But the other guy said...

It's no secret that accountants don't like it when clients tell them about advice they've heard at the pub or club or heard about from the paper or TV. Such conversations include words to the effect of:

• "Why didn't you tell me that I could...?" or
• "Is it true, do you think I could do that?"

Your accountant can only respond in one of 4 ways. He/she can either:

• Agree that it's good advice (this is rare);
• Offer to think about whether it's possible in your precise circumstances;
• Disagree with the advice as it does not take account of your precise circumsatances; or
• Does not understand the advice - for any one of a number of reasons (including the possibility that you haven't reemmbered it perfectly)

The second of these responses is the best one of course - as long as you and the accountant agree who is bearing the cost of the research. There's generally a limit as to how many new ideas an accountant will research for free.

Here's my tip:
Your accountant doesn't want to lose you as a client. He/she will generally research the odd thing without asking a client to pay for the time - especially if the idea is worthy of more widespread application. On the other hand - you won't ingratiate yourself if you expect your accountant to research another idea each week without charging you something for the time and effort.