Accountants play a vital role in the modern day business world, as they offer many vital services such as completing your tax returns, bookkeeping, cash flow projections, payroll, and even online accounting. If you run a small business, making the right choice is particularly important because at the outset your accountant is likely to be your only professional adviser.



The good news is that there are a few key steps you can take to maximise your chances of finding an accountant who meets your needs. Remember, anyone can call himself an accountant or bookkeeper even if he has no professional qualifications. There are good and bad accountants both qualified and not officially qualified.

So how do you choose the right accountant?

Ask for referrals to accountants from other business owners.

Make sure that he or she is a member of one of the three main professional bodies - The Institute of Chartered Accountants, the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants and The Chartered Institute of Management Accountants.

Organise face-to-face meetings with prospective accountants. It's important that you can communicate and get along well.

Look into their previous experience and work - try and get in contact with their previous clients and see what they thought of them.

Plan ahead and predict your needs - not only so your accountant can work to satisfy them, but also prepare for unseen needs that may arise.

Every accountant should agree to offer you a free consultation so that you can meet with them to determine if you like them, and also so that they can determine if they can help you. Ask the accountant what you can expect fees to be and will he guarantee that you will not exceed certain amounts that you agree upon up front. Find out whether your prospective accountant can introduce you to people who might be useful to you, including prospective customers, suppliers, bankers, and investors.

In addition to your accountant's financial knowledge, you can also have personalised cash flow projections, have your bookkeeping and payroll managed efficiently and generally provide important advice. Fuelled with your data, there's no limit to what your accountant can do - it's just up to you to find one with the right skills to match your business.

Your accountant can also provide one of the most useful services available to a business, daily, flexible and efficient financial management. Whether this is a simple ledger or a sophisticated computer programme, any accountant should be able to offer you this service.

An accountant is an important business professional that can help guide you through the early decisions that well might make or break your business later. The accountant is very experienced and commands a lot of power and influence within your business - do not treat them lightly.

Accountants are a constant benefit to your business - they're experienced, capable and potentially crucial in the running of your business. Without a good accountant, your chances of financial survival in an increasingly competitive market drop significantly