HOW TO CHOOSE AN ACCOUNTANT?

By Brian Austin, Vice Chairman, Padgett Business Services

After 40 years in the accounting profession, I have come to realize that the decision most people make when choosing an accountant is often based on a single factor or a referral. A seasoned veteran of our organization with more experience than me at the time explained to me that people just want an accountant who would CARE for them. Of course, the CARE translated into the attributes you should be looking for in an accountant or the organization they represent. So …. what does CARE stand for? Simply put,  it is COMPETENT, APPEARANCE, RESPONSIBLE and EMPATHY.

THE COMPETENT ACCOUNTANT

Business owners expect that their accountant is “competent” in the financial and tax matters that effect their operations. Unfortunately this is a Catch 22 situation as the knowledge that defines competence   is what the owner doesn’t have and is expecting to receive from their accountant.
Therefore, where does knowledge and competence come from? There are several sources including the study of accounting and finance, experience, the organization they represent and professional development to name a few. As the body of knowledge in the accounting, payroll and tax business is extensive it is important that your accountant has access this knowledge to answer your questions. It is okay for the answer to depend on a second opinion of their
organization. Find out about this organization and you will understand better the competence and knowledge of your accountant. Padgett Business Services was founded on these principles.

THE GOOD LOOKING ACCOUNTANT

I am venturing into dangerous ground with the above caption for this blog. However, the appearance of your accountant can help you make the right choice. Let’s make the assumption that most business owners want to deal
with successful people. Success will appear to you in different ways – how the person is dressed, what kind of car they drive, what kind of office they have and many other attributes. If you are hoping to have your accountant provide
organization and peace of mind to your business, then determining if they “appear” organized in their presentation to you will help you. This “image” factor extends in today’s world to the technological solutions and does your accountant employ systems that meet your business requirements. Look for these successful attributes and you will be on the way to making a good decision about your accountant.

THE RELIABLE ACCOUNTANT

The reliability is probably the key factor in establishing a trusted relationship with your accountant. If you want your questions answered then you need someone who gets back to you or visits your business on a regular basis. Someone who is reliable will also promote that peace of mind feeling that is essential in developing trust in a relationship. There are several factors that you can use to decide whether you will receive reliable service.
The first is how often you are going to interact to make sure that your system is running smoothly. Your business needs a financial checkup on a monthly basis to make sure it is working well and to allow your accountant to advise you from
a position of current knowledge. A second factor is the actual system that you are going to use and whether it delivers consistent, accurate and complete results. There are more factors but these would be better understood if you met
with one of our Padgett offices. Give us a call for a no charge presentation of what we can do for you.

THE UNDERSTANDING ACCOUNTANT

My final and most important comment on choosing the right accountant relates to the empathy or understanding of your accountant regarding your business and the challenges that you face on a day to day basis as a small business owner. At Padgett we specialize in helping all kinds of small businesses and this helps us to understand your business operations from the perspective of the thousands of other businesses we help. But more important to your decision is our ability to empathize with you as we are small business owners too. We can look beyond the administrative needs of your business and advise you on other business challenges you have in operations and marketing as we have direct experience either in our own business or in the many businesses we serve. When you develop this trusted relationship with your accountant you will know you have made the right decision.