7 Great Tips For Choosing An Accountant For Your Business

This article aims to give you a few pointers for choosing an accountant to look after

the reporting of your finances - naturally, this will perhaps be on the most important relationships in you business, so you need to get it right.

So, what are the top 7 tips for choosing an accountant?

1) Be sure on what exactly you need. Do you just need someone to help you meet your statutory requirements? If so, then a larger, reputable, brand name accountancy firm will probably be your best option. However, if you are looking for specific help and someone to help guide your business financially on a regular basis, then a smaller, more responsive firm would probably be better.

2) Ask for an initial meeting. The initial meeting should be free, with a partner, and will allow you and the accountancy firm to see whether there is a match between what you are looking for, and their ability to provide it.

3) Make sure the accountant is transparent about pricing. Don't accept general answers as far as pricing is concerned, as otherwise you may be hit by unexpected, hidden charges at a later date. Tell them exactly what you need and ask them to tell you exactly how much it will costs. Also, be sure to agree on what terms, and on what timescale, payment can be made.

4) Request testimonials from existing clients. What better way to find out how good an accountancy firm is than by asking their current clients? Simply being given a list of company names isn't sufficient. Neither is a selection of quotes. What you really want are the names and contact details of senior people within some of the companies that already are already their clients.

5) Visit their website. What is your general impression of their company website? Is it easy to navigate and find what you're looking for? Is it up to date? Though not a conclusive factor in itself, a company who put time and effort into their website are more likely to make good use of technology within their services.

6) Use the internet for research. It's amazing how much information can be dredged up just by Googling a company name. As well as getting credit reports, a few minutes spent scanning search results will often point to comments on forums, recommendations or outstanding disputes, all of which can help you form a picture of the firm.

7) Ask yourself if they are proactive. When you try to contact them initially, think about how quickly and efficiently they responded. Did they reply or phone you back straight away? Did you get passed around to a few people before finally being able to get answers from someone? You can take their initial speed and comprehensiveness as a guide to what to expect from them in general should you become a client of theirs.

by: Mark Walters

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