When it comes to managing your finances, consulting with an accountant can be a game-changer, regardless of whether you need to manage business finances or personal ones. Accountants are not just number-crunchers – they know the different stories numbers can tell, and they can prove to be someone who knows exactly how to prevent horror stories from being written. They are financial advisors who can provide valuable insights into how things work and how you can make them work best for yourself. They are the key to achieving your financial goals.
However, it can be challenging, and quite a daunting task, to find the right accountant for your needs. Finding the perfect fit requires asking the right questions. And in this article, we provide you with just that: 20 insightful questions to ask an accountant for financial success.
Table of Contents
Why Asking the Right Questions Matters
Before diving right into the questions, it is important to understand why asking the right questions is crucial, and not just another activity. Accounting is a diverse field, where one-size-fits-all or a cookie-cutter philosophy doesn’t work. As with any other business field, accountants specialize in various sub-fields of accounting. A layperson also commonly confuses and interchangeably uses accounting and finance terms, so when ti comes to ensuring your financial success, it pays to know what to ask an accountant to ensure that you make an informed decision and set yourself up for financial success, rather than speed up 200 mph in the wrong direction. Knowing what to ask an accountant will certainly help you gauge their suitability for your exact needs.
10 Key questions to Ask an Accountant
- What is your area of expertise? Understanding their specialization is vital because you don’t really want to end up hiring a taxation accountant when what you need is one who knows auditing practices inside out.
- Can you provide references? Just like hiring by any company requires background checks, you are in the right to check and verify the credibility of an accountant you’re considering hiring.
- Do you have any licensing and certifications? This is again to ensure that the accountant is properly accredited and is staying abreast of the industry standards and developments.
- How do you stay updated with tax laws and regulations? Note that this is a question you must ask regardless of whether the accountant is a tax specialist or not. This is because tax laws are forever evolving, and your accountant needs to be well-informed because you don’t want a penalty added to an outdated tax return.
- What software and tools do you use for financial analysis? – You need to ensure that beyond being familiar with the latest financial tools that can streamline your financial management, your accountant is not simply using Google Sheets and a calculator and pen-paper. Even if they’re not using the latest, they need to be using official and trusted ones.
- How do you charge for your services? Discussing fees upfront prevents any surprises down the road. It also helps you plan and stay on track.
- What is your availability like? You don’t want to settle on an accountant only to realize that by the time you confirm them, they’re already over-booked. Especially during taxation season. Just like when discussing fees, it pays to plan beforehand about their availability and book them in advance as per your needs.
- Can you help with tax planning and strategies? Proactive tax planning can save you a lot of money in the long run.
- Do you have experience with <whatever industry you’re interested in>? This is especially useful if you have a business because different accountants specialize in different industries, and you need to be sure that you don’t hire an accountant who is an expert in the fashion and retail industry, while your business is about baked items or mechanical repairs.
- How do you approach risk? Understanding the risk appetite and risk averseness of your accountant helps bring you both on the same page when coming together to work on a task as important as your personal and/or business success, and helps ensure financial security.
5 Questions to Ask an Accountant in an Interview Setting
When conducting an interview with a potential accountant, it’s important to dig deeper into their qualifications and experience. Here are a few questions tailored more specifically for an official interview setting:
- Could you share with me a situation that you faced that proved more challenging than you anticipated? How did you handle that situation? This or a similar question helps gauge their problem-solving skills.
- How do you handle confidential information? You must ensure that they do not take your information lightly, and that they absolutely prioritize your privacy and confidentiality. This is because breaches can occur even when they’re not meant or intended as such, but the consequences do not care for the circumstances of the breach.
- How do you communicate with clients? Clear and effective communication is vital for a successful partnership. It also helps to set clear expectations and come to the same page about the mode and frequency of communication. For instance, for such an important part of life, everything should be in writing and on official emails.
- Has there ever been a time when you helped a client save money? This demonstrates that they’re not just doing a job for the sake of it, but that they prioritize providing their clients with value beyond just accounting, auditing, and taxation.
- How do you keep up with industry trends and developments? They need to be visibly serious about their services, and it needs to be easily demonstrable and trustable that they follow and keep up with industry standards via trusted sources, such as certifications and publications that are highly valued.
Additional Questions for Personal Financial Planning
If you’re seeking an accountant for personal financial planning, here are a few questions you must not miss asking them:
- How do you approach retirement planning? You must ensure that they can help you achieve your long-term financial goals. It shouldn’t hurt to ask them to share what they value for their own retirement plan if you’re unsure.
- Can you also assist with estate planning and wealth management? These are questions you must ask them if these items are high on your priority list – no sense in having to hire two different types of accountants when one could have gotten the job done.
- How do you handle investments? The way they strategize investments and their own level of risk tolerance needs to align with yours.
A Further Few Questions Specifically for Business Accounting
If you’re looking more specifically for an accountant who could handle your business finances, you need to ensure you do not miss these few essential questions:
- Do you have any experience with accounting software XYZ? You need to ensure that the systems, software, and tools they use are compatible with the ones you use for your business. This is so that not only are processes streamlined, but costs, time, and resources are not wasted in having to first align everything and then get started on the actual work.
- Can you help my business grow financially, and how? Best to look for an accountant who can provide valuable insights and guidelines to help your business grow.
Hiring the right accountant is like getting married – it is a significant step towards achieving financial success, be it in the personal finance realm or for your business needs. By asking these and other similar insightful questions, you can evaluate the qualifications, experience, and compatibility of an accountant with your financial goals.
Remember, the relationship you have with your accountant is a long-term one, so you need to take the time to find the perfect fit. There’s no sense or point in rushing to find the cheapest accountant on the block, or one who is available, only to meet roadblocks and problems down the line.
With the right accountant by your side, such as the ones we at Account Staff provide, you are sure to be on the way to financial prosperity. So, go ahead, ask us all the questions that matter, and embark on your journey to financial success with talented finance and accounting professionals who have been working with us for over two decades!