Eric Bennett, CPA, is a tax director at Blue & Co., a mid-sized accounting firm with more than 500 employees and 13 offices in Indiana, Ohio, Kentucky, Tennessee and Michigan.
In Indiana, Eric serves closely held businesses in a variety of industries. He is also responsible for staying on top of the tax law, specifically as it relates to tax planning opportunities.
He sat down with us to talk about why he makes the yearly trek to Orlando for the Forum, how he has recruited more than 20 members of his team to come with him, and how the Tax Forum team is an invaluable resource all year round.
You have attended the Tax Planning Forums since 2009. How did you first hear about it?
It was recommended by a colleague. I’ve been at Blue & Co. since 2008, and I still do quite a bit of work with closely held businesses, including partnerships. When I first went to the Forum, I saw that the team did a good job of presenting complicated partnership and pass-through scenarios. The material was really good, so I kept going. I’m a big fan of attending in person in Orlando.
This year, 23 members of your company attended Tax Forum programming. Has Tax Forum become a central training tool for your team?
We have done a good job promoting it within our firm as a training option. We have management and below go to the Fundamentals program, and then directors would go to the Forum. We really want our people to continue to learn, and I’ve pushed Tax Forum, since I love the program and have had a lot of great interactions with the team. At Blue, we have a dozen or so offices, and so the team members don’t always get a chance to connect in person. The Forum has always been a great opportunity for our team to get together, learn together and meet up later for dinner to talk about what we’ve learned. And of course, it’s also a great opportunity to go hang out at Disney World after the program wraps up.
How do you use the knowledge you learn at the Forum?
Partnership tax is really complex. It might be the most complicated tax law. At the Forum, they go through a lot of court cases and situations that I may never see in my career, but they give you a book of material that you can refer to in the future. Sometimes, you come across a circumstance and you know that they’ve gone through it at the Forum, so you can go back and look it up.
How has the Tax Forum team been an asset for you?
Chuck, Michael, and Scott always say that if you need advice on something, give them a call. I was dealing with an issue on a trust, and Scott did the research and gave an expert opinion. I’ve also called up Chuck three or four different times over the years with questions. I really appreciate being able to tap into their knowledge.
What would you say to an accountant who is thinking of trying Tax Forum programming?
If you’re interested in pass-throughs and partnerships, and interested in understanding crazy complicated tax law, you should go. You will hear examples of how it works, and it might not be something you’re dealing with now, but you might in the future. And if you pay attention, you’ll gain some very good knowledge.