That means information acquired by an accountant under a Kovel agreement should be distinguished from information collected by the accountant as an auditor or in some other capacity.

FORBES: Neat Trick? Attorney-Client Privilege From An Accountant

In addition to finding an accountant through word-of-mouth or your state CPA society, your financial adviser or lawyer probably can recommend an accountant, and communication can be easier if your team is used to working together.

WSJ: How to Build Your Financial Dream Team

But this should be done carefully, through a tax lawyer rather than an accountant because of attorney-client privilege.

FORBES: Beware IRS And Foreign Account Data Swaps

Through an accountant friend, Hagan heard it might be for sale.

FORBES: Before... and After

Where tax records were already used for return preparation and already provided to an accountant, merely transferring them to a lawyer may not be enough.

FORBES: Court Holds IRS Can Get Key Tax Records Even Held by Your Lawyer

But the problem is that the accountant's definition of the estimated useful life of an asset can be very different from an investor's definition.

FORBES: Magazine Article

Increasingly, the customer service representative, tech support, or sales person you call at such companies as Carnival, the American Automobile Association, and Time Warner may be a stay at home mom in Missouri, a layoff victim in Florida, or an accountant in Pennsylvania who needs more hours now that tax season has ended.

FORBES: Written By Angela Selden

An accountant by trade, Stevens had just pledged that he wouldn't touch money--be it cash, credit, check or wampum--for a whole year.

FORBES

So next time you watch that accountant on the train take out his smartphone and start tapping away just remember he may not be typing an email - he may be choosing between a turn to page 40 to escape and a flick to page 111 to battle the zombie horde.

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