Are you tired of blog articles that offer “mind-blowing” reasons to do something without delivering on the promise?
Wouldn’t you like to have a practical guide to something important like hiring a CPA firm?
You must protect your bottom-line from unnecessary expenses or risk losing your business. It’s nice to be the boss, but that doesn’t mean others don’t want to piggyback on your success.
Don’t procrastinate. Read this practical guide to hiring a CPA, look past the noise, and decide for yourself if you need to type “CPA near me” into Google.
What Are the Practical Reasons to Hire a CPA?
So, what’s a CPA?
A certified public accountant provides financial planning, bookkeeping, document preparation, and tax return services. CPA requirements include rigorous educational training, experience, and passing the Uniform CPA Exam for your state.
1. Prepare for a Tax Audit
You can assume that you need to prepare for a tax audit, especially if you haven’t been through one yet. A CPA has the know-how to represent you for appeals and payment issues. When you have a firm in your corner before a tax audit occurs, you already have the paperwork prepared according to IRS expectations.
2. Your CPA Is Available Year-Round
Most people associate a certified public accountant with tax time. If you’re limiting your conversations with a CPA to January through April, you’re not taking full advantage of the services available to you.
Your CPA firm can provide business advice based on your financial data. Few vendors present that type of value to your strategic planning, so why wouldn’t you take advantage of the opportunity?
3. Save Time, Money, and Energy
Do you spend most of your time fixing problems or improving your business? Be honest with yourself. If you’re trying to fill the gaps in your business, you can’t tell the forest from the trees.
Don’t waste more time swearing at your tax forms. You can waste precious time while you organize, prepare, research, and file your taxes.
What kind of changes could you create if you didn’t have to expend that much energy? Hiring a CPA gives you the space you need to focus on what matters.
4. Improve Your Record Keeping
Have you asked a tax professional about the easiest way to increase your tax deductions? They likely told you to improve your recordkeeping. You can’t get more tax deductions without tracking and collecting your business expenses.
A CPA firm should offer best practices for your bookkeeping processes. When you create an organized strategy, you’ll be in a much better position when tax time rolls around again.
5. Maximize Your Tax Deductions
Unless you’re a CPA, it’s impossible to know all the deductions available to your business. An experienced certified public accountant can help you maximize your tax deductions every year. Every tax deduction your firm finds means less steam shooting out of your ears when you review your annual tax burden.
For the short term, doing your bookkeeping yourself can save money. While it’s possible to file your taxes with something like QuickBooks, it’s easy to make mistakes. If you have a business that requires filing in multiple states, that’s all the more reason to consider hiring a firm like CKO CPAs & Advisors.
6. No More Worrying About Financial Statement Preparation
A CPA can prepare financial documents to fit any financial situation.
You can expect basic financial statements to start. Your accountant will give you clear reports that outline the financial health of your business or personal finances. When a CPA prepares documents, you can expect to see “no assurance is provided” on every page of the report.
Compilation reports should come from an accountant who knows the operations of your business. You want someone engaged with your industry to prepare and present financial statements to lenders.
You also don’t have to worry about details for financial reviews for a loan application or financing.
Audits require the most effort for your CPA firm. Accountants must verify your numbers as best they can by examining your bank account, assets, and inventory. Beyond tax purposes, you need this service when you sell or merge your company.
7. You Lower Your Cost of Doing Business
How many costs for your business can you think of that you suspect could disappear with the right guidance? Hiring a CPA allows you to reduce your financial burden.
Hiring a CPA lowers your business costs by providing the following services:
- Streamlining growth strategies
- Providing valuation services for business property
- Lower your tax burden by identifying new deductions
- Identify cost-cutting options you didn’t see before you hired a CPA
- Removing financial tasks that allow you to focus more on your business
- Guidance making decisions that support your financial goals and growth strategy
What Questions Should You Ask a CPA?
Before you decide which CPA to hire for your tax or business needs, don’t forget to ask the following questions:
- Who will sign your tax return?
- What’s their tax background or specialty?
- How will they support you during an audit?
- Do they outsource their bookkeeping work?
- Are they familiar with your business industry?
- Are they a paper or cloud-based accounting firm?
- Do they bill hourly, or do they offer a monthly retainer?
- What tax software do they use to prepare your returns?
- Do they have a Preparer Tax Identification Number (PTIN)?
- Are they willing to act as an advisor when you decide to take out a loan?
Do You Want to Know More About Hiring a CPA?
You have seven practical reasons to hire a CPA firm, but do you have enough to justify the expense? Before you click away, take five minutes to make notes from this post. Call three firms and ask the questions that matter the most to you and your business goals.
Did you find this post useful? Don’t forget to check out more articles from our business section.