Accountants can benefit from robust-growing businesses by providing them with needed advice to guide their long-term financial strategies. More than just a bean counter, accountants who work as advisers must be both knowledgeable, trustworthy, and personable. It is a common myth that an accountant is only for large enterprises. Investing in the services of a competent accountant can be beneficial to robust smaller businesses in the long run. They do more than just taking the worry out of balancing the books.
A certified public accountant (CPA) has much to offer a fledgeling enterprise from its earliest stages. As the business develops, it is paramount that its leadership find one who can take on the roles necessary to advise and direct growth. Businesses, big and small, can rely on an accounting recruitment agency to find them a CPA to suit their businesses’ long-term financial goals.
More than a Bean Counter
An accountant is more than just the person who keeps your books in check. They may also serve as your adviser in key aspects of your enterprise’s finances. Far from being only in charge of managing taxes and expenses, a good accountant can also streamline your financial strategy based on their big-picture view of the company’s finances. Some of the functions that an accountant can take charge in this position include bookkeeping, management consulting, and financing and loan analysis.
An excellent CPA candidate is not a one-trick pony. A good general accountant would have a significant overlap in their disciplines. For instance, besides focusing on auditing or tax advice, an accountant may also serve as a business consultant. Accountants could, for instance, help businesses secure better loan rates by recalculating estimates.
Knowledge of Applicability
Accountants who serve this role should be vetted based on their experience and trustworthiness. They should also be good at conveying ideas and working well with others while having a clear understanding of your enterprise and its nuances. The latter plays a significant role in maintaining the applicability of their advice to your business’ long-term goals.
To accomplish this goal effectively, a CPA should be well-versed in most aspects of your enterprise. Most good CPAs know their way around jargon. Excellent accountants would know how to take obtuse concepts from jargon, apply them to the business’ setting, and explain them in terms that are easy for members of the management to understand.
An Ability to Communicate
Effective communication is the key to effective collaboration between accounting teams and the enterprise and its leadership. To effectively serve in any advisory capacity, an accountant must be well aware of their limits as experts. People make mistakes, and their judgments, while calculated, are not free from a margin of error. The Dunning-Kruger effect affects everyone.
An awareness of their limitations can help accounting teams and business leaders make more intelligent choices and properly deliberate before taking on risks. Selecting a self-aware accountant can help you maximize their strengths as employees by assigning them to work alongside complementary team members. One key marker of an excellent CPA is how they perceive their role in the team; an ideal candidate would value the collective talent of their team above their own.
A Compatible Personality
Finally, an excellent accountant is one who is easy to get along with. A role as vital as managing the accounts of an enterprise should not be considered an unpleasant chore. A personable accountant who is easy to talk serves this role better than an egotistic recluse.
People should not underestimate the importance of having a head accountant who can communicate well with the business’ leadership and mesh well with them without being a yes-man. You need an accountant who is not only free from dogmatic and risk-averse thinking but also unafraid to play Devil’s advocate when called upon. Like all advisers, an accountant provides knowledge and an insight into an enterprise and its leadership. Finding one you and your management can trust is a step toward long-term sustainable growth.
