tuition Plans
"In twenty-two years of attending industry conferences and work shops, I have never received as
many valuable tax and estate planning strategies as I did during Rick Darvis' recent two-day
session. Rick reveals the tremendous potential of the tuition planning market giving a refreshed
determination to take your practice to the next level."
Brent Hillhouse
Director of College Planning for Vanguard
"The College Funding Boot Camp was terrific. Among others, Rick Darvis and his colleagues helped
me gain one key insight; college, taxes, retirement planning and investing are intricately
related. Fortunately, using the techniques discussed in Boot Camp, parents do not have to sacrifice
their retirement to pay for college expenses. The seminar was well worth my time."
Alan Neafach, Executive Director, The Milestone Group (Atlanta, GA)
Regional Sales Vice-President, Ameritas-Acacia Companies
"I just wanted to thank you for the outstanding program you presented this past weekend. With the
unparalleled expertise that your organization provides you empower the financial representative with
the ability to develop solutions that will turn affluent prospects into lifelong clients."