Do you need an accountant, or are you getting the most from your current accountant?
With the uncertainty over the last few months, we’re now beginning to see some sense of normality resume as local non-essential shops and businesses open in our communities. It has been a tough time for all in both personal and business life. But now that we’re seeing lockdown easing, perhaps now is the time for you to review your financial affairs and whether your business would benefit from working with an accountancy firm.
Accountants – your business advisor
Working with an accountancy practice to conduct your financial matters is not just about end of year tax returns. Accountants can offer an advisory service so that your business can benefit from years of expertise to help you reach your business goals.
By helping you navigate your financial journey and understanding your business strategy, an accountancy practice can provide financial forecasting and budgeting so that you can achieve your goals.
When you visit an accountant’s website, check the range of services they offer to see that business advice is a key part of their offering.
At McKenzies, our advisory services include budgets and forecasts, tax planning reviews, VAT health checks and business valuations. We offer review meetings at a frequency suitable for you be it monthly or quarterly.
What to look for from an accountancy firm?
As if you were buying a new product, make sure you do necessary checks about your accountancy firm before you start working with them. They need to understand you and your business as you will be working closely to achieve your goals.
Working with a Chartered Accountancy practice means you can draw on a team of experts to help your business flourish. Check qualifications such as accreditation to a professional body.
It’s good to set up a meeting with an accountant before you book them for their services – this can easily be done remotely via video conference these days. Key areas that an accountancy practice can handle for you so that you can concentrate on running the day to day business include:
- financial reporting
- compliance
- payroll
- Tax planning
- business planning
- corporation tax
- personal tax returns
But, what’s really important is that you have rapport with the person or team handling your finances and sensitive business transactions. Check that the accountant is the right fit for you and your business.
Ask for them to explain if you don’t understand certain terms. Only then can you have the best relationship to drive your business accountants forward.
Financial budgets and forecasts
An accountant will work closely with you to prepare a budget providing a plan for what you want your business to achieve. A forecast will also allow you to track your progress to achieve your financial goal.
Working in an advisory capacity, a team of accountants that you employ can manage your accounts, closely monitoring your financial forecast and make sure that you are on track to achieve long and short-term goals. This means that should the unexpected happen such as the Covid-19 pandemic, necessary changes can be made to your financial forecast to help keep you on track.
Cloud-based accounting
Most accounting firms will offer cloud-based services. For example, accounting software like Xero or QBO helps to manage your finances on a daily basis while allowing you to work with an accountant on the more detailed aspects of accounting.
We are partners to Xero, QuickBooks online and Sage, so that we can offer online 24hr bookkeeping services. We are also looking at introducing other technology driven services to reduce manual data processing so that we can deliver both competitive compliance services and value driven advisory services.
Financial advisory services for growth
Our team are on hand to help you navigate your accounts so that you can achieve your strategic business goals.
Get in touch to talk about our advisory services and how we can help drive your business forward.