Michelle Jarvis set up her dress making business after having worked for a large multi-national company for many years.

Right from the very first day she was determined to do things the right way and not cut corners. She knew that she needed a plan of action so that was where she started

List Accounting Requirements

“I am a systems person, my previous company had drummed that in to me and I had always intended to outsource some aspects of the financial side of the business. That included managing the books.

My skills are in dress making and whilst I am very good with figures, I also knew that book keeping was unlikely to be something that I was going to enjoy doing.

In addition to that, my business runs at least six days a week and any spare time I did have would have to be spent on marketing and keeping up to date with industry developments.”

“I decided to look for a bookkeeper and an auditor. I’d been told that it was good business practice to separate the roles and it made sense to me. One would keep an eye on the other and I would keep an eye on both!”

Choose Reputable Practitioners

“With the auditor, I took advice from several friends who already had their own business . I made a short list of four and then met each one and went through my business plan with them. This gave me an opportunity to see how I got on with them and how well they explained things to me in terms I could understand. This way I selected a local firm that had a good track record of working with smaller companies. I was particularly won over by the way they had understood my business plan and were able to help with some really vital advice to tighten the plan up.

“I also found my book keeper the same way, through a friend’s recommendation. We got on really well from the first meeting.  She keeps things very simple which I appreciate, and she looks after all my invoicing, control accounts, my employees records and Insurance.

“Both my auditor and book keeper are local businesses in their own right and that was important to me. I wanted to work with people that knew my local market well.”

Manage The Relationship

“Trust is vital to any relationship but never more so than when finances are concerned. After having worked with them both for some time now, I can say that the trust and confidence that I have in them has only grown.

“Rather than quarterly accounts, I insisted from the beginning on having monthly management accounts. I wanted to keep a very close eye in particular on my capital expenditure and cash flow to ensure that I was staying to plan. My book keeper produces the accounts, but I’m still in control. I watch the cash flow on a daily basis so I know exactly where I am, but she does all the entering and checking of the figures. She then transfers all the figures in to a spreadsheet set out to my guidelines, and I have instant access to all the information I need. I quite simply would not have the time to cover everything in the way that she does.

“I work with my auditors in a different but equally productive way. I like that they answer any questions that I may have in a timely manner and I find myself using them as business advisers on matters such as taxation and planning. Their existing good relationship with the local tax officers has already proven itself invaluable. It appears that they are more likely to let things run unhindered if they know your advisers and trust them.”

Michelle’s business is now thriving after a slow start. The relationship that she has established with her financial team is paying her dividends now and will continue to do so in to the future.

This article was written by Brian K Fitzgibbon CPA.

Brian is an experienced accountant and small business consultant. He runs his own business, lectures extensively on small business topics and has checked out and valued many hundreds of small businesses for buyers.

Brian is also the author of the highly acclaimed and invaluable
"How To Value A Business And Buy It Without Fear"
A do-it-yourself guide for first-time and experienced buyers alike.

To download a FREE Chapter from Brian's book please follow this link: "HowToValueBusiness.com"

October 9th, 2009 | Tags: buy a business, buying a business tips, case study accountant or CPA, how to use an accountant | Category: articles | Subscribe to comments | Leave a comment | Trackback URL  |