How to Choose the Accountant that suit you Best?

The accountant is often the person who knows the business best from the numbers. Sales, purchases, expenses, taxes… the reading grid available to an accountant makes him the most precious ally of the entrepreneur so that the latter can make the best decisions. But how do you choose an accountant when you don’t know any? Choose the closest? The most expensive? The most ‘connected’? Koalaboox takes stock.

For a new entrepreneur, it is tempting: to save a little money, he will prefer to try to manage a maximum of management tasks by himself. And accounting in the first place. However, the strength of an independent is precisely to know how to surround himself. In particular that of a (good) accountant. Without a doubt the most precious ally, he will guarantee the maintenance and validity of the company’s accounts but will also be a full-fledged advisor for the healthy development of the business. Choosing the right accountant is therefore essential!

Here are 4 essential elements to help you choose:

RECOGNITION – IS IT REGISTERED WITH THE INSTITUTE OF CHARTERED ACCOUNTANTS?

Choose a certified public accountant “premium”!

In order not to depend solely on the results of your Google search of the ” good independent Belgian accountant ” style, we advise you to consult the IEC (Institute of Chartered Accountants and Tax Consultants) website as a basic check or also the IPCF (Professional Institute of Chartered Accountants and Tax specialists ). The profession is highly regulated and this simple precaution makes it possible to avoid coming across “Sunday” accountants or even practicing illegally. A simple search on the directory of the order of chartered accountants or the directory of Koalaboox compatible chartered accountants can answer this question.

AVAILABILITY – IS IT SUFFICIENTLY AVAILABLE concerning MY NEEDS AND EXPECTATIONS?

Does that seem obvious to you? And yet… Choosing an accountant means finding a partner whose operation coincides with yours! The availability of your future accountant is a very important point that must guide your choice, for two reasons:

• – you must be informed as soon as possible of changes in legislation, possible financial problems to come…;
• – you will certainly, more or less regularly, need your accountant to accompany you on urgent subjects ;
• – you will need a real advisor who can take the time to help you manage your business.

The accountant you choose must be easily reachable and regularly available to answer your questions. Do not hesitate to discuss this subject from the start with the accountants you will contact. Ask how often they interact with their customers and how they collaborate daily. Do they set a schedule of regular contacts or is the operation less framed?

Also, find out about the number of collaborators with whom the accountant you request is working. The size of the practice can affect the way you operate and you will probably want to avoid overworked professionals, who have little time to spare.

ADVICE – DOES IT HAVE AN “ADVICE” APPROACH?

Know it, your future accountant will take care of a large number of subjects:

• – bookkeeping,
• – establishment of annual reports,
• – tax returns,
• – various analyzes, etc.

Some accountants will tell you at the outset: ” My job is encoding and presenting the figures “. It has the merit of being clear, but is it sufficient? In our opinion, where it will bring even more added value is on the advice. A true “business partner”, he is one of the interlocutors who know your company most precisely (and supports certain companies that operate in a similar sector). His expertise will allow him to guide you by doing much more than “encoding numbers”.

Until recently, Charles-François Gillet, accountant, and head of a fiduciary in Belgium explained to us that ” Still too many accountants tend to think that the role of their profession is to put figures in” Excel “boxes and that the appearance of new connected services such as Koalaboox constitutes a danger for firms … It is a very simplistic vision of the contribution of a chartered accountant. We worked every day to get rid of the entry formalities as quickly as possible and focus on the most important :

• – understand and share the activity of our customers;
• – identify reporting needs and development objectives;
• – propose solutions and advice/support on everyday subjects which can be decisive for the success of the business project.

Do not hesitate to ask your future accountant how he puts into practice the consulting dimension of his profession. Engaging in the discussion will ensure that you are in tune with him!

Charles-François Gillet tells us all about his job in 30 seconds flat!

INTERACTION – DOES IT USE ONLINE MANAGEMENT SOLUTIONS?

When choosing an accountant in Perth, there are several advantages to favoring a firm using one or more online management solutions, such as electronic invoicing. First of all, from a geographic point of view, you stay within clicks, even if you travel a lot. You are no longer obliged to limit yourself to accountants close to you: online solutions allow you to work remotely very easily and to automate repetitive tasks as much as possible (export of invoices or sharing of reports, for example). Learn about the processes in place in the office: are the exchanges paperless or do many subjects still deal with paper or Excel spreadsheets?

Disembark at his accountant’s with his shoe boxes… A distant memory?

Online management solutions like Koalaboox allow you to collaborate very easily online and in real-time with your accountant:

• – you have access at any time to your financial situation ;
• – you save time daily and minimize the risk of error;

For your part, your accountant can quickly detect anomalies and free up time to advise you in your general management.

A real team effort!