Overview: Finding a number-crunching expert who really knows your business takes work, but in the end it is worth the effort.
An effective accountant is a key player in the success of any business, but many business owners are not particularly happy with their current bean counter and do nothing about it. I myself was guilty of that. For several years I continued to retain the services of an accountant who berated every single idea I had, yet never seemed to come up with any alternatives. She would tell me, at length, why I was wrong, but never what she thought the right plan of action would be. She actually yelled at me on occasion. And I paid her.
So why did I visit this mediocre accountant year after year when it came time to have the taxes prepared? It was the easiest thing to do – the path of least resistance. Even if you believe your current accountant isn’t doing much to advance your business, it’s less hassle to go back to the known commodity than to search for a new accountant. After all, he knows you and your business and he’s already got all your data on his hard drive.
It takes time and effort to search for, hire and bring a new accountant up to speed on the financial details of your business. And there’s no guarantee a different accountant will be any better, because, admit it, unless you are an accountant, you probably think all accountants are basically the same anyway. Kind of like how those of us who are not penguins view penguins.
