20 October 2009
How difficult is it to find a reliable accountant who will take responsibility for decisions made and can give accurate advice on your financial situation? In this article we review Diana Saltridge's decisionDiana Saltridge set up her specialist food retailing business and coffee shop, The Italian Delights Store, in Lincolnshire straight from leaving higher education. From the start, she maximised the use of accountancy services as part of the business model.
Plan accounting needs
"My business plan always included putting sound systems in place as the foundation for growth. That included managing the books. Although I had a business management science degree and knew the basics of accounting, I also knew that it wasn't my strength. My business is open six days a week and I wanted to devote the time not spent in the shop to product development and marketing.
"Remembering advice from a senior lecturer, I decided to look for a bookkeeper and an auditor. It's good business practice to have your books audited separately and I wanted to start as I meant to go on."
Choose reputable practitioners
"When I was looking for an auditor, I got several recommendations from business associates. I got the auditors to look over my business plan, before I'd taken it to the bank, which was a useful 'trial' of their services. In the end I chose a reputable local firm with experience of dealing with small companies. I was impressed by the way they had read the business plan in detail and understood what I was trying to achieve.
"My bookkeeper was also recommended to me and I signed her up from day one to handle invoicing, management accounts, VAT returns, PAYE for my five employees and National Insurance contributions. My bookkeeper and auditor are both established local businesses themselves. It was important to me to work with people who knew the local market in which I was operating."
Build and manage the relationship
"Trust is the key to any business relationship, doubly so with accountancy services because you're handing over all the financial details of your business. I have a high level of trust in both my advisers, based on their reputation and my experience of working with them to date.
"From the beginning I knew I wanted monthly management accounts, rather than just quarterly, so that I could keep close tabs on capital expenditure and cashflow. My bookkeeper works closely with me to produce the accounts, but I'm still in control. I analyse the cashflow on a daily basis so I know exactly where the business stands, but she does the work of entering and checking all the figures. She also presents the figures on interactive spreadsheets to an agreed format, so that I have instant access to the financial information I need. There's no way I would have the time to go into the kind of detail she provides.
"The relationship with my auditors is also very productive. They respond quickly to queries and I use them as ad hoc advisers on things like taxation and VAT. The fact that my advisers have an excellent reputation is very useful in dealing with VAT officials. I've found they're less likely to make life difficult if they know your advisers are trustworthy."
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