Tips for Finding the Best Accountants in Adelaide, South Australia

You cannot underplay the importance of a good accountant, regardless of the industry your business falls into. A good accountant will help with tax planning, keep your books in order, and will make sure you meet all your tax deadlines. Although you can get a bookkeeper for performing basic accounting services, a certified accountant is someone who is well versed with complicated accounting, offering strategic advice for business growth. With that said, the services of a good accountant are invaluable to any business – from helping write your business plan to reviewing your inventory, identifying growth opportunities, and looking for ways to reduce your tax liability, you would want an accountant at every stage of your business’s growth.  

Choosing the right accountant is like choosing any other professional and can make a huge difference to your business.

#1 Check the qualifications

In Australia, the designation of an accountant is not regulated, meaning anyone can call themselves an accountant regardless of their professional or educational qualifications. The key difference that sets apart skilled accountants Adelaide is the fact that they can prepare and lodge income tax returns. So, if you are looking for a certified accountant for your business, the practitioner must be a Registered Tax Agent and belong to a professional association like the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Australia (ICAA), Certified Practicing Accountants Australia (CPAA), or Institute of Public Accountants (IPA).

#2 Multi-skilled

For a bookkeeping practitioner to be an asset to a small and medium-sized business, they need to have a combination of a genuine passion for helping customers, a willingness to improve their skills, tax law knowledge, and be able to communicate guidance in a simple and clear manner. When the financials start getting tough, business owners need someone to talk to about the existing scenario like what can be cut loose and what needs to be restored to combat the depression and work out the business issues. A skilled accountant will have a bag full of options to help your business thrive in a difficult market.   

#3 Not just tax, the accountant must offer analysis and reporting

Certified accountants are trained to do much more than preparing tax returns and signing off year-end reports. Qualified accountants help businesses with succession planning, finance applications, and cash flow analysis, among other aspects. With bookkeeping going digital and cloud-based, your accountant can be engaged in all the financial facets of your business in real time.

#4 Must boast technical knowledge

The current market scenario requires professionals to possess a high level of aptitude in different tools and software and accounting is no less. Professional accountants must boast deep technical knowledge in business and accounting software to make sure that the businesses get the most from their software packages. With the rise in technology, conventional accounting tasks such as data entry into a ledger has transformed into advice, reporting, and analysis. All professional accountants must incorporate the basic minimum knowledge of cloud accounting and how it can be utilised by their clients. The future of accounting and business software is optimistic with plenty of sophisticated tools and software ready to enrol in the business scenario. Hence, it can be a little overwhelming for the accountants who can’t keep up with the pace of the world.

#5 Must be versed with organisation and management skills

A professional accountant must understand the importance of time management and know where their time is best invested across their different range of works. Maintaining monthly records, invoicing, organising taxes, and more helps businesses work efficiently without worrying about delaying financials and other aspects.

#6 Previous experience

Unless you are a start up with budget issues, you should always hire an accountant who has previously worked with organisations, especially in your business sector. Moreover, you will also have to decide between choosing a specialist accountant or an accounting firm. An accounting firm is preferred if you need more workforce on dealing with your financials or when your business is diversified into different sectors. An individual accountant is ideal if yours is a small business.

The Bottom Line

If you are looking for an accountant who will help you grow your business, then the practitioner needs expertise in cash flow management, budgeting, strategic planning, business planning, and estate planning. Always discuss the issues your business is facing, such as industrial relations assistance, IT support, and bookkeeping. Keep the above given tips in the mind and choose the Best Accountants in Adelaide, South Australia for your business.