The services of a chartered accountant for a VSE / SME are generally of great importance. His sound advice can indeed allow the manager to optimize his accounting and make better decisions. So the question remains: how to find an accountant? In some cases, finding the gem can be more difficult than it seems. Here are our tips for finding the right shoe for you (or rather your accounting!) Quickly and efficiently.
In this article
Accountant and chartered accountant: what differences?
Why is it important to find THE right chartered accountant?
Find a chartered accountant using the network
Find a chartered accountant online
The price
Ease of use
Find a local accountant
How to recognize an effective accountant?
Behavior and pedagogy
Knowledge of your activity
Reactivity
Membership of the Order of Chartered Accountants
If these two terms can easily be considered to denote a single position, this is not the case. Explanations.
What differentiates an accountant from an accountant in the first place is training. While an accountant comes from a training course delivering a standard tax diploma, the chartered accountant for his part holds a diploma obtained after 8 years of study, recognized by the State and the administration fiscal … It is this diploma which enables the chartered accountant to claim to be such and to carry out very specific accounting missions.
Besides, the accountant is only empowered to carry out a few accounting operations and, possibly, to prepare (and not certify) a balance sheet. Only the chartered accountant is authorized to do more: full support and advice to companies, relations with banks, the taxman, etc. To know that an accountant can sometimes need the support of an accountant within the framework of his functions, to gain in productivity, or to save time on certain tasks.
Before going any further, it is essential to understand how a chartered accountant is a great asset for a company and why surrounding yourself with the professional who best suits you must be one of your priorities.
For companies of the SAS and SARL type, no law obliges the manager to call on a chartered accountant to manage his accounting entries during his activity. However, it is strongly advised to use its services for several reasons:
Regardless of its legal status, a company always has some legal obligations regarding its accounting. It must have its accounts approved annually by an Auditor (CAC) at the annual general meeting to approve the accounts if it exceeds certain economic thresholds. Having a diploma as a chartered accountant is one of the three possible paths to be appointed as a CAC within a company.
The accounting is not a single discipline. It requires mastering multiple concepts and being very rigorous. It is not uncommon that business leaders do not have the skills necessary to achieve good accounting management (which is normal, not everyone can be an expert on the subject).
However, certain leaders may indeed have developed or acquired sufficient knowledge allowing them to manage their finance, even their treasury. Anyway, accounting takes time because it requires time-consuming input of invoices; a luxury that most business owners cannot afford. So, even if you can manage all of your finances on your own, it's a safe bet that all the time you devote to it could have been used for other missions: marketing, commercial prospecting, research, and development. , etc.
But finding an accountant is not enough: you have to do everything to find THE right person.
The reason for this is simple. Indeed, the chartered accountant will ideally support your company for many years: you will discuss strategy, entrust it with important information, expose it to problems, give it control over the management of your accounting.
In short, more than just a service provider, the chartered accountant is in a way a confidant and a precious advisor to guarantee the financial security of your business. To avoid unpleasant surprises, we, therefore, recommend that you take the time to talk with all those who have caught your attention to ensure that the current flow between you, both professionally and personally.
You must certainly know this annoying sensation when you are looking for something without finding when the answer is ... right in front of your eyes! So, instead of doing your research alone, it is worth going to ask for your knowledge to obtain recommendations and opinions.
For example, one of your relationships, also being at the head of a business, could potentially refer you. You can just as well ask your suppliers to find an accountant: perhaps they will have recommendations for you?
Two main categories of accountants exist today: online firms or proximity (physical) firms.
In this part, we will look at online formulas, called dematerialized.
Generally, using an online accountant is advantageous on two points:
Indeed, in general, an online firm charges on average 20 to 30% cheaper rates than their local counterparts.
“But then, the services are logical of lower quality?”
Not necessarily, in any case, it is not the norm. Besides, these aggressive tariffs can be explained quite simply.
First, the online accountant does not necessarily have to travel to see clients or go to the office, so he saves on travel time. Second, the fact that its entire service is dematerialized limits operating costs. Finally, since the premises are not supposed to accommodate customers, it can be located in supposedly less attractive geographic areas but in which rents are lower.
This is another advantage offered by online services. Attention, when we talk about ease, it is still necessary to know new technologies to be able to exploit the full potential of the tools provided. However, once taken in hand, they make it possible to simplify a good number of tasks and therefore to save precious time for managers.
To find a chartered accountant online without wasting too much time, compare offers online and contact the one you have chosen directly by phone or on the chat on their website.
If you do not like the idea of using the online accountant option, there is the more conventional solution of local accounting firms. If the prices charged by these firms are higher than those of their online colleagues, the fact remains that they have several interesting advantages.
Not all managers are comfortable with new technologies and do not necessarily have the time to get started because of their activity. Therefore, opting for an online accountant is not recommended. In this case, a physical cabinet will be a much better solution.
For some people, the accounting must be managed to utilize direct meetings, not only through an online tool and meetings by interposed screens. A local firm will, therefore, meet this need by allowing the manager to meet regularly with his chartered accountant.
Finding an accountant is one thing, but identifying one who can best meet your needs is another. So, to avoid being in an uncomfortable situation, here are a few things to think about before making your decision.
If your accountant is not supposed to be your friend, it is best to have a cordial relationship with him. So it is a good idea to take your time ahead of your choice to ensure that you are properly aligned with its mission. This will give you a clearer idea of how they are and how they work, which will help you decide.
But that's not all. A chartered accountant, as a specialist, is required to support companies managed by different managers who do not all have good knowledge of accounting. He must, therefore, be able to make the terms audible and understandable and avoid any jargon to properly guide his interlocutor. This is a parameter to take into account when you want to call on an accountant. To take the test, nothing prevents you from formulating some questions that you ask yourself to have an overview of its educational fiber.
Each sector of activity has its characteristics, sometimes requiring adjustments in accounting management. Calling on a chartered accountant who has a minimum knowledge of the terrain in which your company operates is therefore very important: the more familiar he is with the sector in which your company operates, the more he will be able to advise you in a relevant manner. Better still, a chartered accountant with good knowledge of your sector can potentially help you find suitable financing solutions, for example.
Above all, a chartered accountant must be available. To be sure, do some tests to measure his response time: send him emails for example, and watch how long it takes to get a return, not to mention that a chartered accountant is also human! So don't expect an instant response almost automatically.
Do not improvise as a chartered accountant who wants to. Indeed, to exercise the profession and register with the Order, it is essential to hold a DEC (Diplôme expertise Compatible).
If you have any doubts about the words of one of the professionals with whom you have contacted, it is possible to refer to the Order present in your region to obtain reliable information. If your contact is not known to the Order, do not sign up and choose another!
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