Mistakes to Avoid When Hiring a CPA in your Small Business
Accounting involves organized and systematic ways of keeping track of financial exchanges. As simple and intuitive as it sounds, detailed accounting has an effect on the health and lifespan of your business. Precise accounting should provide detailed data that can be used to make resourceful financial decisions that will grow your business. Inaccurate and inconsistent data will lead to financial decisions that do not tally with the actual operations and performance of your business. Avoid these common mistakes when recruiting a CPA into your firm.
Shifting focus on wrong qualifications
Professional accounting goes beyond a simple task of just crunching numbers. An accountant must have deep understanding of your business. The accounts office touches on all the components of your business either directly or indirectly. Accountants must be able to exercise team work spirit by working close with employees in other departments to get information that may be pertinent to their account records. The ability of an accountant to communicate effectively and cooperate with your employees may be as relevant as how they present and respond to interview questions, specific lines on their resume, and possibly the school they acquired their diploma. In addition, check out for interview red flags raised like not getting a detailed answer to a specific question on their resume since not all information provided is a reflection of their overall skill set.
Hiring without figuring what you need
Major roles of accountants in small firms may involve keeping track of financial records that generally include payroll information, information on investments, retail sales, accounts payable, and accounts receivable. What are the specific accounting needs of your business? Do you need processing for your sales invoices and accounts payable? Do you need to create financial statements? Do you need to create your budgets, or do payroll and taxes? Develop a shopping list of all the financial services your business might need and from it find a CPA firm that can manage.
Going for lower rates
We know you want to save some bucks and grow your small business. Always remember that you basically get for what you pay for. Hiring inexperienced accountants because to be cheap will probably save you money but won't spare you peace of mind since he or she is a novice. Accountants who charge a higher fee and are confident enough based on their experience and capabilities will deliver accurate and faster services than a novice.