Get to know Danielle Bureau
A primary goal of most client-facing professionals is to dedicate as much of their time and energy as possible to helping their clients. In that same spirit, Danielle Bureau has dedicated her accounting practice to helping her clients meet that goal. A recent addition to the partnership at MNP, Danielle shares her insights in this Q&A.
What is your role at MNP?
I am a Partner with MNP in its Kingston office and have worked for the firm for 10 years, most recently moving into the Partner role. I’m part of the Assurance and Accounting group at MNP — which essentially means I try to do a little bit of everything from filing personal tax returns to corporate tax planning, and basic restructurings as well. My focus is on helping professionals and private practitioners in a variety of industries, like healthcare, dental, lawyers, and real estate professionals.
What are the biggest challenges facing your clients that you help them with?
Most professionals, especially in the early stages of their practice when their schooling and training have ended, have to deal with some pretty jarring life changes. In the medical field for example, they may quickly transition from a modest salary in school or residency to a much larger income.
In my role, I try to help them bridge that gap and help them with concepts in financial and tax planning that may be new to them. I help them look at their needs and wants, where they can save tax in the future, and set up an overall plan that works for their goals. RRSP planning and a future home purchase are two big things we try to plan for early.
There are so many things to consider, and some things they don’t even know they need to consider.
What motivates you and drives you to succeed in your role?
I like to build relationships with my clients early in their careers, many of my clients are just transitioning from residency or schooling to full practice.
The people I work with want to spend their time helping patients/clients, often they didn’t choose their field because they love the business and accounting side. And they may not have the business training to do it.
What keeps me motivated is knowing I can help manage the accounting functions and free up their time to do what they do best. For example, if I can save a healthcare professional an hour in their day or a few hours a month, that’s time they can spend working in their practice, helping patients.
What’s your advice to a professional just starting their practice?
The first piece of advice would be to get an accountant to work alongside you. Get an overall plan organized from the start.
At MNP, we offer our T1 No Charge program to qualifying professional students and medical residents. It can be a scary transition for so many reasons, but the scariest part shouldn’t be your personal tax situation. Getting that sorted at the beginning will bring so much more peace of mind in the long run.