Top Five Things To Look For When Hiring An Accountant

The advantages of hiring the services of an efficient and professional accountant are innumerable. Whether it is maximizing your tax savings or better organization of your financial records, professional accountants maintain track of your business’ income, assets, and liabilities, thereby allowing you to concentrate on growing your business. Accountants prepare and look into financial records and assist with tax filing, bookkeeping, and payroll services. They provide tax advice, prepare financial statements, and may also help with critical business decisions.

However, with a host of professional accounting consultancies out there, choosing an accountant that will help you and have your best interests can pose a challenge. To assist you with the selection process, here’s a list of the top five things to look for in an accountant.

1. Professionalism
Your accountant should be professional enough to treat you and your business with respect and interest. It helps if they are friendly and cooperative and look to clear your doubts at any time. They should never make you feel as if your accounting needs are too small or unimportant. Also, trust is a critical factor when hiring an accountant for your company since you’d be relying on them to manage your business’s finances. Only a professional accountant will be able to meet or exceed these expectations.

2. Responsiveness
Since the accountant will be managing your taxes and books throughout the year, you would want them to communicate effectively and transparently with you. They should be quick to respond to your emails and calls and offer answers to any questions or doubts that you may have. One of the more important aspects is that the accountant should be reachable at all times via phone, email, etc. If not, they should at least get back to you at the earliest.

3. Competitive fees
To know if the accountant of your preference is charging competitive fees, look around and see if the other competent accountants are offering you a better package. Global and sizable national CPA firms that provide accounting services tend to charge higher service fees than the local CPA accounting firms’ average charges. Find out if your accountant’s company charges additional fees for business travel expenses, special offers, and expert consultation. Once you consider all these factors, you can hire the one that provides the best value for your money.

4. Up-to-date knowledge of tax
The complex trade secrets of one sector are different from those of another industry. Therefore, an accountant must know the specifics of how your industry works. They should have up-to-date knowledge of their own field of accounting and tax as well. Another vital aspect is the usage of technology. Along with financial management, an accountant should be able to offer you a holistic perspective of the business. Discuss with them and ask for a disclosure of all the services they offer.

5. Good communication skills
Accounting and bookkeeping are highly specialized subjects with their own jargon and language. Therefore, an accountant must interact with their clients in a language they understand. If an accountant is not approachable, it may hamper your understanding of your finances. Every industry has its own language, so ask for the topic to be broken down into simple words if you don’t understand the terminology used.

If you’re looking for a CPA firm in Toronto, Ontario, reach out to Michael H. Keltz Chartered Professional Accountant. We value building long-term relationships with our clients so that we can meet and anticipate all their accounting, tax, and bookkeeping needs.

Our professional staff’s dedication to providing our clients with outstanding accounting and tax solutions makes our firm exceptional. Our services include accounting, bookkeeping, tax preparation or returns, financial advisory, and more!

To learn more about our services, please click here. To get in touch with us, please click here.