From the moment I saved up for my first CD player and golf clubs in my youth, I had an increasing interest in managing my own personal finances. It therefore seemed natural in a field I was passionate, disciplined and knowledgeable about, to pass on these skills to others through the provision of Financial Advice.I started my working life as a Tax Accountant funnily enough. Working in the Tax Division of KPMG increasingly harnessed my skills in researching tax issues and providing solutions to clients. But I was being drawn to dealing with managing personal financial matters and meeting personal financial objectives rather than those at a corporate level. An overlap between accounting and financial advice felt like it was in the wings.A few years later and I am now working in the best of both worlds – providing financial advice.There are not many financial advisors that are also Chartered Accountants. It’s a body I am proud to be a part of with its widely acknowledged levels of professional training and education. Within an industry where some are increasingly and rightly sceptical of, I, as a member of the Accounting Institute providing financial advice, must adhere to professional standards greater than those required by most other financial planners. As such, my levels of advice are by default required to be of a higher standard. Financial advice is the domain of trusted Accountants in my view and I consider it a duty to be requested to assist them deal with their financial affairs. In this sense, I try to keep it as simple as possible for my clients, as in most cases that’s all it needs to be!