What the World Cup teaches us about proactive tax planning

Soccer may be defined by its stars, but every four years, the World Cup reminds us that talent alone isn’t enough. Teams can’t win solely on pedigree. They have to prepare, build chemistry, develop a game plan, and adjust as situations change. 

Business works the same way, and it’s why soft advisory skills are among the most important qualities that tax professionals can have.

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A good business still needs direction 

Seeing the field differently 

(Tax) plans are meant to be adjusted

Play to your client’s strengths 

Timing changes everything

Proactive tax planning helps tax pros and their clients 

A good business still needs direction 

Every World Cup roster is filled with unbelievable athletes. For superstars like Messi, Ronaldo, Mbappé, and Haaland, excellence is expected. 

Yet each tournament reminds us that success at the club doesn’t guarantee results on the national stage. Stars have to find their footing in an entirely new system and are beholden to their teammates, scheme, and coaching. 

Business owners often find themselves in a similar position, only as successful as their employees and external market factors allow them to be. The challenge usually isn’t a lack of information. It’s understanding how all of those pieces fit together and deciding what to do next. 

That’s where advisory work creates value. The numbers themselves aren’t the answer. They’re simply the starting point for better decisions, including decisions about proactive tax planning. 

Seeing the field differently 

A soccer coach doesn’t score goals or make tackles, but great coaches influence nearly every outcome of the match. They study opponents, recognize patterns, and adjust tactics as the game changes. 

A tax advisor serves a similar role. We don’t run our clients’ businesses, nor should we. Those decisions belong to the owner. Our role is to provide perspective, ask better questions, identify risks early, and help evaluate options before important decisions are made. That includes helping owners look ahead with proactive tax planning instead of scrambling at year-end. 

Sometimes the most valuable advice isn’t providing an answer. It’s helping a client think through a decision they hadn’t fully considered.

(Tax) plans are meant to be adjusted 

Every World Cup team enters the tournament with a plan, but very few finish exactly the way they started. Injuries happen. Opponents present unexpected challenges. Momentum shifts from one match to the next. 

Argentina and Egypt’s Round of 16 match this year was a case in point. Egypt built a two-goal lead in the second half and, for nearly 70 minutes, executed its game plan almost flawlessly. But Argentina kept probing, and once a crack in Egypt’s defense finally opened late in the match, the entire outcome flipped in a matter of minutes. Argentina scored three goals in the final stretch to win 3-2 and eliminate the team that had outplayed them for most of the night. 

Tax professionals see the same reality with clients. Annual budgets, hiring plans, and investment decisions rarely unfold exactly as expected. A plan that’s working well can unravel quickly if an advisor isn’t watching for the moment things start to shift.

Advisory isn’t just about helping a client develop a plan in January. It’s about revisiting proactive tax planning strategies as circumstances change throughout the year, so a small shift doesn’t turn into a costly one. 

Play to your client’s strengths 

One of the biggest mistakes in international soccer is trying to imitate another team. A style that works for one country may not fit another’s players or strengths. 

Tax professionals see the same temptation play out with clients. It’s easy for a business owner to copy a competitor’s strategy, adopt a structure because someone else recommended it, or chase the latest trend.  

Good advisory brings the conversation back to what fits this client. The best strategy is rarely the one that works for everyone else. It’s the one that fits the business sitting across the table, whether that’s an operational decision or a proactive tax planning opportunity unique to that client’s situation. 

Timing changes everything 

Egypt’s collapse against Argentina also showed how fast a lead can evaporate once an opponent finds a weakness and knows exactly when to exploit it. Eleven minutes from the finish line, Egypt looked like it was about to pull off one of the tournament’s biggest upsets. Instead, a shift in momentum, and Argentina’s willingness to press until the final whistle, changed the outcome entirely. 

Business decisions have similar windows. Hiring too quickly can create unnecessary overhead. Waiting too long to invest can limit growth. Knowing what to do is important, but knowing when to do it is often even more valuable, which is exactly why proactive tax planning works best well before a deadline rather than after one. 

Better decisions compound 

When people look at a successful business, they usually see revenue growth, profitability, or an impressive balance sheet. Those numbers matter, but they rarely tell the whole story. 

What they don’t show are the conversations that prevented costly mistakes, the decisions that positioned the business for growth, or the discipline to stay focused when distractions appeared. That’s where advisory creates long-term value. It’s not about making one perfect decision. It’s about consistently making better decisions over time, and proactive tax planning is one of the clearest examples of how those small, consistent decisions add up.

Proactive tax planning helps tax pros and their clients 

Soccer is a game of details and adjustments. Coaches prepare, analyze, and surround themselves with people who help them make better decisions throughout the tournament. 

Business owners deserve the same advantage. Because whether you’re competing on the world’s biggest stage or running a growing business, success usually comes down to one thing: consistently making better decisions than the competition.