Accounting is an essential and crucial function for any business which makes choosing an accountant is a critical decision to take. Nowadays, an accountants job has grown to be much more than just taking care of the Debit and Credit sides of the business. The domain of an accountant now includes not only bookkeeping and maintaining and analyzing business records, and it includes services like strategy building, risk management and even tech updated to be made in the company.
Various functions of an Accountant
An accountant plays a range of roles from a strategist to an analyzer. The job of an accountant also depends upon the size and nature of the business. Accountants in a small business may take up the role of a data collector and assist in the report generation whereas in a larger company the accountant may need to perform a plethora of services such as being a strategist, will deal with the third parties, will become the financial interpreter.
The various functions and duties of an accountant are as follows:
- Controlling the Costs incurred in the company
- Management and Allocation of the resources (Human or otherwise)
- Ensuring compliance
- Business Advisory
- Addressing the various tax issues
- Strategizing about the company’s future
- Preparation of the various financial statements
There are many more functions which an accountant can perform in the company. The extent of the work of an accountant greatly depends upon the size of the company. All this work is given to the accountant and not to any other person is because an accountant is privy to all the financial data of the company so he can understand the working of the company better.
Factors to Consider
One cannot randomly choose an accountant. There are many factors which need to be taken into consideration before choosing an accounting firm such as:
1.Recommendations
The accountant who is to be hired should be recommended by peers and people in the industry. Word of mouth is one of the best types of reference that can be provided. We should first try to find out which are the accountants that are being used by firms similar to ours.
2.Track Record
It is crucial that the accountant has a good number of experience in the industry. He should be well versed with all the requirements that a company in your industry might face. Moreover, the accountant should have a specialization, and you have to choose an accountant whose speciality will match the requirement of your company. This can be ensured by performing a thorough background check before hiring the accountant.
3.Certifications
Knowing about all the accreditations of an accountant are very necessary. The more certifications an accountant ha, the better he will be able to handle all the financial data of the company. There are many degrees and certifications which an accountant can take, but the two main certifications with regards to accountancy are Certified Public Accountants (CPAs) and Certified Management Accountants (CMAs). In both the qualifications, the accountant will learn the fundamentals of accounting and will have to keep himself continuously updated.
4.Communications Skill
The accountant should have excellent communication skills so that he can communicate with his clients. Excellent communication skills from the side of the accountant will remove any miscommunication between the various departments and the management and will allow the administration to understand better the final goal they have to achieve.
5.Dependability
The accountant should be dependable, meaning that the hiring firm should be able to share all its financial detail, whether good or bad. The firm has sensitive information which if ends up into the wrong hands, then the company may have to face a lot of problems. The security of the data of a company plays a significant role in the hiring of the accountant firm.
6.Extra Services Provided
In the present scenario, an accountant does a lot more than just an accounting job. The accountant performs various duties such as:
- Examine and verify the accuracy of all financial records and make sure that all these comply with the law, as stated by the government.
- Computation of taxes of all the individuals of the company
- Organizing and strategizing for the future of the company
- Suggest ways of cost reduction, improve profits of the company and increase the revenues
7. Fees Charged
The amount charged by an accountant plays a significant role in the management in deciding which accountant needs to be hired. If the accountant is utilized for a permanent basis, then he needs to be paid monthly, but if we use the services of an outsourced accountant, then the management will have to pay him according to the hours worked. The accountant must provide the functions equivalent to the amount paid to him.
8. Technologically Updated
Due to the technological advancements in the accounting field, accountants spend less time with physical documents and spend more time in front of a computer. The various accounting software will allow an accountant to do more work in less time. An accountant who has access to a computer and the correct accounting software can perform tax preparation services, forecast modelling and various other tedious jobs.
9.Easy Availability
The accountant hired must be accessible by the management whenever wanted. When availing the services of a big accounting firm, it is possible that they do not allocate a proper team of accountants to review the case of the company. This is the reason that the accountant should be accessible 24X7 to the client.
Keeping the points as mentioned earlier in mind, a company can very quickly select a suitable accountant or accounting firm. A proper analysis of all the data fetched out from the company should be done so that the path for the future of the company will be easy and comfortable. If you require a certified accounting firm, JAXA will fit your bill. Being one of the most reputed accounting and CA firm in the UAE, it will provide you with all the accounting, tax and audit-related solutions which would help your company to achieve success. For more information about the various services, do contact us today – we’d be happy to assist.
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