What your accountant can do beyond taxes

Tax season is in full swing and small business owners are making time to meet with their CPAs to work on and submit their tax returns. Good accountancy firms make certain to file on time and do their best to lower their clients’ tax exposure and lower the risk of an audit; they also produce year-end financial reports and give an idea of estimated tax payments for the coming year.

Great accounts go beyond the basics. Besides cost-savings, a CPA that also operates as a small business’ fractional CFO knows how successful a business is and what they can do to be better. This includes ways to boost revenue and cut costs, secure small business financing, manage and improve cashflow, manage inventory, and time large purchases. Basically? Your finance and accounting team should be working in tandem to solve business problems.

When looking to find the right fit, these factors should be considered by small business owners along with tax knowledge. Improved reporting on the metrics that really matter, planning, improving efficiencies, and preparing for long-term business growth can all make a dramatic difference for small business owners.

Even if tax obligations have fallen behind, it’s not too late to set up reasonable payment plans after evaluating the financial health of your business and get up-to-date with the IRS or state tax collection agency.

The best accountant-client relationships are partnerships built on transparency and trust, and this is more relevant that ever as businesses navigate a tax season coming out of a pandemic and the programs that have never before been an issue for small businesses.