What To Look For When Choosing An Accountant For Tax Preparation For Your Auckland Business

Few of us like it but there is no choice in paying taxes but where you do have a choice is the accountant you choose to help you with your tax preparation so you can minimize your tax bills.  This could be one of your most significant decisions in your business because the wrong accountant may end up costing you hundreds of thousands of dollars in unnecessary tax payments and none of us want that.

So what do you need to look for when you select a tax preparation service in Auckland?

There are a few obvious technical questions to answer but then there are some less obvious "softer" issues to get comfortable with.

Let's start with the easier ones first – the technical queries.

Firstly, a very basic question.  Is your tax accountant fully qualified and a member of the new Zealand Institute of Chartered Accountants (NZICA).  This might seem obvious but a fully qualified accountant can audit you financial statements and other regulatory or compliance documents that you must submit each year to the IRD or to Companies House. Failure to submit these documents correctly can result in penalties for which you, the business owner are liable.  So choose a chartered accountant to prepare the tax returns for your business.

Next, ask your tax accountant if they have experience in your industry.  While the tax return forms are the same for every business whether in Auckland or Dunedin, or in the car repair business or a plastics manufacturer, there are variances in the way business or industries work so it's helpful if your accountant understands your business or industry.  They can also give you advice about your industry too if they have previous experience n it so your results can be better still.

The third of the business oriented questions is does your proposed new tax accountant try to understand your business?  DO they ask you questions about your systems, record keeping, history, plans and many other questions that might put you on the spot but will help both you and the accountant make better decisions on the longer term. If they simply say, send me your book to prepare the tax returns, that kind of service isn't going to add much value to your working relationship or to your business.

Are their systems up to date? Are they using the latest advances in technology and accounting software packages to make tax preparation easier and cheaper?

Finally, how much does your accountancy firm charge? Are their charges simple, clear and fully explained or do they have add-on costs  for each new service?  Do they charge by the hour or for a completed job?  Don't be afraid to ask them and get firm commitments to the charges.

But don't worry if they work with a competitor because an NZICA accountant is bound be a Code of Ethics, another good reason to choose a qualified tax accountant.

On the less technical side of the choice equation, you want to consider things like:

Do I like this person?  You are going to be working with your accountancy service for a long time so it's important that you can both get along even though communications should still be business-like.

Are the organised?  You don't want a tax preparation service that is untidy, disorganized and not professional.  Remember, if there are delays or errors, it's you who pays the penalties, not your accountant.  An untidy office with piles of papers instead of all neatly filed away isn't going to give you a good feeling that they can manage your finances.

Do they have the resources to look after your business's financial records, tax planning and tax preparation?  Do they look overloaded and do everything themselves or have they got staff who can do the basic work so that they spend their time on the value-added areas to really help your business move forward?

Another simple but overlooked question, are they easy to get to?  We all know that parking in Auckland can be a challenge so does your accountant have easy access or plenty of parking?   It will be frustrating come tax return time when you may need to make frequent trips to see your accountant.

There are more questions you may want to ask but these will get you off to a good start.

For more information you can contact Marley Loft an Auckland tax accountant specialising in small business accounting services.