By 2010 the amount of wealth controlled by women will swell to more than $22 trillion. And, according to TrendSight Group, a market research company in Winnetka, Illinois, by that time women will hold half the Fortune 500's top 20 jobs. Even today, the picture is pretty rosy. Internal Revenue Service bulletins show that women already, hold $4.Z trillion in assets according to 1998 data (the latest year available). And that's good news for CPA financial planners. Experts say these women still are largely underserved When it comes to financial and investment advice.

The women's market is important to CPAs for several reasons. Women will inherit significant assets over the next 10 to 20 years. In many cases wealth gathered by their fathers, brothers and husbands will pass into their hands. Others will have wealth they accumulated on their own as small business owners of corporate executives. Many of these women will be seeking sound investment advice because they have little of no training in making investment management decisions. Others who have business savvy are simply too busy to manage their own personal investments. To meet this demand, CPA financial planners need to know that the strategies they use for interacting with male clients may not work as well for female clients. Those who recognize this may reap significant rewards. Vive la difference!

WOMEN AND MONEY

CPAs who want to work with female clients should first understand some of the attitudes that shape their business relationships. Experts tell us that some women Associate money with greed.

* Feel guilty about having money.

* Equate saving with selfishness.

* Don't feel they have enough money to invest.

* Ask lots of questions.

* Take much longer than men to reach decisions.

* Like to involve family or friends in their choices.

* Want advisers to provide more detailed explanations.

* Combine emotional factors with their investment decisions.

* Want to know what investment asset growth will do for their families beyond just improving the bottom line.

* Often have serious debt problems to overcome before in vesting for the future.

* Want established guidelines for communicating in terms of both frequency and method.

When working with women clients, CPAs should treat them with the respect they offer all clients. Here is some behavior to avoid:

* Speaking above the client's knowledge level.

* Talking down to her.

* Telling her what she can't or shouldn't do.

* Delaying the return of her phone calls.

* Coming across as cold or impersonal.

At the same time, to be successful there are some things CPA financial planners should do when helping women with their planning needs:

* Spend time chatting to assess the client's knowledge and build trust.

* Explore family needs and her concerns, and if she requests it meet with key individuals such as her friends or family members.

* Emphasize the things wealth can do for her family.

* Be clear and realistic about investment objectives.

If men operate out of fear and greed, then women work from fear, uncertainty and doubt. This is what author Ginita Wall, CPA, CFR calls "the FUD Factor." Some women fear money will make them bad people. Wall points to an AARP study that said 42% of the women interviewed didn't want to be wealthy; in fact they saw wealth as representing the baser side of human nature, as portrayed in famous TV soaps such as "Dallas" of "Dynasty."

CPAs must be alert to these sentiments, says Wall, who has becn rccognized as a top financial adviser by Worth magazine six years in a row and just published her eighth book, It's More than I says planners should Money--It's Your Life, with coauthor Candace Bahr. Consequently, women tend to give money away to their children or to charity and in doing so often undermine their advisers' at tempts to steer the money into investments and other growth opportunities. Once CPAs understand "how women work and what the accountant is up against," says Wall, they should stress how wealth can help the client and those they love.

READ THE SIGNALS

When working with women, communication skills are critical. Female clients will typically signal their discomfort. That means it's up to CPAs to learn how to interpret expressions and body language, says author Judith Briles, who explains how in her book The Confidence Factor, 10 Smart Money Moves for Women. Women who fidget, don't make eye contact, seem hostile, anxious of even ambivalent may actually be apprehensive or feeling overwhelmed, says Briles.

One way to keep the anxiety level down is to establish a method and frequency for communicating. "I will call you, or you call me," says Briles, "weekly, monthly or as needed." Briles also suggests engaging female clients on "safe" subjects such as movies to relax them and get them talking about their own goals and fears, such as not having enough money to live independently and having to move in with their children.