Tracey Ann Gordineer, MSW, CFP®, EA, NTPI Fellow®
Financial Planner and COO

Tracey has a decade of experience in the financial industry.  She graduated from University of Georgia and went on to complete the CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ (CFP) program at Oglethorpe University. She completed her Masters in Social Work from University of Central Florida to support her passion for understanding the interplay between wealth, behavior, relationships, and emotions. Tracey is also an Enrolled Agent (EA) authorized by the Internal Revenue Service. Tracey has completed the three year program of the National Tax Practice Institute Fellowship through the National Association of Enrolled Agents. 
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Tracey grew up in Atlanta and began her career in real estate. She later became a manager for a Fortune 500 risk management company. Desiring to provide comprehensive services for businesses and families she transitioned into the tax, accounting, and investment management fields offering fee-only fiduciary advice to her clients. Having grown up working in several of her parent’s businesses and managing her own businesses, Tracey has gravitated towards working with other business owners to support their short and long term growth goals.  
When not at the office, Tracey enjoys the ballet, running, reading, and playing tennis.
The CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™, CFP® and federally registered CFP (with flame design) marks (collectively, the “CFP® marks”) are professional certification marks granted in the United States by Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards, Inc. (“CFP Board”). The CFP® certification is a voluntary certification; no federal or state law or regulation requires financial planners to hold CFP® certification. It is recognized in the United States and a number of other countries for its (1) high standard of professional education; (2) stringent code of conduct and standards of practice; and (3) ethical requirements that govern professional engagements with clients. Currently, more than 62,000 individuals have obtained CFP® certification in the United States. To attain the right to use the CFP® marks, an individual must satisfactorily fulfill the following requirements:
  • Education – Complete an advanced college-level course of study addressing the financial planning subject areas that CFP Board’s studies have determined as necessary for the competent and professional delivery of financial planning services, and attain a Bachelor’s Degree from a regionally accredited United States college or university (or its equivalent from a foreign university). CFP Board’s financial planning subject areas include insurance planning and risk management, employee benefits planning, investment planning, income tax planning, retirement planning, and estate planning;
  • Examination – Pass the comprehensive CFP® Certification Examination. The examination, administered in 10 hours over a two-day period, includes case studies and client scenarios designed to test one’s ability to correctly diagnose financial planning issues and apply one’s knowledge of financial planning to real world circumstances;
  • Experience – Complete at least three years of full-time financial planning-related experience (or the equivalent, measured as 2,000 hours per year); and
  • Ethics – Agree to be bound by CFP Board’s Standards of Professional Conduct, a set of documents outlining the ethical and practice standards for CFP® professionals.
Individuals who become certified must complete the following ongoing education and ethics requirements in order to maintain the right to continue to use the CFP® marks:
  • Continuing Education – Complete 30 hours of continuing education hours every two years, including two hours on the Code of Ethics and other parts of the Standards of Professional Conduct, to maintain competence and keep up with developments in the financial planning field; and
  • Ethics – Renew an agreement to be bound by the Standards of Professional Conduct. The Standards prominently require that CFP® professionals provide financial planning services at a fiduciary standard of care. This means CFP® professionals must provide financial planning services in the best interests of their clients.
CFP® professionals who fail to comply with the above standards and requirements may be subject to CFP Board’s enforcement process, which could result in suspension or permanent revocation of their CFP® certification.

An Enrolled Agent (EA) is a federally-authorized tax practitioner who has technical expertise in the field of taxation and who is empowered by the U.S. Department of the Treasury to represent taxpayers before all administrative levels of the Internal Revenue Service for audits, collections, and appeals. “Enrolled” means to be licensed to practice by the federal government, and “Agent” means authorized to appear in the place of the taxpayer at the IRS. Only Enrolled Agents, attorneys, and CPAs may represent taxpayers before the IRS.  The Enrolled Agent profession dates back to 1884 when, after questionable claims had been presented for Civil War losses, Congress acted to regulate persons who represented citizens in their dealings with the U.S. Treasury Department.

The license is earned in one of two ways, by passing a comprehensive examination which covers all aspects of the tax code, or having worked at the
IRS for five years in a position which regularly interpreted and applied the tax code and its regulations.  All candidates are subjected to a rigorous background check conducted by the IRS.

Enrolled Agents advise, represent, and prepare tax returns for individuals, partnerships, corporations, estates, trusts, and any entities with tax-reporting requirements.  Enrolled Agents’ expertise in the continually changing field of taxation enables them to effectively represent taxpayers audited by the IRS.

The IRS Restructuring and Reform Act of 1998 allow federally authorized practitioners (those bound by the Department of Treasury’s Circular 230
regulations) a limited client privilege.  This privilege allows confidentiality between the taxpayer and the Enrolled Agent under certain conditions.  The privilege applies to situations in which the taxpayer is being represented in cases involving audits and collection matters.  It is not applicable to the preparation and filing of a tax return.  This privilege does not apply to state tax matters, although a number of states have an accountant-client
privilege.

In addition to the stringent testing and application process, the IRS requires Enrolled Agents to complete 72 hours of continuing professional education, reported every three years, to maintain their Enrolled Agent status.  Because of the knowledge necessary to become an Enrolled Agent and the requirements to maintain the license, there are only about 46,000 practicing Enrolled Agents.

Only Enrolled Agents are required to demonstrate to the IRS their competence in matters of taxation before they may represent a taxpayer before the IRS.  Unlike attorneys and CPAs, who may or may not choose to specialize in taxes, all Enrolled Agents specialize in taxation.  Enrolled Agents are the only taxpayer representatives who receive their right to practice from the U.S. government (CPAs and attorneys are licensed by the states).

Enrolled Agents are required to abide by the provisions of the Department of Treasury’s Circular 230, which provides the regulations governing the practice of Enrolled Agents before the IRS.  NAEA members are also bound by a Code of Ethics and Rules of Professional Conduct of the Association.

Paramount Investment Advisors, Inc. is a fee only, Registered Investment Advisory firm providing comprehensive wealth management including financial planning, investment management, tax planning, estate planning, cash flow management, risk management, education planning and retirement planning. We are currently serving the Suwanee, Buford, Sugar Hill, Duluth, Johns Creek, Cumming, Alpharetta, Roswell, and surrounding cities in North Atlanta out of our Buford Georgia office. We also work with clients virtually by using technology to our advantage.