Within a matter of weeks, you’ll be receiving a sizable bill from your accountant as he or she completes your tax return and I urge you to consider this – have your accounting fees gone up, stayed the same or reduced? Has the level of service and breadth of advice stayed the same, gone up or gone down?
These are interesting questions when you consider how the advent of Xero, MYOB and IRD automation, coupled with an increase in outsourced cheap labour, is changing the way accounting is managed and reducing accountants’ cost to serve. If your accountant is just doing the basics for you, in theory, you should be billed for less time. Or If billing the same or more, receiving more value via quality business advice.
You also need to consider how much of a partner your accountant is to your business. Can you rely on this professional for advice and support when you need it? We are observing a segment of business owners where the support from their accountant is just simply not up to scratch. In fact, one of our members recently came to us for help after their accountant told them “I am too busy to help right now, come back and see me at the end of April”. Now for this business owner, if they did not take immediate action, their business would be gone. Grow NZ came to the party and helped, and the future now looks a little brighter for this business owner.
So, if you really want to grow, don’t just be looking for a discount on basic tax compliance support. Consider how your accountant can better support your business instead.
- Do they review the ‘Two Big Questions’ with you- how much profit do you want to make this year & when and how much do you want to sell your business for?
- Can they articulate what you need to do to achieve the above?
- Can they provide you with expertise in Marketing, Strategy, Sales, HR, Legal and so on?
- Do they assist you with cash flow analysis and cash flow planning?
- Do they assist you with profitability analysis and the levers you can pull to maximise returns?
Many accountants are fantastic and deliver great value, but if yours Is not adding a positive return with your hard-earned “Accounting Investment” dollars, we can help with one of our Grow NZ Registered Accountants.