What To Look For in a Good Accountant

Need a good accountant? We can help!

As business owners, we seem to be met with an endless list of expenses to cover to reach a profitable level of productivity. You work hard for your money, and if there’s one thing that we at Nurture really dislike it’s when a company is paying money for a service or product that isn’t meeting the needs of the business.

Now, you might think this doesn’t apply to you, but it probably does – actually let me rephrase that, there is definitely something in your business that is costing you more money than it gives in value. It may be something like an overcharge of bank fees or to the phone service company that takes too long to fix a problem. But what do you do when it’s your accountant that is not giving enough value? That’s clearly when you come meet the awesome accountants and team at Nurture Accounting – but that’s not what this blog is about, this blog is about identifying what you need to look for in a good accountant to make sure you are getting value.

Now, we have heard some horrors stories from prospective clients about their accountants with comments such as “I feel so frustrated with my current accountant as they take two weeks to call me back”. ‘’I feel really nervous going to my accountant, I leave their office feeling like I am really dumb’’. The latest comment I heard from someone recently was that going to see their accountant was worse than the dentist (yikes)!

By now, our Nurture Clients are reading this and thinking thank goodness we see Nurture – but these cases are true and some accountants out there really don’t understand how important it is to focus on each and every client no matter how big or small their business is.

The latest comment I heard from someone recently was that going to see their accountant was worse than the dentist (yikes)!

So what kind of qualities does a good accountant have?

Approachable. You should feel comfortable in being able to contact your accountant or at least their office if you have a question or an issue that needs dealing with.
Effective with timely communication. You should not be able to take a week’s holiday whilst you are waiting for your accountant to return your call or reply to your email.
Transparent. The fees you are charged by your accountant should be transparent and detailed in your invoice. You should feel as though you are able to query the fee if you would like some clarification.
Value-adding. Advice offered by your accountant should add something additional to your business and empower you whilst you spend your time managing and growing your business.

This is just the minimal that your accountant should offer your business. If some of those items have left you feeling unsure about your current accountant, we encourage you to come and speak to the team at Nurture Accounting. It’s a lot easier than you think to make the switch, we look after everything for you – plus we’re jam packed with value so you’ll always feel empowered for growth!