Before making the jump to owning my own firm, I worked and consulted in accounting for many years. The most challenging times were working with small business owners, who although were exceptional at their craft, knew little to nothing about accounting and accountants. Often, they were suspicious and mistrustful of accountants, which is understandable, as we are talking about money here.
What was not understandable was when they would have various expectations, often which had nothing to do with the field. I have had business owners ask me to read and interpret their contracts, or to keep abreast of the law and report it to them on a monthly basis. I am unable to do either of those things, as I am not a lawyer.
The list did not end there, as I would be asked to do things that fell under operations, marketing, sales, etc. Obviously, these owners were good, ethical people-I do not work with anything else. They just were unaware of what an accountant does or does not do.
Before hiring an accountant, you need to decide what your needs are and what you can afford, as the accountant’s specialty may not necessarily be the needs of your firm.
Are you looking for someone to prepare your estimated and annual taxes? Hire a tax accountant. Are you looking for someone to reduce your tax liability and implement tax planning into your business? Hire a tax accountant who specializes in tax advisory and strategy.
Unfortunately, this is not done for free and will be an added fee on top of the tax preparation.Are you looking for someone to do the day-to-day financials of your company? The AR, AP, payroll? Hire a bookkeeper. Someone to do the budgets, forecasting, and cost analysis? Hire a management accountant. To prepare and interpret the financial statements and performance? A financial accountant, which is what most people think of when they think of accountants.
This is just an abbreviated version of the most common accountants and issues, as there are so many different types of accountants. It is important to know what you are looking for, so you do not spend precious dollars on someone who cannot help your issue and so you can sound as intelligent as possible on your journey in finding that right accountant!
