How To Hire an Accountant for Your Small Business

A famous phrase associated with accounting is “Behind every good businessman is a great accountant”. A good accountant does more for a business than just crunching numbers. He or she converts the “language of business” into practical financial solutions to drive your business to greater heights. From managing day-to-day matters such as cash flow, compiling financial documents and filing taxes, accountants also offer invaluable strategic insights on how your small business can grow with the available resources.

But how does one go about looking for such a competent accountant in the first place? As a small business owner, chances are you handled the bookkeeping and accounting of your business yourself. But as the scope and scale of your business expands, so will the workload and numbers. So hiring a specialist who can take up the reins of your accountancy needs would be advisable for you and your business.

How To Hire An Accountant For Your Small Business   

Here’s what you need to do to hire the best accountant for your business:

Understanding Your Accounting Needs

The first step to hiring a competent accountant is identifying and defining your business’s requirements. What exactly do you need an accountant for? Only to maintain your daily books and manage cash flows and invoices? Or do you need someone with specialized knowledge of taxation rules and how to use available tax deductions effectively? If you plan to expand your business, you might need someone with experience in financial planning. While many accountants do most of these tasks quite well, some specialize in certain areas, giving them an edge over others. By honestly and correctly understanding your financial needs, you can hire an accountant who fits the bill perfectly and can help you enhance the scope of your business activities.

You can hire a full-time in-house accountant or outsource your accounting to an accounting agency. Both have their pros and cons, of course. However, being a small business, spending smart is a significant priority. In that case, outsourcing an accountant would be more economical than paying a salary to a full-time employee. Outsourced accountants can be hired per your requirements, even monthly or quarterly. You need to figure out what suits your financial needs and decide accordingly.

Careful Selection of Potential Candidates

What are the basic qualifications of a good accountant?  Most importantly, he or she is a chartered professional accountant (CPA) or holds other equally recognized certifications. Apart from obvious things like in-depth knowledge of accountancy and, if possible, some experience and/or specialization, a good accountant must have other skills as well, such as:

• Technical and analytical assessment skills that can help transform numerical data into actionable insights and valuable projections
• A logical and problem-solving mindset to find solutions to any problems that might arise in the business
• Practical communication skills for interacting with employees or even potential investors
• Technological know-how that can enable them to use the latest accounting software and industry tools to streamline and enhance financial efficiency and accuracy

An excellent way to gauge if potential candidates fulfil these requirements is to ask them specific scenario-based questions during the interview and see how they respond.

Security Screening

An accountant handles all the sensitive information about your business. Therefore, do a thorough background check and cross-check all references to ensure they score high on reliability, confidentiality, and professionalism. Study their websites carefully and consult your professional network before making a decision.

Also, inquire in detail about their data protection policies and security measures. Ensure they have state-of-the-art firewalls and encryption systems before handing over your data.

Cost and Pricing

An accountant is integral to any financial or business system and commands a good paycheck. The more experienced and renowned an accounting agency, the higher its charges might be. Considering that your business is still relatively small, it is necessary to take note of these things before signing on the dotted line. Ask, and if required, negotiate to get a good deal with a good accounting agency that can help you on the way ahead. Some accountancy agencies offer per-hour services or even fixed-pricing packages. If the agency or accountant has the specialized skill set needed to enhance your business, try to figure out how to make the deal work. For instance, you could probably get the specialist to audit your accounts quarterly instead of monthly and hire another, more reasonably priced accountant for day-to-day tasks.

Seamless Integration into the Business

If your business is already established and flourishing without a professional accountant at the helm, it’s up to you to integrate your new associate into the business setup. Explain your business and its nitty-gritty to the accountant and provide them with all the past financial data and documents so they can get a fair picture of the business is direction. But remember, your small business is your baby. So, regularly monitor and review the performance of the hired accountant. Also, it emphasizes the need for transparent and clear communication within the business to remain updated on all business-related financial news.

Reliability, transparency, and security are the pillars of a healthy business owner-accountant relationship. Taking precautions while hiring an accountant will help ensure your business stays in good hands and accelerate its journey to growth and expansion. A good accountant is like the backbone of a company, so hire responsibly.

Contact Black and Gill LLP in the GTA for Your Accounting Needs

At Black and Gill LLP, our trained and experienced accountants can provide various services, from preparing books of accounts to analyzing trends and auditing financial processes. To learn more about how Black and Gill LLP can provide you with the best accounting expertise, contact us online or call us at 416-477-7681 to learn more about how we can help you and your business.