There are very few times when people can admit to being in a relationship that involves three or more people. Being a business owner is one of those times when you can candidly admit to having a relationship with more than one person. This three way relationship is normally between ‘you, your business and your accountant’.
An accountant should always be central to the relationship that you have with your business. There are many businesses that only ever consider employing or using the services of an accountant to comply with end of year compliances.
If you really want to know about what is happening within your business then you will need a good accountant. Not just any old accountant that tells you the good bits. You will need an accountant that will tell you about ‘the good, bad and ugly’ sides of your business. It therefore makes sense that you should spend time choosing your accountant carefully and wisely.
Can you imagine what life would be like for top 100 FTSE companies if they only spoke to their accountants once a year? It is doubtful if any of those companies would make it to the top 100 FTSE or still be in business by the end of the year. Like it or not an accountant is pivotal to business growth and success. Running a business without the services of an accountant is akin to boarding an aircraft that does not have a captain to fly it.
Once you have found an accountant that you are happy with it will be important to build and nurture your relationship with your chosen accountant. No it won’t be necessary to bring your accountant flowers and chocolates – even though that would be nice. It will however, be important to be able to talk honestly to them, ask questions and to be able to seek advice when necessary.
Likewise it is important for your accountant to take the time to educate you about what they are doing on your behalf and why they are doing it. Whether or not you are good with numbers is irrelevant. It is important to have some awareness and knowledge about the financial side of your business.
Turning a blind eye to your business’s finances will make it difficult to effectively manage the costs associated with running your business. Managing costs is vital to business survival. There is no point in achieving great sales if the majority of what you earn is swallowed up by ongoing costs or overheads. Simply looking at your bank statement will not tell you the important things you need to know about the financial aspects of your business.
Another reason for you to have an understanding of financial side of your business’s numbers is so that you will never be surprised. You could have much lower overheads than you realise. Adversely, your costs could be much higher and you think.
Filter Comments
Filter by: is