Project. Model. Decide. Execute.
The first objective is clarity: what is the current tax exposure, what is still executable, and what is worth doing economically?
Every engagement starts the same way, with one model instead of a pile of separate documents. Prior returns, current financials, entity structure and projected income are pulled together into a single forward tax projection, built while the tax year is still open. That timing is the entire point. A projection built in January of the following year is a history lesson. A projection built in the third quarter, while income, entities and cash are still in motion, is a decision tool.
The projection produces one number: what you are on track to owe. From there, we can start asking a more useful question, which is not "what happened" but "what can still change before it does."
Want a starting number before a full engagement? Rough out a first pass with the tax projection tool.
A single number is not a plan. Once we know what you are on track to owe, we quantify the strategies that could reduce it and put them next to each other: tax saved, cash required, timing, risk and long-term economics for each option, modeled against your actual facts rather than presented as generic tactics. Every option is pulled from the strategy areas we model.
This is also where options get ruled out. Some strategies look attractive on paper but require more cash than makes sense for your situation, or carry timing and risk that does not fit. The goal is not to find a reason to do everything. It is to find out what is actually worth doing, and let go of the rest before it costs you time or capital.
A plan only works if the people responsible for filing understand it. If your relationship with your current CPA is working, it stays in place. We coordinate the projection and strategy directly with them, and there is no forced switch. Many engagements run exactly this way, with Iron Bridge bringing the forward-looking modeling and the existing CPA handling preparation.
If that relationship is not delivering the proactive planning you want, transitioning tax preparation and planning to Iron Bridge is the other path. Either way, the decision at this stage is about who is best positioned to carry the plan through to the return, not about starting over. Read more about who is on the Iron Bridge team.
A strategy that is decided but not implemented saves nothing. The execute step sequences implementation through year-end and tracks what has to be funded, closed or placed in service, and by when. Some moves require capital to be committed, some require a transaction to close, and some require an asset to be in service before the calendar turns. We track each one against its own deadline rather than treating year-end as a single cutoff.
Throughout execution, the strategy stays connected to whoever actually signs the return, whether that is your current CPA or Iron Bridge's tax team, so the modeling done earlier in the year shows up correctly on the filing.
For most strategies, the hard deadline is December 31, and several require lead time before that date to fund, close or place an asset in service.
Start with the numbers
The first review is free. We will look at your current situation, identify the areas worth modeling, and tell you whether there appears to be a meaningful planning opportunity.