Melbourne Accountants CBD

Are you looking for an accountant in Melbourne? This article will give you some advice on the things you should consider when choosing an accountant.

I have also interviewed a respected Melbourne Accountants who reveals the top 10 things YOU should consider when selecting an Accounting firm for your business. You can listen to this FREE interview here.

How do you find a good Accountant? Recently I found myself in this position. You see I have been in business for over 15 years and had the perfect accountant. He had been doing my entire book keeping, preparing of all the financial statements and lodging all required paperwork since I opened my business. Prior to that, he had been my father’s accountant for his business for 20 years. So when he told me that he was retiring I was devastated. Where was I going to find someone as good as him? And more importantly how was I going to do it.

Why you need a good Accountant

Finding a good accountant is a very important task. A good accountant who gives quality advice is worth his weight in gold. A good accountant can help you to grow your business with detailed plans and advice and they will make sure you are not paying too much tax in the process. A good accountant will make sure all your returns are filed accurately, properly and promptly and that you get all the deductions you are entitled too. On the other hand a poor accountant that gives bad advice that can quickly lead you down the path of financial ruin, and worse that this is the accountant who knowingly cheats and embezzles you.

In this article I hope to provide you with some simple steps of how to choose a accountant that you can trust with your businesses finances.

Asking for referrals

A good way to begin your search for an accountant is to ask for referrals I felt more reassured by asking business professionals for referrals. I usually think that it’s a good idea to get the opinions of people you trust and who are in a similar business or industry to you. I asked several of my friends who were in the trade association I was in and who opinion I really valued. I also asked the opinion of my financial advisor, and my bank manager. I was then able to compile a list of prospective accountants for me to evaluate further.

Contacting Institute of Charted Accountants or CPA Australia

Another way in which you can identify a suitable accounting firm to handle your accounting needs is to contact the Institute of Charted Accountants in Australia or CPA Australia.

Both organizations are professional bodies which represent either Chartered Accountants or Certified Practicing Accountants in Australia. The purpose of such bodies are to “set the benchmark for the highest ethical, professional and educational standards” Members of these bodies need to undertake significant training to become members and need to undergo continual training to keep up their membership. I find that if you contact both organizations and tell them of your requirements they are more than happy to refer to you some of their members contact details. It is probably the easiest way to get a reliable list of quality certified accountants.

Short listing potential Accountants

After you have created a shortlist of Accountants that you think you may want to work with arrange for a time where you can meet with them to discuss what your needs are. This is a really important step in identifying a good potential accountant.

All Accountants are not the same and offer different Accounting services. The price range that I was quoted varied significantly between the different Accounting firms that were competing for my business. I learned a lot about the diverse Accounting services offered by the different Accounting firms.

I found that if I was prepared to communicate openly about my business telling them about my business and my specific business finance needs and what services I required from them it was easier for them to identify how they could help me. Obviously it was easier for me because I have been in business for a while now and sort of know they types of services I require, however little thought and preplanning about the types of services you require will make this meeting far more effective and productive for both of you.

Important questions to ask your potential accountant.

When determining which accounting firm I should choose for my business, I found it really helpful to come up with a list of questions that I wanted to ask the prospective Accounting firm. I found that this made the process fairer and also helped me to make my decisions based on a information I obtained, and not only on the partner of the firm that I was talking too (although this was also a very important criteria)

Taxation law is changing all the time. Here is a list of questions I asked, but you may want to add more questions that are specific to your business:

ü      What registrations and licenses do you have?

ü      How long has your business operating for?

ü      What areas of Accounting do you specialize in?

ü      Do you have similar types of business that you work for?

ü      What is your professional fee structure?

ü      Do you outsource any of your work?

ü      Do you perform the work personally? If not, what is the review process?

ü      Who signs the returns

ü      How long, approximately, will it take to finish my taxes?

ü      What's your privacy policy?

ü      Will you share my tax information with any third-parties?

Choosing an Accountant is one of the most important decisions that a business owner can make when he is starting his business. It can often be the difference between your business succeeding or failing. I have seen many people take this decision too lightly. Often they will just pick up a telephone directory and select an accountant that is in a convenient location for them to drive to. I hope that this article has demonstrated that the process should be given a lot more consideration.

Greg Humphrey has worked in his own business for over 15 years. He is an expert author who loves to find solutions to small business problems. Greg recommends you listen to this FREE interview with a respected Melbourne Accountant who reveals the top 10 things YOU should consider when selecting an Accountant firm for your business.