There are literally thousands of Accountants – so how do you find and choose one to partner with?
Good accountants offer a range of services from basic bookkeeping and payroll to taxation planning and specialist business advice. However, to make sure you get the best value for money there are things you should find out first.
Here are my 7 “How to Find a Good Local Accountant” Top Tips:
1. Experience
Is the accountant familiar with your business sector and do they have experience of businesses of a similar size? Are they able to deal with your business’ unique needs? Are they suitably qualified (eg members of the Institute of Chartered Accountants (ICAEW), the Association of Certified Chartered Accountants (ACCA), or the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (CIMA))?
Remember – anyone can call themselves an accountant or bookkeeper, even if they have no qualifications. If, however, an unqualified accountants breaks the law then you would be liable.
2. Charges
How do they calculate their charges? What do their charges cover? Are they scaled and do they offer all-in fees? Do they charge for an initial consultation (this would ring an alarm bell if they do)? Do they start the clock ticking when you pick up the phone to them?
3. Specialist Accountant vs General Accountant
Do you need an accountant for a specific purpose, for example, as a Taxation Specialist, for Corporate Finance or Corporate Recovery? If so, it is worth finding a specialist in that particular field. General Accountants would be able to provide some degree of help, but the chances are the specialist would produce better results.
Conversely, if you require a simple accounts service, choose a general accountant over a specialist.
4. Style of Service
Think about the size of accountancy practice you require. Do you want a one-to-one, personal service with a smaller accountancy firm? Or do you require or a more ‘institutionalised’ service, where you maybe deal with a larger team who can provide a larger range of services – such as associated with medium or large practices.
5. Pro-active vs Reactive
A good accountant will be in touch with you through out the year, not just at the year-end? What additional services do they offer? Are these services relevant to you?
A pro-active service may cost more, but if the accountant is sharp, he or she may provide the catalyst to move your business forward, grow, diversify, save / make you money etc. By leaving everything until the year end leave no time for effective tax planning, for example.
6. Personnel
Who will look after your business on a day-to-day basis? Will it be a partner or someone more junior? How many partners are there? Sometimes smaller practices suit smaller businesses. 7. Efficiency What response times do they work to? How quickly can they turn your accounts around? What Accountancy Software packages do they use? You should get a feel as to how efficient the firm is at the meeting.
Finally …
You can change accountant at anytime of the year, although it may be more inconvenient (and you may be subject to your annual fee still) to change just before your year-end. The best time to change is just after your last years accounts have been finalised.
Always shop around for some quotes - we strongly recommend seeking at least three different tenders. UK companies could try accountants beckenham, kent