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Most small businesses can not afford a full-time accountant and use the services of freelancers or outsourcing firms. The experience of cooperation is not always successful. Correcting mistakes is always expensive. Scientists interviewed entrepreneurs and accountants to find out what you should pay attention to when choosing a freelance accountant, so you do not regret your decision.
A newly hired accountant doesn’t bother you for weeks. Think you lucky? Most likely, exactly the opposite. A normal accountant should care how the records are kept in the company with which he cooperates: he constantly asks something, requires some additional documents. If an accountant is quiet, most likely, he simply “draws” balance sheets without focusing on primary documentation. And this means that there will be problems with the tax audit.
A good accountant should keep the details of all your primary documents (contracts, invoices, acts), stuffing them into the database. When asked where this or that tax figure came from, he should be able to quickly, within 5-10 minutes, provide an answer with reference to the necessary documents to justify his position. If he cannot, then it is a mess in the documents.
Professional rechecks everything. The most professional business accountants offer the following test: make a contract with an error - for example, one digit in the recipient’s current account number is missing. Give it to the accountant and offer to make a payment. If an accountant recklessly rewrites incorrect details into it, it means that he is a bad one. The right accountant will definitely notice and correct the error.
Ask about the previous place of work of an accountant, ask what they did, what experience they have. We divide accounting by complexity into three levels. The easiest is in the service sector, the medium is in trade and the most difficult is in manufactures. Keep in mind that an accountant who has worked at a difficult level can also deal with easier topics, but on the contrary, most likely it will not work.
An experienced accountant is able to find a common language with the tax terms. This is necessary for everyday work, and even more when an audit is carried out. If the accountant constantly complains about the tax inspectorate - this is a bad sign.
A good accountant is not one who delivers balance sheets in time, but someone who knows the laws and constantly offers the manager different methods of legal tax optimization. During work, he begins to offer something, and it is clear that it turns out, taxes are reduced.
Usually, an outsourcing accountant is led by several firms. Try to figure out how much work your contractor has. If he has the main job and 45 side clients, it is unlikely that your company will receive enough attention. Without prejudice to the quality of one accountant can serve no more than a dozen firms.
Don't get fooled by low pay. Cheaper is not always better. But the high price is not a guarantee of quality. Ask about the achievements of your potential affiliate at a previous job. Check the accuracy of education. If this candidate is not credible, do not be afraid to refuse and look further. Since this is a person who is very important for the well-being of your company.
