Tips For Choosing An Accountant For Your Business.   by Ade Lewis

in Finance / Accounting    (submitted 2011-07-14)

Anyone that has set-up their own business appreciates that when you first start out you generally end up doing everything yourself This generally involves everything from answering the telephone, accounts, to tidying the office not to mention actually doing the work that your clients pay you for.

As your business grows you get to the point where you can't do everything yourself and if you want to continuing to grow you have to employ the services of other people. The first person that you should consider hiring is an accountant. But selecting the right accountant for your business isn't as straight forwards as you might think. Here are some tips to help your decision making process.

Make sure that the accountant you choose is qualified. There are always people that have carried out some invoicing work before and are able to do it very well but until the Inland Revenue ask to have a look at your books you will never be sure that they are doing the job correctly. When this occurs you really want security of knowing that the person preparing you books is qualified and that they are up to date with all of the current tax legislation.

select someonethat you are able to have a good business relationship with. When you start searching around you may well find a divide in the type of accountants you find. One one side will usually be the larger accounting firms where you generally don't speak to the same person twice. On the other side will be the small accounting firms that tend to deal with businesses in their local area. If you are a small to medium sized business then the greater personal attention that you receive from a smaller accounting firm will help in developing a productive long-term relationship. The service fees of a smaller accounting firm are also liable to be much more affordable.

Choose someone that understands your business. You normally find that with larger accounting firms, they tend to specialise in certain areas of business. Smaller accounting firms tend to have a wider experience in dealing with different business types. Ensuring that your accountant knows how your business operates is essential to them being able to carry out a good job for you so make sure that your accountant understands your industry and business set-up.

Make sure that the account you choose is able to offer you a wide range of accounting services. There is much more to accounting than just bookkeeping and at a basic level your accountant should be able to file your tax returns with the Inland Revenue, prepare your financial statements and if the need arises they should be able to present all of the relevant documentation for auditing. Some accountants offer additional services such as keeping track of your business performance and helping with your business planning, they can also work along side and support your management team.

Always ask questions before selecting and accountant nd make sure that you interview several accounts. Always compare the services that you get for the money that you are paying and compare a few accountants like for like. Check to see if they already have clients in your area of business and see how deep there understanding of your business is.

About the Author

Bristol Accountant Neil Houghton can offer your company a extensive range of accounting services and has over 25 years of experience looking after the accounting needs of a diverse range of businesses.

Visit us at www.nhaccounting.co.uk