Whether you’re a small business owner or you run a global corporation, there are many reasons why you might need to hire an accountant. In fact, an accountant is an essential member of the team within companies of all shapes and sizes.
Accountants perform a wide range of tasks and work closely with business owners to ensure they can maximize their profits and minimize their expenses. They’re also often hired to help with taxes and overheads.
No matter how great your financial skills are, you can benefit from hiring a professional chartered accountant. Even if you’re able to manage your finances and taxes at first, you’ll undoubtedly need a helping hand from a San Antonio CPA as your company grows in size.
In this article, we’re going to cover the key roles and responsibilities of a chartered accountant, and how they can benefit your business.
What Are the Key Roles and Responsibilities of an Accountant?
In order for somebody to qualify as a chartered accountant, they need to go through years of study and pass a range of examinations. They also need to be licensed to legally practice as a chartered accountant.
An accountant’s responsibilities include auditing and drafting financial documents, calculating tax payments, filing tax returns, bookkeeping, and managing cash flows.
Accountants handle money, publish financial statements, and create budget forecasts. They are there to support businesses with their finances and taxes in every aspect, and they can ensure that companies are compliant with financial policies and laws.
How Can an Accountant Help You as a Business Owner?
Here are eight of the many ways that an accountant can benefit your business.
1. Setting up a business
For entrepreneurs hoping to set up a successful business, an accountant is absolutely necessary. They can make the process of choosing a business bank and accessing funding as simple as possible to lay solid foundations.
Accountants can aid entrepreneurs with their business plans and financial forecasts. They can organize the legalities involved with setting up a business to ensure entrepreneurs don’t run into legal battles before they’ve even managed to get themselves off the ground.
The expert opinion of a qualified accountant can reduce emotional biases that could otherwise be a detriment to any new brand. They’ll identify the best investors and lenders, and make a business model as attractive as possible to increase the chances of successful loans.
2. Filing tax returns and making tax payments
As unexciting as taxes are, they are an unavoidable aspect of running a business. They can often be complicated to wrap your head around, especially as your business grows and generates varied streams of income.
A qualified accountant can simplify the process of filing your annual tax returns. They will check through your income and expenses to ensure that you are paying the right amount of tax in your business.
Every great accountant knows tax laws inside and out. They can help you to correctly identify all of your expenses to save as much money as possible in your business while staying on the right side of the law. They’ll also help you to avoid any costly errors in your tax payments and will speed up the process significantly.
3. Improving cash flow in your business
Establishing positive cash flow is essential for the success of any business. Failing to effectively manage the flow of money to and from a business can lead to financial issues further down the line.
A qualified accountant can ensure that business owners know exactly how to generate a positive flow of cash and maintain profitable operations. They can also help you to identify the best ways to cut expenses and overheads to optimize cash flow and maximize profits.
4. Bookkeeping
Accurate bookkeeping is a fundamental part of any business’s finances and makes filing tax returns much quicker and simpler. Failure to maintain accurate books can lead to costly financial errors or lack of legal compliance. Accountants can manage budgets, and keep accurate records of income and expenses.
5. Relieving pressure from business owners
Running a business is tough. Any entrepreneur out there knows all too well how many things there are to organize and manage at any one time.
Hiring an accountant relieves the pressure off the shoulders of entrepreneurs and senior managers. They can take over some if not all of the financial tasks within the business, helping to keep the business afloat.
When business owners don’t need to worry about expenses, taxes, and other money-related issues, they can focus their efforts elsewhere. They can work on product innovation, marketing campaigns, or hiring top talent, instead of fretting over finances.
6. Performing financial audits
Large businesses need to undergo regular audits by law. This process can be costly and time-consuming, especially if errors are made during the auditing process. Smaller businesses may not necessarily need to complete internal financial audits by law but many still choose to do so each year to ensure they are on track to meet their goals.
To ensure the auditing process is as streamlined and accurate as possible, business owners can bring accountants on board. An accountant can help the business to prepare for the audit and correctly organize the results of the audit.
7. Helping to fund growth
Funding is necessary to grow a business of any kind. Accountants can aid the process of securing finances so that business owners can feel confident in their future success. They bridge the gap between organizations and lenders or investors to maximize the chances of successful financial proposals.
8. Selling a business
If an individual decides that they want to sell their business, an accountant might be necessary to organize the financial side of things. They can evaluate the practicalities of the sale and ensure all parties are satisfied with the outcome.
