Talk with your accountant
The key to bringing your accountant into your proverbial inner circle is communication. Nothing is more important, just ask an accountant.
“You cannot develop a relationship if all you’re doing is meeting with your accountants once a year when it’s time to prepare financial statements or it’s time to file your tax return or it’s time to put out a wild, raging fire, metaphorically speaking, in your business,” Schnabl says. “A meaningful relationship is built over time because trust is only built over time. You couldn’t possibly do that if you meet infrequently and only in reaction to crises.”
Without some level of constant and consistent communication, your accountant cannot know the full spectrum of activity within your company and, in turn, might be unable to offer constructive criticism and potentially prosperous ideas and suggestions. The more communication between you and your accountant, the more opportunity and the higher the possibility you will receive a far more favorable result.
Many industry experts recommend you plan to get together with your accountant for at least three or four formal meetings per year, though multiple variables might swing that number higher or lower, including the size of your business, the challenges you are facing now and expect to face during the course of the next year, and the strengths and weaknesses of your internal financial team. Others recommend more casual meetings or phone calls in order to communicate on a regular basis.
Whether you meet around the boardroom table or over beers at your favorite bar, take advantage of that time to ask your accountant important questions, like how can you best utilize your accountant? What should you do internally? Externally? And what are your priorities for the next year?
A high level of communication with your accountant can also lead to you becoming more comfortable around each other. Your accountant should be familiar with many of the folks on your upper management team, and you should be familiar with many of the folks who play top roles for the firm.
“To function most effectively, a professional services provider must have a clear understanding of a company’s strategy, business imperatives and issues,” says Carrie G. Hall, Southeast strategic growth markets leader, Ernst & Young LLP. “Executives should meet with their accountants as often as necessary, especially in these volatile times.”