There have been a couple of great articles published in the Guardian’s Small Business Pages. So let’s look at the first one, which gives a few pointers on choosing an accountant for your small business.
“Where’s the link?”, we hear you say. Well HERE it is, if you really must click right now, but we know everyone in life is busy, especially you, so we’ve extracted all of the questions the Guardian thinks you need to ask and listed them below. And, just to make things really easy, we’ve given you our answers before you’ve even asked.
And as you’ll see, we like this article a lot. You could be forgiven for imagining that only our professional ethical standards prevented us from slipping the author a fiver to write it.
Why?
Well let’s see.
Q. Are they regulated by a professional body?
YES – we are. Aiteo Consulting is an accredited Member in Practice of the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (CIMA), the world’s largest and leading professional body of management accountants. CIMA has more than 227,000 members and students in 179 countries, all of whom work at the heart of business. CIMA also has very strong relationships with employers and sponsors leading research.
And through CIMA’s joint venture with the American Institute of Certified Professional Accountants (AICPA), we also hold the globally recognised designation of Chartered Global Management Accountant (CGMA).
By the way, CLICK HERE for the public record.
Q. Do they have PI cover?
YES – and we’d be surprised if an accountant was operating without it, to be honest.
Q. Can they act as your business partner?
YES – and this is exactly at the core of our mission. Many traditional accountants have never worked in industry, and we feel that it’s little wonder that there are so few solutions for growing technology enterprises and start-ups.
At Aiteo, we believe we can understand your specific needs based our long career experience in the technology sector, and we combine this with the highest professional standards in the accountancy business. You’ll benefit from advice from finance professionals who’ll spend guaranteed time examining your financials, developing tailor-made recommendations on how you can increase profits and grow your business. Or any other goal you may have.
Q. Are they more than accounts & tax compliance…
YES – but let’s just cover that off while we’re here. Annual accounts, filing taxes, running a payroll – any accountant can do this for you. But many rely on out-of-date solutions such as locally-run software to handle your compliance needs, meaning that your information is processed inefficiently, wasting more of your time.
At Aiteo, we’re about adding value. But to do that, we’ve got to get the routine out of the way first. We use market leading compliance solutions which integrate with the latest cloud-based software such as Xero and ClearBooks (wait – that’s another Q!) to handle all your compliance needs efficiently, so we can spend our time helping you grow your business.
Q. …can they help with grants, government funding pots, crowdfunding, angel investments…
YES …. and perhaps you sense a pattern emerging with these answers?.
Jonathan Smith, our MD, is a registered Business Growth Expert with the Government’s Business Growth Service (more of which on another blog post, but let’s just say “growth coaching” and “access to funding” to give you a flavour for now). He is also a volunteer business mentor for StartupDirect, a great service that allows you to launch or grow your business with a government-backed start-up loan.
And if you need help with looking for fundraising, we have experience in spades of preparing business plans and presenting them to some really difficult and taxing people – just as any investor who is worth their salt will be.
Q. Do they use online book-keeping software such as Xero and Clearbooks…
YES! Next!
Q. No need to be polite about fees…
No need to worry. We discuss our fees, up front, relate them to the work to be done and the value you’ll get out of it, and then put you on a monthly payment arrangement.
Q. Do they work with small businesses with expertise in their sector?
First and foremost, we work with tech companies. Why? Well, it’s what we’re good at. Check out our ABOUT US page to get our credentials. For example, we’ve worked with a well-funded and highly innovative fintech start-up and we have advised a services business in relation to a national distribution network for an advanced technological innovation. We are also working with some creative individuals in the London tech eco-system who are looking to be break out as new entrepreneurs.
Q. Are they pro-active? They should contact you at least every three months.
We feel this is a very modest target, to say the least. Our communication channels with you will be well documented and we will have a clear engagement plan which you value, priced according to your requirements. And if after all that, we still only contact you once every three months, please feel free to fire us.
So take a read of the Guardian article, which I’m sure you agree pretty much recommends us in all but name, and we’ll leave the last word to James Richardson of an evidently similar and progressive parish, who says:
‘The way to get the most out of your accountant is to engage in dialogue.’
So, if you’re ready, and we’ve convinced you – let’s start the conversation!