About the firm

A CPA and a CFP®, planning together

Two co-founders, one office in Cool Springs, and a habit of turning every return into next year’s plan.

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The co-founders

Who you’ll work with

Mike Swartz, CPA, co-founder of Haven Tax & Advisory

CPA · Co-Founder

Mike Swartz

Mike Swartz is a certified public accountant and one of the two people who started Haven. In Tennessee, the CPA license takes a bachelor’s degree with 30 semester hours of accounting and 24 of business, the Uniform CPA Exam, the AICPA ethics exam and supervised experience, according to the Tennessee Board of Accountancy.

A CPA is among the professionals the IRS lets represent a taxpayer under a Form 2848 power of attorney, which is the footing for the firm’s IRS representation for its clients.

Chris Bryant, CFP®, co-founder of Haven Tax & Advisory

CFP® · Co-Founder

Chris Bryant

Chris Bryant holds the CFP® certification and co-founded Haven alongside Mike. The CFP Board requires a bachelor’s degree, its registered coursework, the CFP exam and 6,000 hours of professional experience (4,000 through an apprenticeship), and it says a CFP® professional “must act as a fiduciary” when giving financial advice.

On the firm’s side of the desk, that shows up as tax planning included with every return Haven files, aimed at the year ahead.

What makes Haven different from a typical tax firm?

It plans forward from the return. In the firm’s own words, “Most tax and accounting firms look backward at what happened. Our process starts there but moves to looking ahead.”

In practice that means the same people who file the return also project the next one, keep the books it will be built from and answer the questions that come up between deadlines. The process runs through onboarding, a regular meeting cadence, timely communications and ongoing educational content, so a client isn’t learning about a tax change for the first time in April.

Where is the office, and how do documents get there?

The office is at 256 Seaboard Lane, Suite G-102, Franklin, TN 37067, in the Cool Springs office district off Mallory Lane. Clients meet the team there.

Between meetings, tax documents and statements go through the secure client portal instead of email. The firm serves the 33 places within thirty miles of Franklin listed on the service area page.

Answers

About the firm

Who are the people behind Haven Tax & Advisory?

Two co-founders run the firm: Mike Swartz, a CPA, and Chris Bryant, who holds the CFP® certification. Between them the practice covers tax preparation and accounting on one side and financial planning on the other, which is why every return the firm files comes with planning for the year ahead.

How can I check that a Tennessee CPA is licensed?

Tennessee verifies CPA licenses through the Department of Commerce & Insurance, which oversees the Tennessee Board of Accountancy. Search the license lookup by name. A licensee has passed the Uniform CPA Exam and the AICPA ethics exam and met the state’s education and experience requirements.

What does the CFP® mark require?

The CFP Board asks for a bachelor’s degree, its registered coursework, a passing score on the CFP exam and 6,000 hours of experience, or 4,000 through an apprenticeship. Certificants also agree to the Board’s Standards of Conduct, which require them to act as a fiduciary when giving financial advice.

What does Haven’s process with a new client look like?

It starts with onboarding, then settles into a meeting cadence, timely communications and ongoing educational content, in the firm’s own description. Documents move through the secure client portal. The point of that rhythm is that a client hears about next year’s liability well before a filing deadline does.

Book a consultation

Meet the co-founders

The first conversation is about what you file now and what’s changing. Send a note and we’ll set a time.

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Start with a conversation about next year

Tell us what you file today and what’s changing. We’ll come back to you about a consultation at the Seaboard Lane office.

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