When most people seek support from an accountant, they have a clear sense of their needs. The deliverables are understood and the relationship is fairly straightforward. Generally speaking, accountants are expected to prepare and review financial statements, and to provide feedback based on the financial operations of a business.
There are certain business benefits that an accountant can provide that are more unexpected, and these are good to keep in mind when exploring an engagement.
This blog post will review some of the more unexpected benefits of working with an accountant.
Increased innovation
An accountant can do more than just balance your books. Especially for small business owners, it can sometimes be tricky to think outside of the box and drive innovation. Often, your accountant can recognize market opportunity and help zero in on creative approaches to grow your firm. An outside accountant can impart specialized knowledge that you may not have at your disposal internally. Leveraging your accountant to this end can also be less expensive than seeking out the skill of a consultant.
Peace of mind
The day-to-day demands of running a business are considerable. The last thing you want to be worried about are compliance and audit concerns. And yet, these are critical constraints that have to be top of mind, even if they are on the periphery of your business plan.
By working with an accountant, you can rest assured that your company is complying with regulations and standards about which you may be unaware. And this peace of mind will free you to focus on what matters – running your business.
Time savings
Most people understand that working with an accountant can save you money. But not as many consider the time savings benefit. Having a professional, who is aware of tax laws, rules, regulations and deadlines, will save you from having to dig around and research your obligations. And since time is ultimately money, this is another way your bottom line will be favorably impacted.
Referral business
If you work with a well respected accountant, chances are, they are counselling many other clients on how to run their businesses successfully. They likely have a healthy list of contacts and they may very well have an appetite to refer business your way. This can prove to be a very unexpected and lucrative source of revenue.
Business planning
Accountants are not available only at tax time. They can help you to analyze the viability of future initiatives by sharing gain and loss forecasts. Seek feedback from your accountant when you prepare business proposals and plans to grow your company – their insight can be invaluable.
Don’t rely on your accountant just to prepare your tax returns and statements. Leverage the expertise of a professional accountant to grow your business in all respects. To learn more about the unexpected benefits of working with an accountant, contact Miller Bernstein today.
