Why the Relationship with Your Accountant Matters. Your accountant should understand more than your figures.

Choosing an accountant is an important business decision.

You are trusting someone with confidential financial information, asking them to help you meet important legal obligations and, in many cases, involving them in some of the biggest decisions you will make.

Technical knowledge is essential, but the relationship you have with your accountant matters too.

I believe a good accounting relationship should be built on trust, honesty and open communication.

You should feel comfortable asking questions

Accounting and tax contain a great deal of technical language.

Terms such as accruals, capital allowances, director’s loan accounts and payments on account may be perfectly familiar to an accountant, but they are not necessarily part of a client’s everyday vocabulary.

Clients should not be made to feel uncomfortable because they do not understand those terms.

One of the most important parts of my role is explaining things in plain English.

I would much rather a client ask a question than remain unsure or make an important decision based on an incorrect assumption.

That applies whether the question relates to a tax return, a VAT payment, taking money from a company or deciding whether the business can afford a new employee.

An accountant needs to know where you are going

To provide meaningful advice, an accountant needs to understand what the client wants to achieve.

It is not enough to know what the business did last year.

I want to know:

Where does the client want the business to be in two or three years?

Do they want to expand?

Are they hoping to employ people?

Are they planning to purchase property or equipment?

Do they want to reduce their working hours?

Are they building something they eventually hope to sell?

The appropriate advice can be very different depending on those answers.

A decision that is right for a rapidly growing company may not be right for someone whose main goal is to create a stable and manageable business.

Communication works both ways 

A strong relationship also depends on the client keeping their accountant informed.

I always encourage clients to contact me when something significant changes.

That could include taking on an employee, purchasing a vehicle, receiving an unexpected amount of income, starting a new activity or considering a major investment.

The earlier I know about it, the more useful the advice can be.

There may be tax implications, cash-flow considerations or reporting requirements that should be considered before the decision is finalised.

An accountant cannot provide proactive support if they only discover what happened many months later.

A judgement-free approach

Sometimes a new client contacts me because their records are behind or because they have received a letter they do not understand.

The hardest part for them can be making that first phone call.

My first priority is to understand what has happened and what needs to be done next.

Blame does not solve the problem. A clear plan does.

Once the immediate issue has been addressed, we can put systems in place to make things easier in the future. That might involve cloud accounting software, more regular bookkeeping, clearer record keeping or scheduled reviews.

The aim is to give the client greater confidence and prevent the same worry from returning.

More than a reference number

I never want a client to feel like they are simply a reference number or a set of accounts waiting to be completed.

Every business has a story, and every business owner has different pressures, ambitions and responsibilities.

Taking the time to understand those things helps me provide a more personal and useful service.

A good accountant should not only know your figures.

They should understand what those figures mean to you.