How to Get More Out of Your Accountant

Here are three suggestions from the Street for getting more out of your accountant:

1. Choose a professional who returns your calls promptly.

2. To really maximize your use of (and relationship with) your tax professional, make sure you are as educated as a non-pro can be on topics relating to your specific situation.

3. Make sure you keep them informed every year about life changes that may impact your finances. (the birth of a child, divorce, inheritance, home purchase, or starting a business)

My take on these:

1. I prefer email to the phone, but I know what they mean and I agree -- you want someone who will communicate with you. My CPA does a great job at this.

2. I agree 100% -- you have to know the basics of whatever you're asking the accountant to do or you'll be at a severe disadvantage. Knowing the tax laws saved me $1,200 this past year when my CPA made a mistake.

3. I see this as part of #2. If you're knowledgeable of the issues (in my case, tax issues), then you'll know what information your accountant will need to do the best job possible for you. Major life changes are obviously factors you'll want to consider and let your accountant know about when he/she needs to. To help this process along, my CPA sends me a questionnaire each year that asks 75 questions or so -- to try and identify any needed information that I may forget to convey.

Comments

[Kevin]

I can't believe they missed the most obvious one:

Planning. Get the CPA involved BEFORE you do something major. I'm talking about buying a business, selling a stock you've held for long time, etc. Knowing the tax effect going in to the transaction will prevent surprises later on when it is too late to rectify.

[Luke @ Money & Fitnes Blog]

Here is a quick question about a CPA I went through this past year. I found a good one and didn't really have any problems until he billed me for the year. He charges $90 per hour and was charging me in 15 minute increments (Which is fair). But if I asked him a question that took him 30 seconds to answer, I would get charged for that increment. Is that avoidable? When I asked him about it, he just said it depends.

[Kevin]

Luke - as a CPA myself I would not bill for 15 minutes for that short of a question. Are you working with the Big 4 firms, because that sounds like something they might try to pull. My firm bills in 6 minute increments, but for something that small, I probably wouldn't even enter it into our time tracking system. Have you tried bringing this up with him/her? Perhaps their billing is so automated this fell through the cracks. At worst you still have to pay it, at best they would write it off. They might not want to risk losing a client for $22.50.