Starting a business and managing to successfully keep it afloat is no easy feat. It is not a one-man job either. You will need to invest in hiring a team of highly qualified people, like the staff at Sloane Winckless, that will dedicate their time and knowledge to helping your business scale new heights of success. One such important hire is a qualified business accountant.
However, there is a large pool of options to choose from and it is important to know the important traits to look for when making your hire.
Below are some of the important traits that you should be looking for when hiring an accountant for your business.
Accountability
Accountability in this situation refers to whether or not an accountant is registered with any recognised, professional accountancy body. This is important because an accountant who is part of a professional body is bound to abide by professional standards to avoid facing fines and other penalties.
Be sure to always check for qualifications and licences from these governing bodies before hiring an accountant. This way, there is a line of recourse should things go wrong.
Integrity
In addition to being accountable, the accountant you hire should have a history of being transparent and straightforward in all of their business dealings. Seeing as how they will be responsible for the long-term viability of your business, the business accountant you hire must be professional and fair at all times.
Open Communication
Do you feel like you could talk to them about anything? In order to get the best out of your accountant’s services, you will need to foster open communication and maintain a good relationship with them. This means that you should be looking for a professional that you feel comfortable discussing your business and personal finances with.
Go for an accountant who is approachable, positive, and excited about your business. They should also be willing to make the conscious effort to fully understand your financial circumstances for better tax planning, opportunities, and reaching your personal financial goals.
Confidentiality
This is another very important trait to be on the lookout for when hiring an accountant. Go for an individual who will keep all financial details of your business private and maintain confidentiality at all times.
Objectivity
When looking to hire a business accountant, you need to be on the lookout for an individual who can remain professional and unbiased. That is, they should be able to carry out their work objectively without letting conflicts of interest and/or other external factors cloud their judgement.
Good Understanding of Business in General
An accountant who has some experience with commercial knowledge and wider financial awareness is in a better position to provide your business with more value.
Obviously, gauging this trait while speaking to a potential accountant will be quite hard, but to make things easier, you can ask them questions like; if they’ve worked outside accountancy before or if they’ve played a crucial role in helping past clients grow their business. Asking about their knowledge of commercial skills such as marketing and sales can also be helpful.
Up-to-date Knowledge
This is an obvious trait to look out for. The business accountant you hire needs to be a professional that has up-to-date knowledge of all the latest accounting rules and regulations, tax laws, and modern accounting software.
What Other Services They Offer
If growing and expanding your business is something you plan to do, then you need to bear in mind that your accounting needs are bound to change over time. You need to find an accountant that will be capable of offering the support you need as your business grows and moves forward.
The accountant you should be hiring is one that will be able to offer a variety of different services such as; tax returns, payroll, bookkeeping, regular accounting updates (management accounts), budgeting, business planning, cash flow planning, identifying and managing potential investments, financial advice, and finance administration services (managing credit control, invoicing and paying staff).
Availability and Access
While it may not seem like an issue, one of the common reasons why people look to change business accountants is the lack of access to their current accountants (they cannot get a hold of their accountant when they need them).
So, it is important that when looking to hire a business accountant, you consider how readily available they will be to meet your needs and what alternatives will be put in place in situations where they are unavailable.
Professional Behavior
This refers to an accountant’s ability to stay on top of their game at all times while also making sure to comply with the standards set by the various accounting regulatory bodies.
Conclusion
Accountants play a crucial role in helping businesses grow and achieve success. However, hiring just any accountant won’t do. You need to go for the best, and the above-mentioned traits are what you should be looking for when looking to hire an accountant for your business.
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