Financially FAT

Epizodai

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  7 | 10 Red Flags Your Tax Preparer Is a Fraud 15.09.2026 9min

  What if the person you trusted with your taxes is the reason the IRS comes knocking?Most people never suspect their tax preparer until the IRS shows up, and by then, it is their name on the return, not the preparer’s. Ben Golden opens with a client who trusted the wrong person and paid for it.In this solo episode, Ben breaks down 10 clear red flags that separate a risky preparer from a fraudulent one, from cash-only payments and missing receipts to refunds routed to the wrong account, unsigned returns, and refund guarantees no honest professional can make.Whether you file your own taxes or hand them off, this is the consumer protection conversation that could save you years of penalties and stress. Learn the warning signs, ask the right questions, and never outsource responsibility for your financial life. Listen now.Timestamped Highlights[00:00:05] The hard truth about who actually faces the IRS when a return goes wrong[00:01:18] A panicked client, a totally normal-sounding notice, and the warning signs that stacked up fast[00:02:08] The painful lesson: you own the return even when someone else prepares it[00:03:06] Why a fee based on a percentage of your refund is an IRS warning sign[00:04:05] The move that should stop you in your tracks, your refund routed to their account[00:05:08] No signature, no PTIN, no accountability, and why it is the law[00:06:03] Refund guarantees, the marketing lie no ethical preparer can make[00:07:17] The free checklist to vet a preparer before it is too late[00:08:16] Why most tax problems start with blind trust, not bad intentionsMentioned Resources10 Ways to Spot a Fraudulent Tax Preparer Before It’s Too Late - Ben’s free downloadable PDF guide with a checklist of questions to ask and documents to receive before hiring a preparer: https://rebrand.ly/ffp-preparerImportant LinksConnect with Ben: LinkedInConnect with Golden Tax Relief: Website | LinkedInRequest a consultation: Schedule a FREE Tax EvaluationCheck our socials: Instagram | Facebook | TikTokThe Financially FAT Podcast is an original production hosted by Ben Golden. Brought to you by Golden Tax Relief. Production and editing by Podcast Your Brand.
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  6 | Ray Jordan - How We Kept a Construction Client Out of IRS Jail 11.09.2026 19min

  What do you do when a client owes the IRS over a million dollars in payroll taxes, then opens a second company to dodge it?Ben Golden sits down with his COO, Ray Jordan, to break down one of the firm's toughest resolution cases. A construction company lost money on big contracts, stopped paying payroll taxes, and came to them owing the IRS over a million dollars.Ben and Ray explain what trust fund taxes really are, why an IRS 4180 interview can put an owner's personal assets on the line, and how a risky move to open a second company nearly turned a civil case into a criminal one.It is a story of panic, strategy, and a second chance that ended with no jail time and a payment plan the client could live with. If you run a business, this is why you never face the IRS alone. Listen now.Timestamped Highlights[00:01:48] The case opens: a construction company buried in payroll tax debt [00:02:29] The bill had already climbed past a million dollars [00:03:12] The four things that hit when you stop paying payroll taxes [00:03:28] Trust fund taxes, the 4180 interview, and who the IRS can hold responsible [00:05:18] The client arrives panicking, with the interview window closing [00:06:08] Why the firm sometimes refuses to sit in on the interview at all [00:06:18] The blurry line between civil and criminal, and those "special little bracelets" [00:08:50] The client's risky move: opening a second company [00:09:14] What an alter ego is, and why the IRS sees right through it [00:13:05] How they kept the client out of jail [00:14:51] Peace of mind, protection, posterity: what tax resolution really buys [00:18:25] Flexible, adaptable, teachable: the note Ben closes onMentioned ResourcesIRS Form 4180, Report of Interview with Individual Relative to Trust Fund Recovery PenaltyAbout the GuestRay Jordan is the Chief Operating Officer of Golden Tax Relief and IRS Trouble Solvers, where he oversees day-to-day operations and holds the team to a client-first standard. An Auburn University graduate with a background in the hospice and logistics fields, Ray found his calling helping taxpayers work through serious IRS problems. He is based at the firm's headquarters in Thomasville, Alabama.🔗 LinkedIn | WebsiteImportant LinksConnect with Ben: LinkedInConnect with Golden Tax Relief: Website | LinkedInRequest a consultation: Schedule a FREE Tax EvaluationCheck our socials: Instagram | Facebook | TikTokThe Financially FAT Podcast is an original production hosted by Ben Golden. Brought to you by Golden Tax Relief. Production and editing by Podcast Your Brand.
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  5 | Eric Partin - Collaboration Is the New Currency for Advisors 08.09.2026 19min

