Gambit Financial

5. What else should you expect from your accountant?

Although by no means an exhaustive list, you should expect the following from an accountant working in the modern, cloud-enabled age:

◊ Responsiveness - You shouldn’t have to track down your accountant via multiple phone calls and emails just to have a conversation.

◊ Education + Communication - Your accountant should be proactive in teaching you about your finances and tax situation. They should park the jargon at the door and speak to you in plain English to help you understand your numbers.

◊ Accountability (No pun intended) - Your accountant should give it to you straight.
What were your goals last quarter? How did you perform against them?

◊ Trust - This is someone who gets to peek behind the curtain. It’s vital that you trust them to be constructive and helpful.

◊ Advocacy - Your accountant should care deeply about your success and actively participate. They should shout from the rooftops, and never miss an opportunity to help you make a connection or take that next step.

◊ Proactivity - Your accountant should be reaching out to schedule your next call, check-in meeting, piece of advice, suggested software, tax planning strategy, tax payment deadlines, etc. You shouldn’t have to take the lead with regards to any of this.

◊ Confidence - You shouldn’t be scared to reach out to your accountant because he’s tracking his time by the minute to bill you. That isn’t the mark of a healthy relationship.

◊ Empathy - Your accountant should understand that finance is just one aspect of the business you’re trying to build. It should fit with your operations, marketing, HR, etc.

Processes, accounting, communication, and education should all be considered from the client’s point of view for better understanding and collaboration. We’re always asking “Will the client understand this email?” or “How does this fit in to the client’s day-to-day lifestyle?” or “Does this report reflect the way the business owner sees their business?”

Your accountant should understand the challenges of running your day- to-day business. In short, the great accountants tick all of those boxes and more.