There is great importance attached to the work done by accounting professionals. Accounting professionals are exposed to highly sensitive financial information about the organizations that they work for. They also get to handle huge sums of money on behalf of their respective organizations. It is for this reason that any serious commercial entity should strive to hire only the best accounting professionals.
This article discusses three questions you should ask before you hire the services of an accounting firm.
Are Your Accountants Chartered?
Before you get into a contractual agreement with an accounting service provider, you should seek to understand the kind of professionals that the firm has on its list of employees.
There is a difference between regular accountants and chartered accountants. For one, chartered accountants are more trained than their regular counterparts. For one to be a chartered accountant, he or she must have a relevant undergraduate qualification in addition to the qualification required for regular accountants. Under normal circumstances, it takes a minimum of seven years of training and study for one to be a qualified chartered accountant.
Chartered accountants are more suitable for business entities than regular accountants who help with filing of income tax returns, bookkeeping and so on. Chartered accountants will cost you more than regular accountants but their services are worth the extra charge.
Who Are Your Other Business Clients?
Your ultimate aim when choosing between different accounting firms is to find one whose services and work experience is of value to your commercial entity. It would therefore be helpful to ask the firm who their other business clients are so as to get an idea of the kind of accounting that the firm is used to handling.
It would be a good idea to choose an accounting firm whose other business clients are in your line of trade or one that is closely related. This would mean that the company in question has a wealth of experience dealing with clients whose business accounting needs are similar to yours.
Can You Handle Accounting For Multiple Business Entities?
It is also important to ask the accounting form whether they would be in a position to handle multiple business accounting. This is important because you may seek to widen your business investment portfolio in the future under the same business name. It would help if your accounting firm can handle the various business accounting needs of these entities.
For more information, check out companies such as Walsh & Walsh Chartered Accountants.
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