For those of you wondering what a CPA is, it stands for Certified Public Accountant. This means they have passed requirements for their state or professional accounting bodies. Their certifications allow them to offer legal representation when it comes to your business’ money. There are many services that a Certified Public Accountant can provide. From estate planning, corporate governance, filing your taxes for your business and employees and so much more. So why does your business need a CPA? To put it simply, owning your own business comes with a lot of financial risks. A CPA can handle a large part of those risks. Let’s talk about a couple of them.
Why Your Business Needs a CPA
Financial Planning
Just like when you’re starting a business, even a virtual assistant business, after the business is off of its feet it is important to keep your money flow consistently to avoid any headaches. A CPA can help you balance your budget, predict future income, asset values and plans for withdrawal. Usually, this starts with a budget drawn up by your CPA with your goals in mind. Their plan should maximize your savings and allow for future income to be accounted for when referring to different expenses. Like making sure, you can pay your employees.
Tax Preparation
Have you seen how many forms you have to fill out if you own your own business? You might as well send the IRS a novel, hardcover and signed. A small fee to hire a CPA is well worth the amount of money you can save when you’re sure the paperwork is done the first time correctly. Not only that, but you can also offer this service to your employees as well. Helping a small business CPA with your small business will be beneficial for both of you.
Corporate Governance
Corporate governance is basically as it sounds. The person will structure and identify the distribution of the rights among everyone in the corporation. Like the directors, managers, creditors, etc. How this helps is by monitoring the practices and decisions of corporations, agents, and the shareholders. If your business has become an organization with multiple levels of employees, a Certified Public Account is almost a necessity.
When you first start your business, you probably won’t need a CPA. It’s after you either get so busy that you don’t have the time to work with your budget or create a financial plan for the fiscal year, or when you have so many employees that a CPA will save you from any extra stress that you don’t need. When it comes to finding a CPA look in your local classifieds, being able to meet face to face with your accountant is the easiest way to communicate your needs and their plans. Make sure to check references and follow-up on leads.