Instantly see if your accountant is up to the job

If you rarely get the pleasure of your accountant taking your calls when you call them it could mean that they are very busy and dedicating their time to other clients, it could also mean that they are not putting in the hours they need to be and are not taking their or your business as seriously as they should.

At the end of the day the reasons are not important , if it is always a struggle to get to speak with your accountant, it would be a wise decision to start looking around for somebody a bit more amiable to do your accounts.

When considering which accountant to hire in the first place you should try to be aware of how important a contract it will be for them. If you are a small business and go with a big accountancy firm you may find you do not get the personal touch that some of their bigger clients get. On the flip side, if you are a decent sized business and go with a small accountancy firm they may not be able to cope with the amount of work they get from you.

When you try to call your accountant and are unsuccessful chances are you will leave a message for them to call you back. If you sit and wait for a call back that never comes then it should strike a number of warning alarms in your head.

The most important thing for you is the success of your business, if you are waiting for your accountant to get back to you and they continually fail to return your calls then you need to be looking for somebody better to do your accounts.

One of the main advantages of getting a professional accountant to do your accounts is that they will be done right and on time, if they are not then what is the point?

First off you should ensure that you are not responsible, at least partly, and that you have not caused the documents to be late by not supplying your accountant with enough information or supplying the information too late. However, if you consistently send your accountant everything they ask for - and they are still not getting things done when they should be, you should seriously think about looking for a new accountant.

You have the right to understand your financial reports, it is your business at the end of the day. If the accountant seems disinterested or opposed to the idea of going over your accounts with you, you should be rightly worried. It is essential that you understand the basics of the reports that are being sent on your company's behalf, otherwise how will you know what is being sent is correct?

If they do not have the time to go over them with you then you need to be seriously questioning the level of service they are able to offer you.

A lot of the time if you are dealing with a decent sized accountancy firm and are not considered a big client you will be given to a junior member of staff. If this junior member of staff is unable to give you satisfactory answers to your questions, or if you seem to know more about the accounting aspects of your business than they do, then you really need to be asking for somebody else to look after your accounts. If the company is unable to accommodate this request then you should seriously consider switching to another accountancy firm, one who can dedicate an accountant with the relevant experience and qualifications to serve your needs.