Does it Make a Difference to Hire a Dental CPA?

At a glance:

• The main takeaway: Compared to general CPAs, dental CPAs are more suited to provide industry-specific tax, financial, and business advice specific to dental practices.
• Impact on your business: By hiring a dental CPA, you can benefit from a resource who understands the unique nuances of your financial situation and can also help you make informed business decisions.
• Next steps: Aprio’s experienced dental CPAs can serve as your financial partner, helping you navigate the complexities of running a dental practice in today’s market.  

Schedule a consultation with Aprio today

The full story:

Based on the terminology alone, you may infer that a dental CPA is exactly what it sounds like: a certified public accountant who works specifically with dentists.

But what does a dental CPA actually do for your practice? And more importantly, how is a dental CPA different from a general CPA?

In this article, you will learn the key differentiators, which include:

Deep market and industry-specific expertise

General CPAs understand how the U.S. tax code applies to businesses, and therefore how business owners can leverage certain provisions to mitigate their tax liability while complying with tax laws and regulations. Dental CPAs can take that expertise one step further because they know what nuances are particular to the field of dentistry, beyond the complete business landscape.

To get the best-possible advice, you need an advisor who understands you.

For example, let’s say that labor costs in your dental practice went up last year. A dental CPA will look beyond that line item, and using their industry-specific knowledge, they can dig deeper and uncover “the why.” They may see that your hygiene wages went up, but your clinical wages stayed flat, which implies that dentists in the marketplace are recognizing the competitive nature of retaining talented hygienists.

The right dental CPA will help you use those findings to inform your practice decisions going forward. These are key details and context clues that only an experienced industry professional could know.

Cash flow management advice from a dentist’s lens

Due to their innate knowledge about the inner workings of a dental practice, dental CPAs are true business advisors at heart. They look at the entire financial picture of your dental practice — not just taxes.

A mantra I always repeat to my clients is, “Cash flow is the driver of your practice’s financial journey; taxes are in the passenger seat.” What do I mean by that? Let’s say that you are looking for a better way to diagnose complex dental conditions. You have done the research and believe that it is worth investing in 3D imaging technology.

Think of cash flow as the driver of your practice’s financial journey; taxes are in the passenger seat.

A general CPA may look at your tax return and determine that you do not need the deduction and therefore do not need to spend money on this tool. But based on their industry-specific expertise, a dental CPA would likely follow up with a few more discovery questions, such as: “By making this investment, would case acceptance increase? Would the machine allow you to better diagnose issues?”

If the answer to those questions is yes, then investing in cone beam technology would pay dividends over the long term. A general CPA likely would not be able to identify the potential ROI a dental-specific investment could generate.

Knowledge about the inner workings of a dental practice

Not only are dental CPAs attuned to dentists’ specific financial and tax needs, but they know how to help generate wealth combined with how a practice runs, from the receptionist’s desk to the patient chair. Dental CPAs also understand how your practice fits into your personal financial life.

The dental practice is the primary wealth source that drives most dentists’ personal financial lives. Since dental CPAs are well-positioned to serve as business advisors (not just tax experts), they can often provide prescriptive, continual financial advice that can position dentists for individual financial security long after they have exited or sold their practices.

What’s more, for dental CPAs client service is not just an annual event that centers around looking backward to prepare tax returns. At Aprio, for instance, we help our dentists look forward to wealth generation and deploy strategies to help secure business and personal success through every stage of their practice’s lifestyle.

The bottom line

Hiring a dental CPA to support your practice can help you focus more on what matters: your patients. At Aprio, we are proud to have a team of dental CPAs who are dually experienced in providing tax advice to help you comply with regulations and business advice to help you navigate the complexities of running a dental practice in today’s market.

Schedule a consultation with our team to learn more about our services and how we can help you achieve your goals.

Related Resources

About Aprio Dental

Wealth Accumulation Strategies for Dentists: Part I

Wealth Accumulation Strategies for Dentists: Part II