  What if your biggest competitor could become your most valuable teammate?After more than 30 years in insurance, Eric Partin was content but not satisfied. So he flew across the country to a 3-day retreat and let someone blow up the way he did business.In this episode, Ben sits down with Eric Partin, co-founder of EDP Assurance and author of Collaboration Is the New Currency, to talk about trading competition for collaboration, why the right 100 clients beat chasing 1,000, and how a Virtual Family Office serves people better than any solo advisor can.Eric also shares the mindset shift that ended his high-pressure selling for good, and the one question that gets clients to sell themselves. Listen now.Timestamped Highlights[00:01:39] The FAT test in real life: flexible, adaptable, teachable[00:02:20] The 3-day retreat that blew up 30 years of habit[00:03:48] Learning AI at 56, and why the AI version wins[00:05:24] What a Virtual Family Office actually is, and isn't[00:06:19] The competitor mindset Eric had to unlearn[00:09:05] Why the right 100 clients beat chasing 1,000[00:10:08] The real cost of guarding your own book of business[00:13:35] The hardest sales habit Eric had to break[00:17:38] Don't steal the client's microphoneMentioned ResourcesCollaboration Is the New Currency — Eric Partin’s bookEDP Assurance About the GuestEric Partin is the co-founder of EDP Assurance, where he helps insurance professionals grow by leading with a process instead of a product, uncovering bigger client needs, creating more revenue from existing relationships, and reducing their dependence on constantly buying new leads. He is the co-author of Collaboration Is the New Currency and author of Rise Relentless. Through EDP Assurance and The Growth Compass, Eric focuses on practical growth, collaboration, leadership, and helping professionals become more valuable to the clients they already serve.🔗 LinkedIn | WebsiteImportant LinksConnect with Ben: LinkedInConnect with Golden Tax Relief: Website | LinkedInRequest a consultation: Schedule a FREE Tax EvaluationCheck our socials: Instagram | Facebook | TikTokThe Financially FAT Podcast is an original production hosted by Ben Golden. Brought to you by Golden Tax Relief. Production and editing by Podcast Your Brand.
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  4 | The Truth About What Your CPA Won't Tell You 04.09.2026 10min

  What if your CPA is doing everything right, and you're still overpaying the IRS?Ben Golden loves great CPAs. Some are the smartest people he knows. But most business owners expect their CPA to do something they were never hired to do, and it quietly costs them money every year.In this solo episode, Ben breaks down five conversations your CPA may never have with you, why tax preparation and tax planning are two different jobs, and how one business owner uncovered six figures in legitimate savings after shifting to proactive planning.If you only think about taxes in March, you are already too late. Here is how to work with the tax code instead of against it. Listen now.Timestamped Highlights[00:00:51] The misconception costing business owners money every year[00:01:38] Why your tax return is really just a history book[00:02:19] Compliance versus strategy, and why they are two different jobs[00:02:53] The architect analogy that explains what most people get wrong[00:03:36] The client who did everything right and still left money behind[00:04:37] The one question that changed the trajectory of a business[00:05:45] Why paying less tax was never actually the goal[00:06:25] What the tax code is really rewarding, if you know where to look[00:07:11] The moment when the biggest savings are still on the table[00:07:11] Where a great CPA and proactive planning finally meetImportant LinksConnect with Golden Tax Relief: Website | LinkedInRequest a consultation: Schedule a FREE Tax EvaluationCheck our socials: Instagram | Facebook | TikTokThe Financially FAT Podcast is an original production hosted by Ben Golden. Brought to you by Golden Tax Relief. Production and editing by Podcast Your Brand.
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  3 | Andy Bowman - The Truth About Protecting Your Family's Legacy 01.09.2026 38min

  What good is protecting your valuables if you lose sight of your values?Andy Bowman spent decades helping wealthy families protect what they own. Then a trusted business partner running a Ponzi scheme cost him seven figures and shook him to his core. That betrayal reshaped how he thinks about protection, and it is why values now come before valuables in every plan he builds.In this episode, Andy and Ben get into asset protection as building a castle before the barbarians arrive, why your estate paperwork is a love letter to your family, and how a virtual family office keeps your most important advisors in the same room. They also talk about being FAT, flexible, adaptable, and teachable, and how one hard lesson can change your trajectory.If you have built something worth protecting but never asked what it is really for, this conversation is for you. Listen now.Timestamped Highlights[00:04:13] The one question Ben asks every guest, and why FAT changes everything[00:06:07] The business partner who prayed before every meeting and hid a Ponzi scheme[00:06:59] The wolf in sheep's clothing that cost Andy seven figures and 15 years[00:07:41] The two-day meeting that was half strategy, half working on your soul[00:09:50] The three questions Andy asks before he takes on any client[00:11:57] The CPA who called Andy a waste of skin, and why it mattered[00:14:47] What a Spanish penitentiary has to do with the name Citadel[00:17:04] Why your estate paperwork is really a love letter to your family[00:20:26] Build the castle before the barbarians storm the gates[00:21:50] Valuables versus values, and the difference most wealthy families miss[00:31:33] What a family office actually is, and when you need one[00:33:12] The one move you can make this week to see where you are exposedMentioned ResourcesThe Citadel (the military college Andy attended and named his firm after)Darren SugiyamaJim DugganAbout the GuestAndy Bowman, CAPP, CWPP, is the CEO and Managing Member of Citadel Financial Services and a graduate of The Citadel, where the code of integrity shaped how he runs his business. Based in Florida, he specializes in asset protection, estate planning, and business succession, and he runs a virtual family office that brings a client's key advisors together in one room. He is building a public-facing brand, Citadel VFO. His focus goes beyond valuables to values, helping successful families protect their wealth and define the legacy and meaning behind it.🔗 LinkedInImportant LinksConnect with Ben: LinkedInConnect with Golden Tax Relief: Website | LinkedInRequest a consultation: Schedule a FREE Tax EvaluationCheck our socials: Instagram | Facebook | TikTokThe Financially FAT Podcast is an original production hosted by Ben Golden. Brought to you by Golden Tax Relief. Production and editing by Podcast Your Brand.
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  2 | Amanda Argue - How To Make Your Accounting Firm More Profitable With AI Now 01.09.2026 34min

