I'm a Las Vegas CPA who just came out of a meeting with a bunch of students. They were down at a recruiting visit down in Southern Utah. And one of the things we told them when they're looking for an employer is to "find your fit". And that is an absolutely important tip I can give to any business owner as well: When you're looking for an advisor - your attorney, your insurance agent, your Las Vegas CPA - these are people you're going to have to trust an awful lot with the personal details of your life and with the success of your business in some case, and so you need to take the time to interview people and see whether you relate to them, and whether it's somebody that you can trust, someone you can get on the phone and talk to, and someone who shares your values.
Maybe they have a similar appetite for risk. You may not be as cutting edge as your CPA wants to be on taxes, and that may make you uncomfortable. Or, your CPA may be more conservative than you want to be. So it's very important that you spend the time on this relationship at the front, because it's much easier to spend it then, than to change CPAs every 2 or 3 years. So, "find your fit" when choosing a Las Vegas CPA.
As a Las Vegas accountant, one of the things that I get asked a lot is, "What should you ask an accountant in Las Vegas if you are considering hiring one?". One of the most important things is there licensing (their credentials, exactly what they have other licenses in). You should contact their state board of CPAs and the American Institute of accountants to see whether or not there has been any disciplinary actions put against them, and also check out their licenses - they usually do have them posted in their offices.
One of the other things that you should ask a Las Vegas accountant about is their fees: how do they charge you, is it an hourly billing, is it a value billing, what exactly will they charge you for phone calls, what type of meetings can you have with them on a regular basis? You want to make sure that you understand that before you hire an accountant. Additionally, you want to ask them how you could reduce your fees. Do you charge me less or more if I bring in a box of receipts? Could I possibly do some of the work and keep my fees at a minimum? One of the last things that I would consider asking them is 'what their strategies are with their financial statements and their tax returns?'. Are they aggressive, or are they conservative? You want to hire someone who is exactly like yourself. If you're aggressive and you like to take an aggressive strategy on your tax return, you want to make sure that an accountant is willing to look at that without disobeying the laws.
I want to take a minute to talk about Las Vegas accounting services that you receive from your CPA. Las Vegas CPAs often provide what we call "compliance services" such as: financial statements that are required for banks or other lending institutions, or tax returns which, of course, our government requires. But the accounting services that really mean the most to clients are those that aren't required, but that really add value to you and your life. Those services we call "value-added services".
And so when you're looking for a CPA and trying to decide how you're going to employ someone to do those things that have to be done (those compliance services) also find out from them if they have an interest in, or a history of, providing these "value-added services". These accounting services include: helping you plan for retirement, helping you look for ways out of your business, exit strategies, succession planning, those kinds of things, as well as how to take the money that you make in your business, in your life and retain it so that you can live the life that you like through your retirement years.
The important thing is to make sure that your accountant is offering you the services that are most important to you life. Keep this in mind the next time you meet with your CPA to discuss possible Las Vegas accounting services.
Maybe they have a similar appetite for risk. You may not be as cutting edge as your CPA wants to be on taxes, and that may make you uncomfortable. Or, your CPA may be more conservative than you want to be. So it's very important that you spend the time on this relationship at the front, because it's much easier to spend it then, than to change CPAs every 2 or 3 years. So, "find your fit" when choosing a Las Vegas CPA.
As a Las Vegas accountant, one of the things that I get asked a lot is, "What should you ask an accountant in Las Vegas if you are considering hiring one?". One of the most important things is there licensing (their credentials, exactly what they have other licenses in). You should contact their state board of CPAs and the American Institute of accountants to see whether or not there has been any disciplinary actions put against them, and also check out their licenses - they usually do have them posted in their offices.
One of the other things that you should ask a Las Vegas accountant about is their fees: how do they charge you, is it an hourly billing, is it a value billing, what exactly will they charge you for phone calls, what type of meetings can you have with them on a regular basis? You want to make sure that you understand that before you hire an accountant. Additionally, you want to ask them how you could reduce your fees. Do you charge me less or more if I bring in a box of receipts? Could I possibly do some of the work and keep my fees at a minimum? One of the last things that I would consider asking them is 'what their strategies are with their financial statements and their tax returns?'. Are they aggressive, or are they conservative? You want to hire someone who is exactly like yourself. If you're aggressive and you like to take an aggressive strategy on your tax return, you want to make sure that an accountant is willing to look at that without disobeying the laws.
I want to take a minute to talk about Las Vegas accounting services that you receive from your CPA. Las Vegas CPAs often provide what we call "compliance services" such as: financial statements that are required for banks or other lending institutions, or tax returns which, of course, our government requires. But the accounting services that really mean the most to clients are those that aren't required, but that really add value to you and your life. Those services we call "value-added services".
And so when you're looking for a CPA and trying to decide how you're going to employ someone to do those things that have to be done (those compliance services) also find out from them if they have an interest in, or a history of, providing these "value-added services". These accounting services include: helping you plan for retirement, helping you look for ways out of your business, exit strategies, succession planning, those kinds of things, as well as how to take the money that you make in your business, in your life and retain it so that you can live the life that you like through your retirement years.
The important thing is to make sure that your accountant is offering you the services that are most important to you life. Keep this in mind the next time you meet with your CPA to discuss possible Las Vegas accounting services.
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