Do You Need An Accountant? Here’s How To Find One!

The past year and a half have seen a huge number of people completely changing their career paths. As a result of the coronavirus and Covid-19 pandemic, and the guidelines and regulations that governments around the world put in place to slow the spread of the virus, countless people have found themselves losing work and switching from employed roles to self employed roles, or setting up their own businesses.

This has proven to be a positive change for many, but starting to work for yourself means more than simple switching your working style. You’re also going to have to learn to deal with your taxes properly too. When you’re an employee, your employer will take care of most of your taxes and other legal financial payments on your behalf.

Sums are often deducted from your paycheck each month to cover the costs. When you become self-employed, you will then have to figure out and pay your taxes yourself. Failing to do so could result in fines, penalties or even jail time. This is where an accountant can come in extremely useful.

Here’s some more information on what they do and how to source one to help you!

What Is an Accountant?

Let’s start out by determining what an accountant actually is. This professional is a qualified individual whose main role is to deal with financial records and to help individuals file taxes correctly. Some accountants also double as financial advisors, helping to make recommendations regarding your self employed work or business’ financial operations. Choosing an accountant can feel complex. There are many out there, but what sets one apart from another?

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Choosing The Right Accountant

Some things to consider when choosing an accountant include:

Qualifications

Seeing as accountants deal with legalities, in most places, they have to be professionally qualified to officially work with you and deal with your accounts. You should make sure that your accountant is recognised by law to ensure that you’re getting the right service and that your accounts will be managed correctly. The qualifications that you should look for will differ from one place to another, so check what the requirements are in your local area.

Experience

As with many roles, the more experience your accountant has, the better. Experience can help accountants to understand how to tackle difficulties, problems ad other challenges effectively. It also expands their knowledge, giving them a more thorough understand of the tax system. Ideally, your accountant will be experienced.

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Software

There’s plenty of accounting software out there that can improve your accountant’s work. So, see whether your chosen accountant is using the most up to date practice management software for accountants. This shows that they are keeping up to speed with their field.

Locality

It’s good to have an accountant who is nearby, so you can communicate on a face to face basis if necessary.

Final Thoughts

As you can see, there’s a lot to bear in mind and take into consideration when sourcing an accountant. But all in all, when you find the right person, your efforts will be more than worth it!