Choosing an accountant or CPA could well be the most vital decision you will have to make. Your accountant or CPA’s skills will need to cover all of the following and probably a lot more too:

• taxation issues
• corporate law
• handling your local taxation authorities
• small business advice and know how

Finding an accountant or CPA that specializes in working with small to medium sized businesses, makes a lot of sense.

They will be more aware of the types of challenges that your business is likely to face and the best way of tackling them.

Another important aspect is the size of the accountant’s firm. Do you feel more comfortable being with a large firm with possibly not so much of the human touch or a small one man band that you will probably get to know a personal basis as well?

Many chose the latter as it is nice to be able to put a friendly face to the name.

These are a list of things that you need to know when starting out with a new accountant:

• Business structure – should it be as a sole-trader, partnership or limited liability company?
• What can they do to help you raise any necessary finance?
• Can they help you prepare your cash flow forecast and projected profit & loss accounts?
• Can they help you cover all the statutory requirements laid down by your local and national tax authorities?
• Can they help you with a pre-flight check before you launch – have you got everything in place that you require?
• What advice do they have on selecting a financial year end date?
• How should the day to day book keeping and accounting records be kept?
• Do they work online in any way to enable instant contact and transfer of records?
• What advice can they offer on setting up of pensions, annuities and insurance matters?
• How available will they be for on the spot advice if something unforeseen occurs?

These are only a selection of the many areas that you will need to cover with your accountant. A good one will help you ensure that the whole picture has been taken care of.

Finding an accountant or CPA that is already working with other similar businesses to yours is often a good sign. They will be able to help and foresee possible problems that may be peculiar to your industry.

But the most important question of all is; “can I trust this person and can I work with them long term?”

If the answer to this is even not sure then they are not the ones to choose.

But remember as important as they undoubtedly are, an accountant or CPA is there to advise and help you. They are not ultimately responsible for your business decisions you are.

So being comfortable with and feeling confident in their ability to do their job and protect your best interests at all times is paramount. But you will always be the boss!

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"

January 25th, 2009 | Tags: accountant, buy a business, buying a business tips, choosing an accountant, cpa, questions to ask accountant | Category: articles | Subscribe to comments | Leave a comment | Trackback URL  |