Questions To Ask A Potential New Accountant

Hiring an accountant for your small businesses makes managing the business that fair bit easier. However, choosing the most suitable applicant from a pool of qualified candidates should come from meticulous screening and questioning. But before hiring a business accountant, which questions should you ask? Here are some ideas.

1 – Which Industries Have You Worked In?

Accountants with experience can expand the knowledge and understanding of your business. Therefore, inquiring about the industries they have worked in should help people choose which candidates have more experience than the other applicants. It will also help you determine if the accountant can help you with your specific accounting needs. Asking an accountant a follow-up question of ‘What are common issues in my industry?’ is a good test to see whether your potential new accountant understands your industry. A quality accountant should be able to warn you about common, industry-specific issues that you might encounter.

2 – Do You Have A Specialty?

If the accountant has a specialty, it can be beneficial to you. Not every accountant can perform every duty. That’s why you should focus on specialty areas as part of what you ask before hiring an accountant. Whether that specialty is franchising accountants, small business accountants, business growth, business mentoring, tax preparation or even superannuation and payroll services…you need to find out what you want from your accountant. (By the way MKS Group offers all these services and more…)

3 – What Online Accounting Software Do You Support?

If you have already set up your online accounting software – such as Xero, MYOB or Quickbooks – you will want to make sure the accountant works with it. This is important because there will be times when they need to log-in to view or update your data. If you come across an accounting firm that doesn’t actively support cloud accounting solutions, this is a red flag that they are not up to date with technology. A great accountant (like the team at MKS Group) will be able to assist you regardless of what online accounting software you use.

4 – Are You Available All Year?

It might seem obvious but ask if the accountant can work with you within the year. You need to have an accountant that’s available when you need them. The accountants should be available to you throughout the year to answer any questions that you may have. Ask your potential accountant what their response time is like and how quickly they can produce reports and filings. If the unexpected happens and you need to make quick decisions, will they be available at short notice? A good accountant should be accessible and flexible, available to meet in person or online, all of which the accountants at MKS Group are.

5 – How Do Your Fees Work

Different businesses have different accounting needs. If a business only needs an accountant for tax season, it may not want to pay for year-round services. When interviewing an accountant, it is crucial to ask about their billing structure as it will ensure that you know the costs involved before hiring them. Is it flat rate? Pay by the hour? Or monthly? Whatever it may be a good accountant will be flexible and offer you a range of different options to suit your needs.

Conclusion

Businesses that do not have an accountant can run into many financial problems. They can’t keep track of their expenses or know where their money is going, resulting in them losing money and not being able to pay their bills on time. An accountant can help you avoid these problems.

MKS Group offers end-to-end accounting and bookkeeping services in Moonee Ponds (however with the beauty of cloud accounting we can service your business anywhere in Australia!) that scale and grow with the business. If you are looking for expert services to help run your business easier and save time, work with us today!