“So why do I need an accountant at all?”

I was asked this recently by a potential client of mine.

At first, I was taken a back because he showed me the corporation tax return he had just completed and the accounts that he had just filed and you know what he had done a half decent job.

Its true there is nothing to say you need an accountant to complete your accounts or tax returns. However, the answer I came up with on the day is worthy of sharing so here goes.

This particular client, let’s call him Ron, did a decent job but it took him a long time to do it. He had to research the forms, had to get some new software and study the rules to make sure he complied. He then double checked his knowledge because he wanted to make sure it was all ok. All of this took a long time – I am talking months.

So the first point I have is how valuable is your time, what is the opportunity cost of you doing the work yourself. This is something every small business owner has to ask themselves all the time. Should I do it myself or pay someone else?

As we all know running a small business is more than a full time job, it’s a job and a half, so doing your actual year end accounts and tax return is just a step to far for most.

The next point is that there are certain things that Accountants know that most people don’t need to or even want to know, such as the associated company rules, the rules for capital allowances, benefits in kind etc. The nuances of the British Tax system are such that the layman can get themselves in trouble if not very careful and navigating these takes time.

This knowledge extends to all the tips and tricks we can employ, within the law of course, to make sure you don’t overpay your tax.

The Internet is killing knowledge based industries.

I have to agree with Ron on this, the internet has killed or is in the process of killing businesses that rely on knowledge as their main leverage. The internet has made knowledge more accessible to people. They can now be their own insurance broker, travel agent, financial adviser the internet is going to do this to accountants.

Here at Accsys Accountants we acknowledge this so we aim to be more than just traditional compliance based accountants. We aim to offer help and advice to help our clients grow their businesses, we talk to our clients about their businesses issues and help them overcome them.

We help organise the business and we advise on the business not just the finances. We aim to be more of a partner to your business.

The way we have achieved this is to abolish recording time to calculate fees. We just give you a set fixed monthly fee and then all your advice is included, call us and we will help and won’t charge you extra.

This has removed the barrier and fear that prevents clients from a calling and asking for advice. We say call and ask, you won’t get charged and it might save you thousands in tax or business efficiency savings.

We are on your side and are here to help your business improve and grow.