One of my male buddies decided that instead of picking out clothes for his wife for Christmas, he'd take her shopping instead (during the January sales, smart man). The wife brought along a female friend to provide another opinion on her outfits.
My buddy, feeling hurt, asked why that was necessary. Couldn't he give his opinion? Well, sure, if all she wanted to hear was "that looks fine" or "nice". In other words, his opinion is pretty close to useless.
As is some advice (even from trusted advisors, everyone is human and makes mistakes).
That is why I always ask for a second or third opinion on important advice. The perfect person to ask? Someone with the exact opposite stance as the first advisor.
So say you like to be aggressive on your tax filings (waving my hand in the air, like me!). You'll likely have an aggressive tax advisor or accountant. Of course, listen to her insights, that's what you're paying her for, but don't act just yet.
First ask another accountant for a second opinion.
Who to ask?
I usually like to ask a very conservative buddy to ask his accountant for a second opinion. That costs nothing and the accountant is more likely to be completely honest when talking about a third party.
The aggressive accountant will give the best case for implementing the advice. The conservative accountant will give the worst case. I, then, if still interested in the option (knowing full well what the worst case could be), work with the aggressive accountant to decrease the possibility of the worst case.
Remember advisors give advice. You will be the one taking action and you will be the one dealing with the consequences.