Choosing an accountant is an incredibly important decision. Basic tax services can be provided by a whole range of accountancy businesses. However, an accountant that cares can contribute a lot more to your enterprise than just handling tax and financial statements. If you want to get the most from your investment in accounting support then it’s worth partnering with an account that is willing and able to do more.

What do you expect from your accountant?

Often, both accountants and their clients limit interactions to compliance and tax issues. However, developing a real partnership with an accountant who genuinely cares about your business can create opportunities for a lot of positive change. For example, accountants can also help companies to identify ways to cut costs and be more efficient, as well as improve existing operations. A good accountant can also have a key role to play when it comes to streamlining goals for the business and helping to ensure that these are achieved. Expanding the accountant-client relationship beyond one that is focused on minimal tasks can deliver a wealth of benefits all round.

The advantages of working with an accountant that cares

Perhaps the major benefit is that this becomes an ongoing relationship and a dialogue that continues throughout the year. Moving beyond a purely transactional interaction means that the accountant is on top of the issues, obstacles and opportunities within the business and can apply specialist financial expertise to helping to identify and solve these. This can result in financial advice that is more proactive – not simply responding to the need to meet deadlines but making suggestions and identifying ideas that a lack of accounting expertise within the business itself may have otherwise made impossible. Other major benefits of establishing a more involved relationship include:

• Being comfortable asking questions about tax regimes and changes to financial requirements so that your business is always operating in a compliant and efficient way.
• Integrating more in-depth financial advice into planning and projections on a regular basis.
• Avoiding a situation where an accountant arrives once a year, knows little about the business and is only able to complete work within a very limited remit.

Choosing an accountant that cares

There are plenty of well qualified accountants out there but finding the right one is often dependent on who you feel comfortable with. It’s a good idea to work with an accountant willing to put in the time to understanding the business, the way it operates and the sector that it sits in. Do they have the flexibility you need when it comes to service and cost and are you going to get the level of support that you want from the relationship?

Finding the right accountant – or moving on from a poor relationship – can be a game changer for any business. A great accountant will not only be able to handle basic accounting requirements but also support you in identifying opportunities for your business to develop and grow.