Finding the best accountant for your Business (Updated 2020)

Sep 18, 2020

Is your accountant working hard enough to reduce your taxable income?
Does your accountant plan ahead and give advice?
Are you starting out in business and looking for an accountant?
Individuals and businesses find it hard to choose an accountant when starting out in business or some businesses have an accountant but have a misconception that by changing accountants it will be difficult and they will not know enough about their business and tax affairs.

Nothing could be further from the truth. A good accountant should, in only a very short space of time, using the financial statements and tax returns prepared by your previous accountant, get a very clear picture of how a business operates and what the tax and financial issues are.

Because your accountant should be a dependable business adviser, you need an accountant that you can trust, get along with and can provide a personalised service.

What does an accountant do?

The basic services of an accountant is keeping track of how much a business owes and how much it is owed, creating financial statements (such as balance sheets, PAYG, BAS, income statements, GST and cash flow statements), and reconciling bank statements.

Additional services include:
  • Assistance with Business Plans: A business plan should question the validity of your ideas, the product/service target markets and so on and then be regularly reviewed and updated.
  • Advice on your correct Business Structure: Your business structure will define the success of your business in Australia since each module has its own per-requisites and impacts upon the business itself.
  • ABN’s: If you are running a business you will need an ABN.
  • Implementing Financial Management Systems
  • Handling Taxes: A good accountant can potentially save your business thousands of dollars through proper tax planning
  • Managing Payroll
  • Bookkeeping: One of the main reasons small businesses struggle is because there isn’t a good bookkeeping system in place. 

Here are some questions or information that you need when changing an accountant or selecting an accountant.

What is their experience? You want someone that deals with small businesses, especially those in your field.

Is timely service delivered? Numbers are constantly coming in from your business so make sure you are getting reports at least monthly.

Who will be servicing the account? Will it be the person you are meeting with or someone else that you don’t know?

What services can you expect beyond reporting? Will the accountant handle your taxes, payroll?

Will you get business consulting as well? A good accountant should become a valuable member of your team, helping you with the financial of your business so you can get on with what you are good at.

ND Accounting works alongside businesses to develop business plans, manage the bookkeeping, identify risks and the structure for taxation as well as implementing financial management systems.  For a free 30 min consultation book online here.

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