Hiring The Right Accountant

Hiring the right accountant can mean the difference between success and failure for business owners and high income individuals. The bigger your company, the greater your assets, the more you need a good accountant. You may benefit from advice on everything from taxes to financing to succession planning. Yet many business owners and high net worth individuals don’t realize how valuable accountants are and how many ways they can help.

This article will quickly summarize the many ways a good accountant can help you and your business. In future posts we’ll talk about finding likely candidates, whether you need a Certified Public Accountant (CPA), and questions to ask potential accountants to help make certain that candidate is the right accountant for you.

Recently I heard about one business owner who saved $2,000 when he switched accountants. The previous accountant said he had to pay a $2,000 tax penalty. The new accountant wrote to the taxing authority and that letter convinced them to drop the penalty.

Much More Than A Bean Counter
A major mistake I’ve seen business owners make is having too narrow a view of what an accountant can do for their business and them. Here’s a partial list of the ways accountants provide financially critical service, especially for small businesses:

Tax Planning
Accountants do much more than just prepare tax returns. They can provide insight in the planning stage of any new business. They’re valuable in offering advice on choosing a business entity, setting up bookkeeping systems, and negotiating leases. If your business is already up and running, an accountant can prepare annual information returns, do quarterly reviews and offer advice. Good accountants are more than record keepers. They are key financial advisors.

Business Planning
I’ve seen business owners use their accountants as general business consultants. Some research shows that accountants are the most trusted advisor a business owner or high income individual has. So if you want to introduce a new product ask your accountant what the cost implications could be. Does your business have a problem with cash flow, internal controls, or inventory pricing? Are you concerned about new tax laws? You may be wise to ask for your accountant’s help.

Networking And New Business
Accountants are great referral sources. An accountant may have one client who is seeking financing and another who is looking for a good investment. The accountant can put the two together. Your accountant can also refer you to other professionals, such as attorneys, insurance brokers, or bankers. Some accountants even refer customers.
 
Personal Tax Planning
If you own a business, your personal tax issues are probably related to and affected by your business tax issues. If you don’t own a business, you may still want an accountant’s advice on issues like retirement planning.

In my next post we’ll discuss tactics on finding the right accountant. But for now, tell me how useful you found this post to be. What other questions do you have about hiring the right accountant?  Comment below. You can also visit  http://www.summitinvestorcoach.com/ my website or http://www.summitinvestorcoach.com/blog/ blog or
call me at 203.453.1017.