How to find a business accountant

One of the most important decisions that you will make for your business is who will help you to manage it finances. Many business owners turn to a business accountant to help them deal with their business finances. This is a very important decision since this is the person who will file your taxes, take care of a number of different financial matters, and offer you financial advice. You will need to make sure that you have the right person and not just someone with the right credentials. Keep in mind that you want to work with someone who has connections and resources for your business, as well. Finally, you want someone who can adequately represent you should you face a business audit. Here is what you need to know about how to find a business accountant-

- Start with referrals-One of the first things that you can do is to ask for referrals. Family, friends,and other business owners will be able to provide you with names of people that they have worked with. This can be a good way to start to find someone who has a good reputation. Best of all, you can get a firsthand account of what it was like working with prospective business accountants from your family, friends and business acquaintances.
- Start a list-As you gather names for prospective business accountants you will want to write down a list. It can also be helpful to have listed what qualification that you are looking for and what you will need them to do. Then as you get names you can compare and see if they will fit the list you already have. This can also help you to eliminate those people who don't fit your needs.
- Make preliminary contact with the names on your list-After you have whittled down your list to serious candidates you should begin by contacting them. This is still not the time to go in-depth but rather to see how many clients that they have and what they specialize in. This will give you further information about the business accountant and let you know if they will have the time to work with you and experience that you are looking for.
- Begin conducting interviews-At this point you should have a list of at least a few business accountants that you would seriously consider hiring. Now you will need to hold interviews with them to determine if you would feel comfortable working with them and letting them handle the finances of your business. It is recommended that you meet with prospective clients in their office so that they can show you directly what they can offer you. In addition, seeing their offices lets you get a better view of their professionalism and working habits.
- Focus on experience-One of the major things that you want to focus on is the experience of your prospective business accountant. You want to see that he or she has the ability and expertise to take care of the finances for your business. This is one of the reasons that it is so important to meet with several different business accountants. You should never agree to work with the first person you meet with no matter how much you like them. It can also be helpful to know how much experience the person has working with businesses in your industry since every type of business can have its own unique needs when it comes to finances.
- Take your time-Business finance experts stress that this is a process that should not be rushed. Consider the fact that you want this to be a long term working relationship so taking your time to find the right business accountant is crucial for the long term financial success of your business.