OT Accountant Needed OT

[Edward Roberts]

I have lost my job. Actually, I know where it is, they just can't afford for me to do it any longer. So I am starting my own business. Small, one-man job with a very limited budget to start, with plans to expand from there.

I am looking for an accountant who can be with me from start-up through regional then national growth.

Anyone have a contact that might fit the bill?

[Plymouthy Adams]

are you paying head hunter fees??...all jokes aside, sorry to hear the news..best of luck..funny how you see more of this stuff around Christmas...

[Chester Brzostowski]

Ed,

If you can keep it a cash, cash business then you won’t need an accountant all you will need is a good mattress. Once you get involved in local, state, & federal then you will find that you now have three partners who really don’t contribute anything to your business. Please let’s not forget insurance.

I have owned 3 businesses in my life so if you need some startup advice drop me an email with an abbreviated business plan.

Chet...

[Edward Roberts]

Thanks, Tim. It's the business equivalent of breaking up with a girl on February 13th.

As for headhunter fees? Let's see: I can offer a La Estrella Cubano and a screwdriver on the back deck. If the company takes off we can bump that up to a Man O' War Ruination and a Glenfiddich.

[Big_John]

What type of business are you starting?

Regarding accountants, be careful who you hire. There's good ones and some that are just plain terrible.

[Edward Roberts]

A forensic investigation company.

The accountant is the one hire I am most nervous about. When lawyers can go to jail because of something their accountant does, you know you are dealing with a powerful position.

If not names, does anyone have info on how to check accountant credentials?

[Big_John]

A forensic investigation company.

The accountant is the one hire I am most nervous about. When lawyers can go to jail because of something their accountant does, you know you are dealing with a powerful position.

If not names, does anyone have info on how to check accountant credentials?

Well... The first accountant we hired was a total failure. He got us in trouble with the NY sales tax collectors, gave us bad advice and did not take the appropriate income tax deductions that we were entitled to. It cost a ton of money to correct his mistakes.

We interviewed a bunch of accountants for his replacement. One thing that we looked at was the size of the accounting firm and what type of businesses they serviced. Learning from our past mistakes, we matched our needs accordingly. While some accountants took care of pizza parlors and barber shops, we needed a little more and settled on a large local firm that's done well for us.

I think you need to figure what your needs are and start interveiwing accordingly.

[Eneto-55]

My suggestion would be to talk to small to mid-sized business owners in your area about where they get their accounting done (businesses that do not have an in-house accountant). Find out which firms will do shady deals for you, then mark those off of your list. (If a shady accountanting firm doesn't just get you in deep water in the process, they would also do shady deals against you.)

Then work with the best accountanting firm you can afford until you can afford to make an attractive job offer to one of their best accountants. They get worked to death in those places during tax season, and many will jump at a good solid offer. (Probably not if your company is only a new start up. They will need some assurance that they are not jumping into a leaky boat.) They will also already know your business.

My two cents.

Neto

[Plymouthy Adams]

your city chamber of commerce should be able to assit you in this undertaking...

[Captain Neon]

Not to rip on the CoC in your neck of the woods, Tim, but most CoC that I have had any dealings w/ are usu. clueless about the business any one does and is more concerned about how much a business contributes to the local Christmas light display. Also, local CoC President will send inquiries to family and friends; not to the best business in town. Better Business Bureau also routinely regards complaints about member businesses as "frivolous" rather than recording complaints and scoring accordingly.

[Edward Roberts]

Big John & Neto,

Thank you very much for the advice. Glad you were able to recover form the New York mess. I will be putting a lot of research into finding an accountant. Definitely a position you pay a lot for now or much more for later.

And thanks to everyone for your advice. If anyone out there has more advice or resources for vetting accountant histories please feel free to post or send me a pm or email.

[old stovebolt]

A forensic investigation company.

The accountant is the one hire I am most nervous about. When lawyers can go to jail because of something their accountant does, you know you are dealing with a powerful position.

If not names, does anyone have info on how to check accountant credentials?

What kind of "forensic investigation company"? Automotive? Fire?

[Edward Roberts]

Origin and cause, including autos. What type of auto engineer are you?

[greg g]

The old saw about hiring an accountant used to be to ask them a very simple question.

How much is 2 + 2? Do not consider anyone who answers 4. But do give consideration to one who answers with a question, " How much do you need it to be?"

Have you checked Angie's list???

[old stovebolt]

Origin and cause, including autos. What type of auto engineer are you?

accident reconstruction .....

[Edward Roberts]

HAHA! That's the guy I'm worried about.... unless he's really good at it.

[woodie49]

I went into accounting straight from college. Started with a BIG accounting firm (Ernst & Young) and became a partner there. I left to be the CFO of a fortune 1000 public company and have since specialized in corporate turnarounds - working with investors or existing owners who are buying or operating troubled companies; turning them around and then selling them.

If I were looking for a good accountant as a small business start-up, I would look for a small firm specializing in personal and business taxes, with a small "audit" practice. They will certainly have more than enough knowledge to help you set up books of account, payroll, etc., and enough business sense to be a sounding board for your business plan and capital structure.

If I were not in the industry, I would locate my accountant by talking to 1. friends with successful busnesses and 2. really good attorneys (yes, I know all the jokes, but you are going to need a really good attorney).

Most of my opportunities have come through attorneys, who really like to be able to bill their clients and really like to be able to collect, so they are generally really careful about risking their relationship by making a bad referral to their clients.

Interview a few candidates, make CERTAIN that you are dealing with someone with integrety and common sense and you should be OK. The secret is that 2+2 does equal 4, and you really don't want a guy that thinks he is clever enough to prove otherwise. That is the guy who is going to land you in jail.

If you are a good mixer, C of C events are good because there are a lot of guys looking for clients at those events. You can make a lot of contacts and collect a lot of business cards. I have generally found with both attorneys and accountants, you can get a pretty good sense of whether someone is qualified by talking to them for a bit.

For an attorney, I would look for a small partnership of 4 or 5 partners, most of whom broke off from a bigger firm at a fairly senior level (say 7+ years) because the level of experience they would get at those firms is phenominal. And, if they were there for 7 years, they worked the equivalent of about 12. You'll pay less for the partner time than you would for a 3rd year associate at a big firm.

For an accountant, I would look for a smaller firm with maybe 3 to 5 partners. All should have had 7 to 10 yers at a very large regional or national/international accounting firm. You really just can't beat that experience and the ongoing training. You want a really strong technical tax expertise. If you go with a much larger firm, they'll romance you to death, but once they get you, you'll never get the attention you need, unless you are willing to pay a lot of money.

BTW, look into bookkeeping services as well. I have seen many good ones and they'll set you up on quickbooks and get you organized comparatively cheaply and provide ongoing service. And, your accountant should have no problem working with them.

As a small business, ALWAYS retain signature authority over your accounts. This should not go to a service. When you grow, you can design all kinds of controls, etc., that will let you distribute this responsibility, but not for a while.

Good luck

[Edward Roberts]

Thank you, thank you, thank you. (Sorry this is so late... tied up with a test for the last week.) What great advice. This belongs in a textbook... give the college kids some real knowledge.

I will be taking full advantage of it. And thanks for the attorney information. My ex-wife and her lawyer can tell you I am terrible at picking lawyers.

[Edward Roberts]

PM.