Tag: accountant utah

Top 4 Importance of Hiring an Accountant

Categories Financial Services,

It doesn’t matter whether your business is service oriented or product focused. All businesses are centered around finances. From annual budgets to profit and loss statements. There are a variety of documents that require to be prepared by an accountant. If you are good in numbers or your business is operating on a tight budget, it may seem like a good idea to prepare the annual budget and financial statements on your own. However, it is always advisable you hire a professional accountant. A CPA Salt Lake City is qualified and knowledgeable to handle your business’ accounting and tax matters. This is not the case when you rely on internal staff to handle your financials.

It goes without saying that taxation and accounting involves a lot of numbers. If you are not the kind of person who loves math or you would rather focus on sales than prepare tax returns, then it is a wise idea to hire an accountant. A certified public accountant is a professional who loves math, are accurate with numbers and can help you prepare your financials. It can be difficult for an ordinary employee to understand the tax laws because of the varying rules used by the Federal, State and local tax authorities. In addition, the tax rules are updated periodically which can be challenging for an ordinary employee with other roles to stay at par.

Accountants are aware of these changes and for them to be considered as competent, their profession requires them to be up to date with latest industry changes, including accounting standards and tax laws. As a result, using a CPA Salt Lake City will help your business be on the right side of the Internal Revenue Service. As a small business, it may seem like a costly undertaking to hire an accountant Utah. However, the reality is that the benefit of hiring a certified accountant outweighs the cost. The following are the top 4 importance of hiring an accountant.

  1. They will save you time

Time is a valuable resource just like money. If you lack time, you are unable to meet clients, grow your business and outshine your competition. The problem is that time is a limited resource for most business owners. You only have 24 hours in a day to complete your daily tasks and having a good work-life balance can be a challenge if have more on your plate. Preparing your finances can be a time-consuming task especially if you are understaffed. Instead of doing your bookkeeping, tax returns, and record receipts on your own, you can hire an accountant to assist you. An accountant will save you time on these time-consuming roles so that you can focus on core areas of your business and life.

  1. Avoid an audit

An IRS audit can make any business owner, either of a start-up or an established enterprise, tremble like a willow leaf. Filing tax returns that do not add up can lead to hefty fines imposed by the IRS. Although there is a slim chance of your business being audited, it is always advisable you use an accountant to prepare and file your tax returns. Don’t wait until it is too late and you have received an IRS audit that is when you hire an accountant. Hiring an accountant well in advance can help your business avoid an IRS audit.

  1. They can assist you with any accounting task

To be a certified public accountant, it takes many years of rigorous training. This makes them competent enough to perform complex accounting tasks that cannot be performed by ordinary professionals. Small businesses do not have an in-depth knowledge of accounting policies and procedures. Any mistake in your accounting can cost your business lots of money or even bring it down to its knees. However, hiring a knowledgeable accountant can save you money and ensure no accounting mistakes are made.

  1. Experts in tax

It can be complicated for business owners to understand tax laws. When you hire an accountant, they will ensure that your business is in compliance with statutory tax laws and that you pay the required tax amount. Also, tax returns may be somehow complex for business owners to prepare on their own. There are different methods that can be used to reduce your tax bills. However, small business owners may not have the expertise or time to utilize these methods to cut costs. Hiring an accountant can help your business reduce tax bills.

The Right CPA For Your Business Needs

Categories Financial Services, , ,

There’s truly no limit to the reasons a business may seek out the assistance of a Certified Public Accountant (CPA). Sure, they’re known for handling tax concerns, but the truth is that accountants can be an integral part of any successful business, handling matters far beyond yearly tax returns. Organizations of every type and size utilize CPAs for everything from financial planning to more involved management roles within the company, and selecting the right individual or firm for the needs and demands of your particular business is not a task that should be taken lightly.

Regardless of the primary motivation for enlisting their aid, here are a few things to consider when choosing a CPA.

Look For A CPA with Experience in Assisting Businesses Like Yours

As with any important professional position, experience should play a key role in your decision of whom to work with. It’s important that any accountant you are considering not only have general accounting experience, but is also knowledgeable in the particular field or fields for which you are seeking help.

When you meet with prospective CPAs, be prepared to explain exactly what services you will require and then ask about their qualifications in those particular areas. Even the most highly skilled, frequently recommended individual may not be the right fit for your particular needs, so it’s important to ensure that both parties are fully aware of how the relationship will work and the responsibilities that will be placed on the accountant who is eventually hired.

Be Sure To Fully Understand The Business Relationship

To ensure that you are setting both your business and your new accountant Utah up for success, it’s vital to understand exactly how the professional relationship will be handled. Before making your final choice, be sure you know the answers to each of these questions.

