The MACPA’s Personal Financial Planning Committee achieved a notable milestone — its 40th annual conference — on Oct. 28, 2025, continuing its long tradition of bringing cutting-edge, expert-presented financial planning education to the CPA community.

Conference presentations included coverage of artificial intelligence in the wealth management industry as well as tax and financial planning strategies following the passage of the One Big Beautiful Bill. Other technical presentations included “How to Address Underappreciated Risks in Social Security Planning,” and “Streamlining Estate Planning: Practical Strategies and Tech Solutions for Everyday Clients.”

The conference also, examined a potentially underaddressed, non-technical, practical challenge facing practitioners — how to best communicate these increasingly complex concepts to clients. Jake DeKinder, CFA, head of client communications at Dimensional Fund Advisors, offered a creative approach to addressing this concern with his presentation, “The Power of Storytelling.”

How short is the average attention span of a human? According to the research presented by DeKinder, it is only 8 seconds — shorter, in fact, than that of a goldfish (9 seconds). A central hurdle that may arise, then, especially as financial complexity continually increases, is how to work with clients to keep them engaged and informed, to achieve successfully partnered outcomes. Stories in their various forms may, DeKinder said, provide that engagement in a way that is more effective than a recitation of the facts.

One such type of story is the analogy. For example, Warren Buffet would capture attention with his analogy, “Your money is a little bit like a bar of soap.” His follow up — “The more you handle it, the smaller it gets” — may be more effective than merely reciting facts as a means to communicate to clients the need to avoid taking unnecessary and potentially counterproductive actions. This type of story may be particularly effective when markets are volatile, emotions run high, and the human instinct may be to try and at least do something.

Another effective type of storytelling centers on examples of prior events. DeKinder said that asking a client, “Do you remember the company Pets.com?” and then discussing the reasons for the company’s failure may be more effective in focusing the client on a sustainable business plan than a simple recitation of facts. Presenting this dot.com-era business failure example could potentially temper a client’s excessive optimism about a social media company’s outlook.

DeKinder also presented an exercise in which advisers develop and tell their own story as to what they do and how it connects to their firm’s story. Factors for consideration in the development of the story include the set-up, the punchline, and why it matters. Participants were encouraged to partner with others and, upon learning what stood out and what could be improved, to use that feedback to refine and make an even more engaging and effective 90-second story.

The MACPA’s PFP Committee is currently working to develop the program for the 41st annual conference, scheduled for Oct. 27. More details will follow soon.