Get The Right Accountant For Your Business.

When running a business it is very important to get the financial aspects correct.

In fact, if you do not manage the financial parts of your business correctly, then the finances will manage you and you are highly likely to go out of business.

Unless you are some kind of financial ‘whiz kid’, you are likely to need good quality and professional financial advice.

Smart business people delegate and outsource. They don’t try and do it all themselves.

The big question is; where do you go to obtain good financial advice and who do you trust?

Clearly, I can’t answer this question for worldwide readers due to geographical constraints.

What I can do is give you some general tips on choosing a suitable accountant.

1. Find one with good experience in your industry or specialty.
2. Check qualifications and registration.
3. Evaluate size of practice for impersonal treatment, costly ’boutique’ service or inability to cope at busy times.
4. Get references from reliable sources. A good accountant should be happy to pass on names of clients for you to check references. Make sure you check the references says Alex wearing his Private Investigator’s hat.
5. Determine exactly what you need from your accountant and find out what you will be charged.
6. Check what is not included so as to avoid nasty shocks. Arrange to have essential items included in your package.
7. Ensure that the accountant has a full understanding of laws and requirements pertinent to your industry or situation. Some accountants add services they are weak in just to attract business.
8. Find out what is expected of you. Make sure you fulfill your obligations. A key example is getting your data to your accountant on time. Accountants are not supermen. They need your help and co-operation to achieve a good outcome for you. Making life hard for your accountant is making life hard for yourself. Think about it.
9. If cost is a concern, ask about what you can do help reduce the bill. Giving your accountant a shoebox full of invoices to process is going to be more expensive than if you have already done the data entry.
10. Remember, as far as the authorities are concerned, it is YOUR responsibility to ensure that your statutory obligations are fulfilled, and on time.
11. Find out how efficient the accounting practice is.
12. Find out if the service you will receive will be proactive. For example; whether they will remind you when you need to submit accounts, or update you on changes in tax law.
13. Can the practice ‘add value’? Do they offer other useful services?
14. Visit the accountancy practice and meet the key staff who will be dealing with your affairs. Do you like them? Do you feel you can trust them? If not, move on.
15. Ask about how they can develop your business. Can they help you grow and become more profitable?
16. Do they seem ethical? Unethical accountants attract all kinds of problems which will catch up with you eventually.
17. Are the principals of the practice kind to their staff? Resentful staff will not be good for you and your affairs – mistakes will be made and possibly worse.
18. Do they seem interested in you? If your prospective accountant is not very interested in you at this early stage then things are only likely to get worse. A suitable accountant should want to know as much about you as you do about them.
19. Take your business plan along to your meeting. Er, you do have a business plan don’t you?
20. Don’t lie or exaggerate – your accountant is on your side and cannot help you properly without the real facts.

For people and businesses in the Gold Coast region of Queensland, Australia, I can recommend a local accountancy firm:

HBA Partners (Formerly Hetheringtons) Business Accountants.

I know Peter Hetherington, the senior partner of HBA Partners, well and he has clarified various accountancy matters for me personally. Peter is a genuinely decent fellow and highly professional in his approach to accounting. Peter, a refreshingly different accountant, has a good sense of humor and above average people skills. Check out the HBA Partners website for more information about how Peter and his dynamic team can help your business.

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