* Are you hiring an individual or a firm?
– One is not necessarily better than the other, but it’s important that you recognize whether your accounting and/or consulting will be undertaken by one person or by a group of individuals. Independent accountants can sometimes offer more personal service, but may become overwhelmed during busier times of year like the tax season. Meanwhile, larger accounting firms may have more resources at their disposal but may not be able to offer the one-on-one interaction you’re looking for. However, every situation is different so be sure to find out what type of service you can expect.

* Who will be doing the actual work?
– Is the person you’re meeting with during the initial interview process the same person who you’ll be interacting with if you decide to hire that particular firm? It’s important to speak directly with the individual who will be handling your affairs to ensure you’ll be able to easily work together moving forward.

* How will future meetings and communications be handled?
– The logistical details of hiring an outside firm or individual are an important consideration. Be sure to establish the preferred method of communication between your business and your accountant and discuss what type of meetings will need to take place and when they might be scheduled.

* What are the fees and what is included?
– Obviously you’ll want to clearly establish and understand the billing procedure of any perspective CPA. Smaller firms or individuals tend to be less expensive, but it’s important to consider what is and is not included in their suite of services to determine if they’ll be able to offer everything you need at their quoted price.

Don’t Hesitate To Interview Multiple Accountants

It may be tempting to simply hire the first candidate who seems qualified to do the job, but a certain amount of perspective can be an essential tool when choosing the best accountant for your particular business. At times, the only way to fully appreciate the differences between the offerings of various CPAs is to compare them to what other individuals or firms can provide. You should interview between three and five CPAs before making your final decision. This extra bit of diligence, along with the guidelines outlined above, will help ensure a lasting and mutually beneficial relationship.

A Certified Public Accountant (CPA) is the professional helping hand to help you with efficient business cash management. You can expect every account to be accurate and witness an increase in your business earnings by hiring the services of a CPA.

Learn from the following discussion about the role of a CPA in business cash management:

Analysis of Existing Financial Situation

A CPA begins his work by analyzing the current financial situation of the business. For this, he will use the financial statements and budget information to establish information about total debt to equity ratio, net profit on sales, inventory turnovers, current inventory and existing liabilities. This further enables him to assess the current cash management policies of your business and changes that are required to be introduced.

Cash Forecasting

Cash forecasting is an important procedure that every business should carry out. This involves the evaluation of daily, monthly, annual, as well as seasonal cash patterns and trends. Short term forecasts are as important as medium term and long term forecasts. A CPA helps you with precise cash forecasting by using the best software tools
available in the industry.

Improvement in Budget

Preparing a good business budget is highly critical for cash management. You may have a budget plan in hand, but it might not be effective enough to take care of things like cash flow management, cash outflow control, cash investment, and so on. A CPA uses his industry experience to improve the budget of your company.

Cash Flow Anticipation and Enhancement

A CPA analyzes the cash flow sources for your business operations. He makes sure that your business never runs out of cash by assisting in cash flow enhancement. The CPA you hire will also help you maintain the balance between cash inflow and outflow so that you always have enough cash for emergency situations.

Cash flow enhancement includes improvement in billing and collection procedures and schedules. Preparation of right discount policies is also important to let the business maintain good relations with its customers without letting the cash flow ebb.

Control on Cash Disbursement

A CPA prepares different plans to ensurethat the cash is disbursed in an efficient manner and no cash loss occurs in the process. This involves controlling the cash outflow by scheduling the business payments in the best possible manner. For example, a CPA helps you to schedule the time and amount for your debt payments so that your business budget is not affected by it. This also helps you maintain a good reputation for your business in the market.

The CPA also helps in evaluating the purchasing policies of the business. It is important that you have the most cost-effective purchasing policies for your business. It requires you to deal with the vendors that have the most favorable terms to offer supplies at the right prices to your business. All this can be done by implementing the expertise and suggestions of a CPA.

Making Right Cash Investments

An important aspect of cash management that is often ignored by the business houses is investing the cash which is currently not in use. You must choose the right investment vehicles to ensure that your cash grows and helps your business maintain a steady cash flow.

At the same time, you must be aware of the tax consequences of business cash investments. A CPA helps the business by suggesting the most suitable investment plans that lets your business dollars expand. The CPA also helps manage tax consequences so that your business has to face minimum tax liabilities.

Financial Reporting

Preparation of regular financial reports and an annual financial report at the end of every financial year helps a business learn about its profits and losses on a short-term and long-term basis. A CPA hired to take care of cash management shoulders the responsibility of preparing precise financial reports. You can expect your business cash handling to become efficient with the help of accurate financial reporting.

As you can see, a CPA offers great help to a business owner to help the latter manage business cash. An effective cash management system can be established and integrated with the business machinery so that the most important business asset offers best advantages to your company. For all this to happen, make sure that you hire a reputed and expert CPA. Consider the recommendations of other business owners to explore your options.