BEST ACCOUNTANT FOR A SMALL BUSINESS
THE BEST ACCOUNTANT FOR A SMALL BUSINESS is one
whose main focus is on small business and not mainly larger companies. The accountant should be skilled at communicating with small business owners who can
feel comfortable in contacting their accountant to ask questions and get guidance in various financial aspects of
their business. Just getting a second opinion can be very valuable when truing to make an important decision.
Accountants perform a variety of functions in the market area including the following:
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Audits |
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Review engagements |
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Non-review engagements |
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Consulting |
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Bookkeeping |
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Corporate tax preparation |
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Personal tax services |
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Training |
Audits and review engagements are performed by
licensed public accountants, including, CPA's, Certified General Accountants, Certified Management Accountants and
Chartered Accountants.
Audits and review engagements are normally requested by third parties such as banks, large number of
shareholders and government agencies to support loan and grant funding.
Non-review engagements include the preparation
of financial statements from the information provided by the client. Little or no verification is carried out to
confirm the accuracy of the numbers.
Most small business owners hire accountants to complete a non-review engagement since the main objective is to
file tax returns and sometimes lenders who will accept this type of engagement.
The marketplace contains a large number of non-licensed accounting services which fill a demand by small
business owners. Usually these firms offer services at a lower rate than the certified and chartered firms. They
learn to communicate with the small business owner and will get involved in the bookkeeping process.
The small business owner must be aware of any third party needs by a banker or government agency when choosing
their accountant. Arrange meetings with a
few accountants to get an perception of the services available and your comfort level in dealing with the
accounting firm.
If you have a home based business, then you should learn how to look after your own books and have the
accountant look after the financial statements and tax returns.
Ask the accountant about the expected accounting fees in advance. You should be signing an engagement letter
which will detail the services and the accountant's liability in advance of the services being rendered. An
accounting service may be less inclined to have a written engagement letter.
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