  What happens to your firm when AI can prepare a thousand tax returns before lunch?Amanda Argue helped build Instead, one of the first companies in decades licensed by the IRS across every form and state. She and Ben get into what agentic AI really means for tax and accounting.They cover the difference between a chat assistant and an AI agent, why eighty to ninety percent done is the new starting line, and how the accountant’s job shifts from doer to reviewer. Amanda also makes the case for ending hourly billing for good.The firms that stay flexible, adaptable, and teachable will pull ahead. The ones that wait may fall behind. Listen now.Timestamped Highlights[00:03:22] The three words every business owner needs to survive[00:03:41] Building a company like turning a wooden ship into a steel boat mid-ocean[00:07:07] The pivot from compliance grind to high-value advisory work[00:09:50] The moment AI agents turned 2018 sci-fi into 2026 reality[00:11:43] Why the desire to change is there, but tax season eats the time[00:13:16] How to actually take a lunch break in the middle of busy season[00:15:14] What your firm looks like when AI drafts 2,000 returns at once[00:16:05] The one thing AI will never do for your tax return[00:17:20] Why it is not AI that beats you, it is the people who use it[00:23:17] The Tesla Full Self-Driving analogy that finally explains AI agents[00:26:27] The IRS position on AI savings that could change how you bill[00:27:46] The controversial take on killing the hourly rateMentioned ResourcesCorvee, Instead’s tax planning product launched in 2020AI assistants: ChatGPT, Claude, Perplexity, GeminiLegacy tax software: Lacerte, UltraTaxFinancial TimesAbout the GuestAmanda Argue, CPA, is co-founder and chief of staff at Instead, a tax preparation platform built for tax and accounting professionals with AI agents inside the tax engine. Based in San Francisco, she specializes in taking new products from zero to one, building the first version and then handing it off to scale. Instead is one of the first companies in decades to earn IRS licensing across all forms and states.🔗 LinkedIn | WebsiteImportant LinksConnect with Ben: LinkedInConnect with Golden Tax Relief: Website | LinkedInRequest a consultation: Schedule a FREE Tax EvaluationCheck our socials: Instagram | Facebook | TikTokThe Financially FAT Podcast is an original production hosted by Ben Golden. Brought to you by Golden Tax Relief. Production and editing by Podcast Your Brand.
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  1 | Welcome To Financially FAT - The Story of 4180 01.09.2026 17min

  What would you do if the IRS gave you 24 hours to pay a $171,000 debt that was never yours?In the first episode of The Financially FAT Podcast, Ben Golden opens with the night that shaped everything. A revenue officer read his personal net worth back to him and told him to pay a logger client’s payroll taxes by morning.Ben walks through the arrangement that put him on that account, the IRS procedure the agent skipped, and the old manual he found at 3 in the morning that changed the outcome. He also unpacks what FAT really stands for, Flexible, Adaptable, Teachable, and where it came from.This is the origin of the show, who it is for, and the one thing Ben wants every owner who feels alone to hear. Listen now.Timestamped Highlights[00:00:51] The 24-hour ultimatum, and the $171,000 that was never Ben's to pay[00:02:10] The Scrivener contract: the hand that only held the pen[00:03:02] "I don't owe this. This isn't mine." What the revenue officer said back[00:03:45] Walking home to his kids while carrying a secret he would not share[00:04:28] 3 a.m., an old master's program manual, and the form that mattered[00:05:16] The IRS procedure they skipped on the way to Ben[00:05:58] Why he went over two heads to the territory manager[00:06:41] How it ended: a suspension, a payment plan, and no check[00:07:24] Where FAT comes from, and why it is not a marketing term[00:08:56] The chain of advisors, and the weak link you cannot see[00:10:22] Who this show is for, and who it is honestly not for[00:14:25] The real why behind the show, and it is not the moneyImportant LinksConnect with Ben: LinkedInConnect with Golden Tax Relief: Website | LinkedInRequest a consultation: Schedule a FREE Tax EvaluationCheck our socials: Instagram | Facebook | TikTokThe Financially FAT Podcast is an original production hosted by Ben Golden. Brought to you by Golden Tax Relief. Production and editing by Podcast Your Brand.