Deryck Ferrier, Enrolled Agent and Tax Fellow Member Spotlight
Deryck Ferrier says he “stumbled into” tax resolution work sometime in 1996 when he helped a young doctor resolve an issue with the IRS. “It was a family friend whose daughter had just graduated from medical school,” he says. “She had issues like most budding physicians. It turned out really nice, and I thought, ‘Gee, I like this. I could be an advocate for people who are being taken advantage of.’ So, I started pursuing the knowledge and the specialized area of tax resolution, which wasn’t easy at that time.” In the late ’90s, Deryck was a solo practitioner, and he came up against two barriers to learning: Many of the other practitioners he met wanted to keep whatever knowledge they had to themselves, and he was hesitant to ask for help. Around that time, he met Michael at an ASTPS conference. Deryck says Michael owned a large and profitable tax resolution practice but told Deryck to call him if he ever needed help. Deryck took Michael up on the invitation and called him. “At that time, Michael had a huge business going. He took my call personally and gave me some advice, and that was an act of kindness I remember fondly,” Deryck recalls. Fast-forward to June 2014, when Michael launched his Tax and Business Solutions Academy. Deryck, who is now co-owner of Accounting & Business Consultants in Birmingham, Alabama, was one of the first in line to buy Michael’s Tax Resolution System and Toolkit and enroll in the Insider’s Circle membership. “That’s why I’m on the Roz team today, because of Michael’s kindness and genuineness,” Deryck says. As a self-professed lifelong learner, Deryck is right where he wants to be at Roz Strategies, learning new ways to serve his clients and build a profitable practice. “The lessons I find that have been really valuable are listening to Michael talk about client care and communication, because that’s an area that I wasn’t very strong in,” Deryck says. “I love the clients, and I’m sincere and want to do the right thing; I just never communicated it very well.”
Deryck crossing a bridge in Ghana
Deryck also likes using the fee schedule, which he printed out and put on his desk. He shares that he recently used it to his advantage when a client came to him with an IRS letter saying he owed $20,000. Deryck was able to file his client’s back returns and get him into a Properly Structured Installment Plan “pretty much with one phone call — so that’s the power of the training I’ve gotten,” he says. “Having the courage to ask and increase my fees, which I’ve been hesitant about doing. What surprises me is when I ask for it, I get it.” Deryck says that when he listens to Michael’s advice, it works. Deryck is originally from “way down south,” having grown up in Guyana, South America. He immigrated to the United States, went to college in New York, and trained as an engineer and a Realtor before becoming an Enrolled Agent and a Tax Fellow. Deryck found that he was passionate about helping people with tax problems, so he left his corporate job, sold his snow tires, and moved from Brooklyn, New York, to Alabama. Deryck and his wife of 30-plus years enjoy traveling, both to visit their five children and 12 grandchildren and to see the world. Recent trips include Vietnam, Hong Kong, and Cambodia; Egypt; South Africa; and Brazil.
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