Taking the steps to hire a competent and honest accountant

Accounting is very essential in anyone's life and more so to succeed in business. A knowledgeable, competent and honest accountant assists in the planning of business growth, the maximization of business profit and the expectation of financial problems that might threaten the continuing existence of a business. Hiring an honest and competent accountant doesn't guarantee entrepreneurial success. But not taking the time and the steps to look for a knowledgeable and skilled accountant virtually guarantees business failure.

Hiring an accountant is the solution to knowing accounting and staying organized.No matter
how competent you may be in performing your own accounting, a hired professional who keeps a company's books on a periodic basis is far more adequate and cost effective for the business owner's day by day monitoring of transactions and company performance. In addition, the accountant would provide financial statements of the overall business status anytime you need. He can print a report weekly, monthly, quarterly or annually anytime you need them. You don't need to worry about running your business and taking care of your accounting as well.

Should you consider hiring an accountant? Yes! Resolving to open or to expand a business without having competent and honest accountants working for you is a lot like resolving to become a computer programmer without knowing anything about computers, software and programming. It's simply not possible. It doesn't matter if you operate a small business out of your home, or you have a well run business with employees and significant revenue. It's very important that you consider hiring someone competent, honest, hard working and who can follow the following steps on a monthly basis:

- Keep a record. A competent accountant should be able to keep an accurate accounting report using the appropriate software on a regular basis. He needs to have knowledge of using a simple accounting program on the computer and be able to keep track of the books. He needs to be flexible to respond to the needs of your business accordingly. Depending on the size of your business, he needs to be dedicated to spend the time necessary to keep your books up to date. You can ask some of your associates for recommendations or referrals.
- Know your profit and loss as well as your cash flow. Make sure the accountant that you anticipate to hire can follow your requests like printing out the profit and loss statement each month as well as cash flow records for you to analyze so you can stay current about what's going on. If you lack the skill of reading or understanding printed statements, the accountant should be able to assist you in learning how to read and understand them.
- The prospective accountant should prepare a cash flow projection for the next 30 days or preferably 60-90 days ahead so you can have an idea where you stand as far as spending the money on the needs of your business, paying your bills, and setting attainable goals for your business.
- You need a very dependable and enjoyable accountant to work with since you have to work with him at least four times a year (once to prepare your taxes, another time to ensure that you are on target to meet your financial goals, the next meeting to keep yourself updated and finally to have an overview of the overall performance of your business for improvement or changes for the following year).

The size of your business doesn't matter; hiring an accountant is very important. You want someone that is competent, knowledgeable about the business tax laws and that can help you manage your business to stay profitable. Focus on these steps above when hiring an accountant; it will help you grow and build a very successful business.