You should manage your company’s finances carefully, to ensure you have the capital necessary to fund day-to-day operations and expansion. You could hire an accountant, so an experienced expert can handle these duties. Turner Little discusses how to get the best value from your accountant.
Gather references
Gather references before choosing an accountant, to ensure they have experience handling finances on behalf of businesses of your size. Consult other firms operating within your industry, to see whether the accountant you are looking to hire has experience handling the key sector issues you face every day. Also check that they have professional indemnity insurance. If they provide inadequate services, this will ensure that they can pay any damages or costs incurred if you take legal action against them.
Industry membership
Anybody can establish and advertise themselves as an accountant. This does not mean that they have the skills necessary to handle you firm’s finances. Check whether they are chartered or certified accountants, meaning that they have received qualified status by becoming members of relevant industry bodies. For example, if they are a member of The Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales, you know that they are recognised as a skilled accountant by the wider industry.
Extensive research
You should perform extensive research, to ensure you select the right accountant. Ask any accountant you consult to supply you with a full breakdown of their services and fees, to ensure you get value for money. You should also ask questions when you interview accountants, to determine whether they supply any additional services that your business could utilise. These services could include, for example, audits, investment advice, loan application support and financial forecast preparation.
State your wishes
After you have selected an accountant, they will give you a letter of engagement summarising their terms and conditions. Put your expectations of them in writing as well, to ensure you receive comprehensive service. You should describe the level of service you expect, how quickly they should respond to your correspondence and a specific contact for you to deal with, among other things.
Communication rules
Communicate with your accountant regularly. You may want to schedule quarterly meetings, for example, to assess your firm’s finances together, allowing you to plan for the future more effectively. It is key that you meet your accountant before they prepare your tax returns and annual accounts, to ensure they handle these critical tasks properly. Meanwhile by communicating regularly you could form a good relationship with your accountant, incentivising them to supply you with good trade contact e.g. potential investors, helping you expand your venture.
Keeping records
We would suggest that you maintain user-friendly financial records. This will ensure that your accountant can work efficiently, saving them time and potentially reducing your bill. This will also make it possible for you to handle simple bookkeeping tasks yourself via accounting software, reducing your expenses. If your time would be better spent elsewhere e.g. on product development, ask your accountant to take greater responsibility for bookkeeping, to maximise your own talents.
Sound guidance
You should remember that experienced accountants can supply you with sound guidance in a range of areas beyond bookkeeping. You could ask them to help you construct a business plan, for instance. With their experience, they could help you determine how much investment you need to reach your business development goals and construct new project cost projections. If you decide to sell your company, they could also aid you in assessing its value and minimising your tax liability on the sale.
Financial infrastructure
It is key that you develop strong financial infrastructure for your firm, to get value for money from your accountant. By finding the right business bank account, for example, you can give your accountant the means to complete bookkeeping obligations efficiently, reducing your outgoings. As registered bank intermediaries, Turner Little supplies advice on UK business banking matters.
Turner Little
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. You can receive our monthly newsletter by signing up using the form below.
