“A good accountant wanted,” is one of the typical texts on groups of entrepreneurs. We have a lot of accounting offices, how to choose among them?
Formalities
The first thing to know, – not every accountant will want to serve you. And it’s not at all because they have “flies in the nose”, it’s just that different accounting offices specialize in different areas. Some in simplified accounting (e.g. income and expense ledger, lump sum), others – in full accounting (keeping of business books). Full accounting applies to Limited Liability Companies, among others. Businesses are more likely to use a cheaper version – simplified accounting.
The second element to pay attention to – liability insurance (Civil Liability) of your accountant. Not only is it insurance, but also for what amount? This is not an element that somehow comes in handy exceptionally often, but I think that an accountant “who is not afraid of anything” is a bad business partner.
You can also ask about the crew’s credentials and competency documents. Often accountants have certificates of training received and exams passed. There used to be such a thing as a “License of the Minister of Finance,” but now this document is no longer mandatory.
It is a good idea to make sure that the accounting office is ready to represent us at the tax office, as this will take away a lot of work.
Communications
Often at first we forget that an accountant – is also a human being. And consequently, chemistry and a common language can be very important. It is worth finding out how the office functions. Some people like to meet the accountant for coffee and chat, – others have not seen an accountant for years. You can believe the paper and send packages with invoices, or maybe you prefer to send scans of invoices by email? What about questions? can you call anytime, or are there consultation appointments you need to make, or can you chat?
All these elements are very subjective, but they seem to be no less important.
In the era of JPK (Single Audit File), the location of your accounting doesn’t matter so much anymore. The exception is if you like to meet with your accountant and talk business, – then it would be a good idea for it to be fairly close by.
Additional requirements
Smaller offices are often more flexible, especially for fledgling businesses. If you feel that your business will not be tax simple, – it is worthwhile for an accounting office to have several accountants. It does not mean that such an office is better, but in difficult cases the accountant serving you will have someone to confer with. Every two heads is not one.
For more complex operations, it is worth controlling your office by having your books checked by an external auditor. This service is not yet very popular in Poland, but definitely worth considering.
If you’ve been in business a little longer, you may find that you need a broader range of accounting services – for example, would you like additional reports to be generated, or perhaps you want advice? It’s worth remembering that an accountant is not, by definition, a good tax advisor. His goal and duty is to make sure everything is accounted for in the most obvious way. Tax optimizations, by definition, are outside the scope of an accountant’s interest, – such things are handled by tax advisors (sometimes there is access to them as part of an accounting office). It is the advisor who should optimize your company’s taxes.
Next steps
If you still have a hunger for knowledge, on how to choose an office. You can listen to the MWF podcast, And once you have more or less defined criteria – a search engine for accounting offices can come to your aid. It’s worth remembering that changing accounting office is not an obvious process, so take a moment to make sure you don’t regret your decision later.