Considerations when hiring an accountant

In order to make every pound in your business count, you need an accountant who can set up clear-cut bookkeeping and accounting records every month.

With their skills, knowledge, and expertise, they’ll be able to paint a clear picture of your finances for you and let you know where you stand on a monthly basis.

Although some smaller business owners and entrepreneurs consider DIY accounting software to be enough to monitor costs, hiring a professional accountant in business is very likely to have a very positive impact on your overall financial curvature and the benefits go far beyond number crunching.

Choosing a candidate who can help with your financial success can be a challenging task. But if you are able to find one a good one, you will come to depend on them.

What are your business needs?

Before the hiring process begins, you need to understand what your business accounting needs are, including your financial goals and objectives.

It’s prudent to make a quick, comprehensive analysis of what you expect your accountant to do for you. Is your primary purpose is getting someone to prepare taxes, manage bookkeeping or handle overall accounting operations?

Mapping this out will help you get a clear idea of what needs to be handled in the first instance and will allow you to narrow down the scope of your search.

What traits should you look for in a potential accountant?

When most people think about professional accountants they imagine someone who is precise, has keen eye for detail and has a lot of practical knowledge, and these are indeed key traits. If they make even a tiny mistake it will have a huge negative impact on a business.

Many business decisions are made on the back of the figures and is measure the financial health. That’s why accountants must be very organised and precise.

Here are some of the qualities the highest quality accountants possess:

• Excellent organisation
• Amazing time management skills
• Client-focussed
• Creativity
• Commitment to the sector
• Extreme trustworthiness
• Great communication skills
• Collaboration
• Flexibility

While some are fairly obvious, there are some traits in this list that are not always associated with accountants. But they are, in fact, also very important. Great accountants need creativity because some problems are not ‘textbook cases’ and thinking outside the box will be required. In addition, the idea of the lonesome accountant is often inaccurate as they need to provide support to different departments – so collaboration and great communication skills are very beneficial.

Other considerations

Once you have shortlisted some candidates fit for the position of an accountant in your company, you can then further evaluate them across various verticals. This may include:

• Accounting experience
• Qualifications
• Ownership of work
• Market reputation
• Personality
• Expected salary
• Level and range of accounting services

Remember, an accountant can make or break your company so you need to ensure that your final choice is perfect.

If you are looking to find an accountant, ideally matched to your business, contact us.