The Benefits of a Personalized Approach: How to Find an Accountant That Can Tailor Services to Your Business Needs

Handling finances and being financially literate are prerequisites for business success. Still, just because you consider yourself “good with money” doesn’t mean you should do your own accounting. For this, you need a professional.

The biggest problem with this is that no one knows your business like you do. So, naturally, you fear that a random outsider will just handle your business's finances with a generic approach and treat you like everyone else.

This doesn’t have to be the case. If you find the right accountant, they can tailor services to your business needs. Here’s how you can find this specialist. 

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1. Look at their previous experience

The first thing you want is to examine their previous experience. It takes a couple of years for an accountant to get enough experience for independent work. However, it’s not just the experience in accounting that counts. Ideally, you want someone with the specific experience you want.

What does this mean?

• First, it could mean you’re looking for someone who has worked in your industry. This way, they’ll have the industry-related knowledge your business can benefit from. Also, it means that they know what they’re doing and have all the contacts they need.

• The next thing you want to check is if they’ve worked with other similar-sized businesses. This is important since the number of invoices, accounting issues, payroll matters, and similar factors will translate. So, even if they’ve worked in the same industry if they've worked with a much smaller or a much larger enterprise, their experience won’t translate as well.

Bear in mind that even though a personalized approach is better, they’re still an accountant. Your enterprise's finances are not some grand mystery to them, and it shouldn’t take too long to figure it out. Still, finding someone with the right set of experiences can facilitate this process and ensure they’re the right fit for you.

2. Prepare for an interview and test potential accountants

While you can believe all these testimonials and certificates, it’s far better to check them for yourself during an interview. 

Now, there’s an issue here. You would have to know quite a bit about accounting to test them. In fact, you would have to know so much that you wouldn’t even need them.

Fortunately, there’s a way around this. You can find reliable accounting tests for interviews online and use them to determine the right fit. Interview preparation is something you need to do as a recruiter, as well, not just as an applicant.

Accountants make these tests with a lot of experience in the field, giving you the insight you need to tell the right person for this role.

These tests also allow you to be less biased in your job evaluation. The problem with biases is that you’re not always consciously making them. Sometimes, you’re unaware that someone has made a good or wrong impression on you. The thing is that these biases still affect your decision-making process. 

The most important aspect of your interview is that you’re trying to predict their job performance. Two people with the same qualifications will perform quite differently. A personalized approach to this matter can help you figure this out as early on as possible. 

3. Make your own list of requirements

The next thing you need to do is make your own list of requirements. Having the right interview questions and tests is great, but if they can’t fulfill the exact role you’re hiring for, they’re just not the right match for your business.

There are two major issues that you should address right away. 

• Do you need a certified public accountant (CPA)? Believe it or not, this will drastically narrow your search since not every accountant is certified. So, if this is the case, it should be one of the first things you list and one of the first questions you ask.

• Do you need bookkeeping services, or do you keep your own books? If the first is the case, you’ll need someone who can produce statements (weekly, monthly, or even quarterly). While they’re at it, they need to be able to evaluate the financial health of your enterprise. Generally speaking; however, it’s always best to outsource bookkeeping.

Aside from this, you want to define the role clearly. YOu would be surprised at what some enterprises ask accountants to do. You would also be surprised at the basic tasks that some legit accountants skip. So, to avoid any potential confusion (however unlikely), put it all in writing. An accountant needs to:

• Prepare your tax returns

• Identify as many deductions as possible

• Make cash flow strategies

• Create financial reports

• Recognize problems in your current financial habits

While these requirements are incredibly basic, and no one would expect less from an accountant, it’s still important that you point them out.

4. Change where you’re looking for them

Where do you find an accountant?

This is not a simple question to answer. While you can look for online accountants on spaces like LinkedIn and even Upwork, the truth is that you want to go through more formal channels. For instance, you might want to go through the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA). 

Also, reputation is everything in this field, so you might want to look for word-of-mouth recommendations. Chances are that you have other friends who are entrepreneurs. Ask them who is doing their accounting and how satisfied they are.

In accounting, top experts never work with a single client. In-house accountants kept on a retainer are rare; only a few companies do accounting in-house. At the same time, you don’t want an overworked accountant. They’re only human and might accept more work than they can handle. In this scenario, they will unintentionally neglect your business in favor of others (and vice-versa). In any case, the quality of work will plummet.

One more option is that you outsource your accounting. This way, you’re entrusting all these talent-management issues to someone with more experience and know-how. 

5. Make an extra step during the evaluation process

We’ve already mentioned that you should look for evaluations and develop the best questions to ensure they’re the right person for the job. Still, what else can you do to ensure this is the case?

For starters, you should schedule to meet them in person. If you’re hiring remotely and they’re on the other side of the continent, you can meet up via a video conferencing tool. Still, hiring an accountant who is far away is usually not the smartest of moves. After all, you want someone familiar with your state's rules, regulations, and taxes. This means someone within your driving radius, ideally in your city. So, meeting face-to-face should always be a viable option.

You could also do a bit of research. For instance, check them out on LinkedIn and determine what kinds of companies they’ve worked at. Try to draw some parallels with your own business. 

Also, you might want to check out their social media. This way, you will know whether they’re the right cultural fit for your enterprise. Just bear in mind that their social media is not representative of how they do business.

6. Be ready to pay up

The services of a professional accountant are not cheap. This is one specialist that you shouldn’t try to save money on. A bad accountant will cost you more than a good one, and you risk serious legal trouble.

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the median accountant's salary is $78,000. Now, you can pay as little as $48,560; however, you can also pay as high as $132,690. When hiring professionals, you must pay wages worthy of their skill and experience.

Remember that when hiring, you can’t directly speak to all the accountants worldwide. You’re just sending your message into the aether and hoping that someone worthy of your time will pick it up. The thing is that with a decent salary, your reach will grow exponentially. More people will notice, but more people will also spread the news. People who know great accountants might DM them your job application link.

Also, if you want to be taken seriously as a company, you must pay satisfactory wages. This also affects your reputation in the field.

Now, there are many factors here. You could be doing your bookkeeping or need some specialist approach to the subject matter. Both of these will affect the cost. 

Finding an accountant that’s a perfect fit for your enterprise is difficult but worth it

Try to understand that the person you’re looking for won’t be easy to find. So, start by understanding what you want in an accountant. Then, make an offer that would attract this person. Most importantly, research them and prepare for the interview. There’s no shortcut around it. 

By Srdjan Gombar

Veteran content writer, published author, and amateur boxer. Srdjan is a Bachelor of Arts in English Language & Literature and is passionate about technology, pop culture, and self-improvement. His free time he spends reading, watching movies, and playing Super Mario Bros. with his son.