
As a business owner, knowing the right topics to discuss with your accountant gives you the advantage. If you come prepared with a list of current and upcoming topics to discuss with your accountant, you will be prepared, effective and on track to achieve your financial goals.
Accountants monitor and analyze your finances while keeping accurate and up-to-date financial records. Beyond fulfilling their role, this will also help you develop a good relationship with them.
The truth is that there is no justification for not having regular conversations with your accountant, and this article will provide you with the appropriate topics to discuss. Keep the lines of communication open so that you, as a business owner, may speak with your accountant without being concerned about how much you could be charged for the privilege. Regular and open communication with your accountant will lead to better decision-making that will ultimately accelerate the growth of your business.
Whether this is your first meeting with your accountant or you've worked with them for years, be sure to prepare what topics to discuss in advance. In order to help you, we've compiled a list of five topics along with the rationale behind each one.
COMPANY GROWTH
Growth is what every business strives for. And growth necessitates change. As your business goals change, your valuation and tax obligations often change as well. If you foresee any major changes in your business, it could affect your overall valuation as well as tax liabilities. Accountants should collaborate with you and offer advice on any liabilities or status changes that might have an impact on your business. Consider the following scenarios: you want to grow your company, open new locations, hire more employees, merge with another company, buy another business, or sell it. If so, make time to meet with your accountant to come up with a sensible plan of action to deal with the change.
FINANCIAL PLANNING
Budget comes first for most businesses as tax season or a new fiscal year approaches because money is what keeps a company afloat. There are also other financial concerns that are just as important year-round. To plan your financial future, talk to your accountant about conducting a thorough portfolio assessment. Strategies to increase cash flow, current business loans, major and capital investments, charitable donations, employee-related costs like bonuses and health care, retirement planning, and asset management are a few examples of topics to cover.
INVENTORY MANAGEMENT
Your accountant can advise you about inventory management to help you identify areas for growth. They can record the costs of labor, raw materials, and other overhead expenses that go into your company's inventory. In addition, while your accountant is able to reduce inventory costs, they must make sure that doing so won't compromise the quality of the final product. The accountant must also work to strike a balance between keeping customers happy and boosting the company's profit margins. If your company sells or resells products, it's crucial (albeit challenging) to stay current on tax laws. In reality, several states have regulations about where companies must store their goods and process orders. Your accountant can assist you in doing a complete analysis of your order process to ensure that you are replenishing in a way that maximizes cash flow, that unsold inventory is accurately reflected on your balance sheet, and that your state taxes are collected.
RISK MANAGEMENT
Did you know that nearly 75% of small businesses lack a strategy for mitigating risk or resolving operational disruptions? You've put time, effort, and money into building your small business, so you'll want to make sure you minimize and manage any potential risks. Speak with your accountant about risk management. They will be able to offer advice, particularly on areas of financial risk like fraud, and can also make sure that internal risks are minimized through a comprehensive financial audit. You may have overlooked certain areas since you were busy with running the day-to-day operations if you didn't have an outsider examine and identify potential risky areas.
TAX COMPLIANCE
Taxes are challenging, particularly if you own and run a small business. Your accountant is your go-to person for information on how to comply with tax regulations. It is equally important to ensure that taxes imposed by the state are paid on time. It's critical to have a good understanding of regulations and tax rules because they change constantly. They can notify you of any changes affecting your business and advise you on how to deal with them. They'll provide you advice on how to keep your business and personal expenses separate and support you in keeping accurate records to streamline your tax obligations. There are numerous compliance-related tasks that should be completed before it's too late, including gathering W2’s and 1099’s, ensuring certification exemption and resale, and conducting internal assessments to look for any red flags.

CONCLUSION
It's easy to become so busy with daily activities that you don't take the time to plan out the big picture. Spend a brief period of time doing it with your accountant. Many hands really do make light work, and working with an accountant who has the skills and experience to help you along the way will position you for long-term success. You should see improvements in how you manage and organize your finances as you make the most of those regular appointments with your accountant. That's a huge step toward a healthier business.
Our experienced Peach BPO team is ready to help you with every financial step you need to take to keep your dream alive. For more information, schedule a consultation with us.
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