The duties of a limited company director are many and varied and include a number of compulsory financial tasks such as filling your businesses annual tax returns and corporation tax payments. You may wish to hire an expert to handle these responsibilities. Turner Little advises on how to choose an accountant for your small business.
Familiarity with your sector
It is key that you hire an accountant that is familiar with industry you operate in. Say for instance, you run a manufacturing venture but hire an accountant who specialises in leisure; they may not be familiar with specific legislation required to conduct accountancy services effectively for a manufacturing company. It is advisable to ask other businesses trading in your sector to recommend an accountant, so you hire a professional with a background in the relevant field.
Check for membership
Ensure your accountant is regulated by a professional accountancy body. This indicates that the accountant is recognised as a skilled professional by their peers. Taking this course of action will also ensure that your business is provided with essential financial cover in specific situations.
Speaking to the Guardian Clive Lewis, Head of Enterprise at The Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW) comments: “An ICAEW member, for instance, will have professional indemnity insurance, meaning any losses to your business due to bad advice will be covered.”
Think about size
Consider the size of the accountancy firm you are thinking of hiring to handle your business’ finances. A small to medium sized enterprise (SME) will often focus more on the accountancy issues typically experienced by smaller ventures. In order to remain competitive, these smaller accountancy businesses are often likely to charge you less for their services than their larger equivalents, as well as provide you with direct access to partners with more experience.
Look at the chemistry
You need to be able to work in partnership with your accountant for the relationship to work successfully long term for your company. Speaking to Start-ups Paul Watts, corporate finance partner at HLB Kidsons, advises SMEs to meet accountants before they work with them as “a lot [of the success of this relationship] comes down to personal chemistry… The accountant needs to be able to get into your business and show an interest in it as well as just doing your accounts if they are to advise you properly on the business.”
Perform extensive research
Once you have met with an accountant you could potentially work with, research their company. Talk to their existing clients to determine how they operate. Google your accountant and look at their digital assets to see whether they have a good reputation online. Check to see whether they have the appropriate qualifications under UK law to operate as an accountant. The more you know about an accountant, the easier it will be to determine whether they are the right fit for your small business.
Turner Little
You can significantly ease the burdens of being a limited company director by hiring the right accountant for your small business. They will bring the experience and skills necessarily to handle vital financial matters, so you can focus on making your venture a success. You may also want to enlist the services of a company secretary, to help you deal with the duties of being a limited company director.
Through Turner Little’s miscellaneous services, you can access the support required to ensure you can meet your responsibilities as your firms director to the best of your ability. Turner Little was founded in 1998 and it has since become a well-established UK based professional Company Registration Agent, Registered Bank Intermediaries and Business Consultants, as well as Trust provider.
