Does your CPA have an interest in your success?

Something to consider!

Everyone in business for themselves needs the services of a CPA from the start through the finish. A CPA means different things to different people and of course the letters stand for Certified Public Accountant. The “Certified” part of that means a lot, because it means this individual has the knowledge and experience to resolve and support literally thousands of financial and tax related dilemmas and applications for businesses and individuals. The key to the CPA’s professional experience is whether it includes specific industry applications associated with your business, enabling the CPA to spring into action with ideas and alternative solutions immediately. Because of the enormous number of service industries, product industries and those industry’s additional levels of unique problems, it is important that your CPA has had experience specifically in your company’s industry and comes to you with a general sense of what you are faced with in terms of operational hurdles and processes. Remember most service professionals charge by the hour in order to cover their overhead and it is impossible to know what amount of time a new client and even an existing client’s engagement may require on the front end. CPA’s experienced in your business’s specific industry can make a better guess of what amount of time and ultimately how much it will cost. A CPA that has an honest interest in seeing his client succeed will feel the need to help only if he believes he can and will precede the engagement with some ideas of the specific plan of attack and estimated cost to you.

              The relationship with your CPA is a two way street. You have to provide information before services can be rendered. This is a very important point to remember, so you must ask yourself  “Did I provide the information my CPA asked for?” on the other hand “Did my CPA provide a list of items in writing that detailed what was needed?” The information should be provided in a timely manner and the CPA should keep you informed of anticipated completion dates and any delays encountered. Your CPA should inform you of any major time consuming events before they are incurred rather than after the invoice for hourly services has been prepared. You are probably getting the feeling that communication between you and your CPA plays a vital role in the engagement. This is always true, and therefore it requires that you like communicating with your CPA. If this relationship is not a comfortable and friendly one, it is doomed from the start. When it comes to preparing tax returns or financial analysis or reports that will allow you and your business to grow and stay healthy, you should never discount the value of the individual professional effort required in performing those tasks. Using large firm preparation services such as an H &R Block or Jackson-Hewitt will not help your business grow and will not provide the level of professional guidance and support you or your business need to succeed. These companies are trained briefly to prepare forms and can offer no advice, because they are not licensed to do so. Looking for guidance here is a dead end. It reminds me of the countless stories of discontent my firm has heard from clients who have used such services.  Recently a client told me that his seventy-year-old father decided he was too old to continue preparing his own taxes and went to one of these service companies to have them prepared. After the initial meeting they offered him a job.

              Remember it is a great idea to have a third party you can trust be involved in the preparation of your financial reports and tax returns. In the event that a family member departs or financial events occur that need expert analysis, the history will be maintained securely off premise and can be accessed in the event of catastrophe or other such unexpected events. The friendly knowledgeable advice can be a secure and lasting one with the right CPA.