Choosing an accountant can be a daunting task for any business or self-employed individual. Most people choose their accountant based on third party referral, professional referral (solicitor or banker) or by looking up a website.
However, it is a vitally important decision and one which can be costly if you get it wrong, writes Alan Moir of Fyfe Moir & Associates:
There are many things to consider and questions to ask when choosing this professional service and it is important to ask the right questions to help you make the correct decision. Questions might include:
- Do you want a partnership arrangement with your accountant or are you happy to hear from them once or twice a year?
- Would you like a fixed agreed fee up front or are you happy to operate by time taken?
- Would guarantees (e.g. not having to pay unless a specific performance is achieved) provided by the accountant be of interest to you?
- Would you want assistance on reviewing your prices and profit margins?
- Are you interested in your accountant providing proactive tax planning opportunities?
- Would you be interested in attending seminars which your accountant puts on from time to time?
- Do you want your accountant to take the lead in assisting your business with auto enrolment obligations? Auto enrolment is pension obligations instigated by the government.
- Do you want to be able to pick up the phone and speak to your accountant without the fear that the “meter” is running?
At a time when it seems increasingly difficult to raise finance and satisfy the need for up to the minute information required by lenders, an increasing number of people need to know that they will receive their final accounts within 30 days of them providing all of the information needed by the accountant. For others, however, time is of no real consequence provided all filing deadlines are met.
HM Revenue & Customs have clearly been told by successive governments to raise as much cash as possible and they are using more and more aggressive tactics to raise cash. An example of this is an unprecedented penalty regime with rates of penalty akin to those offered to the likes of Lester Piggot in his serious tax fraud investigation. You need to consider if your accountant is going to step up and represent your best interests to HMRC or is simply going to lie down to them.
Business today is as complex as ever. Your advisers are as important to you as they ever have been. Getting it right could be the difference between getting by and prospering.