How do you choose an accountant?

[Shaun @ Tru6]

I am at a point where I need a really good small business accountant who knows all the ins and outs of S corps and single member LLCs. Last professional firm I worked with was chosen/mandated by investors, and quite honestly, they sucked. Since then, for years I've been able to rely on CPA friends and doing my own research but am past that point now. I have friends recommending ones they know so that's good.

What are some good questions to ask? What do you look for? Watch out for?

[Gogar]

My accountant passed away and another lady took over her accounts.

Her house smelled like cat pee. I'm out.

Going to go with my coworkers' CPA now.

Sorry, that's my story, I know it's worthless.

[Seahawk]

Our accountant is also a lawyer:

https://www.attorney-cpa.com/

Best thing we ever did.

Edit: Shaun, you asked a question I did not answer. We found him by asking other small companies
about their accountant/CPA. All word of mouth. The guy that recommended him to me is a
former USMC Two-star who said he was a great guy and that his lawyer and accountant rarely
argued with each other anymore

[Nickshu]

My accountant was the president of the state accounting association, has a nice brick and mortar office, and is a professional. He's also very expensive but compared to others I have worked with he does not make mistakes and is always ahead of the game. I guess I get what I pay for there.

Oh and No cat pee in his office. LOL.

[MRM]

Personal referrals. It's impossible for a lay person to evaluate an accountant's capabilities until after he's already done his work so the best thing to do is get recommendations from someone who had good results with their accountant.

[rusnak]

^ That's what I did. Basically, I went with "I know a guy who...." Sometimes you luck out, and that was 23 years ago. I was 24.

[LeeH]

You want someone who's involved. I've done accounting work for years and worked with many CPAs. The ones I liked were more active - periodically reviewed their client's files for accuracy and were proactive on tax planning often holding Q4 meetings to preview financials to make sure there were no surprises. In accounting there's black and white issues, and some "gray" issues. The good CPAs insist their clients play by the rules if things are black and white, and will explain the gray issues and the consequences of the chosen path.

The ones I didn't like would happily crank out a tax return on a client generated QuickBooks P&L without ever reviewing the file, GL, or anything else. Business dinner at Chuck E Cheese on the company credit card? No problem! Often their attitude is that they're working off of client supplied information so it's not their responsibility to dig any deeper.

In the end, referrals, keeping the above in mind, are the way to go. But be careful. Some people LIKE that their CPAs don't care so be sure to understand WHY they think their CPA is a good choice before signing up.

[GH85Carrera]

The firm of Dewey, Cheatum and Howe is a good place to avoid.

Yea, ask some other business owner friends for referrals.

[Tobra]

Originally Posted by MRM

Personal referrals. It's impossible for a lay person to evaluate an accountant's capabilities until after he's already done his work so the best thing to do is get recommendations from someone who had good results with their accountant.

^this^

[Shaun @ Tru6]

Solid advice and information, thank you Gentlemen.

[RKDinOKC]

Take them a jar of beans. The best accountant is the one that comes up with the correct number of beans the quickest.

[look 171]

I am listening as I am in the same damn boat. My guy quit last summer. He bought a hotel and retired. It felt like I was dumped by a long time girlfriend since I used his service for over 10+ years. I have to try this new person, but I am not sure how its going to work out. It is very difficult to find someone like Lee mentioned.

[HardDrive]

[berettafan]

word of mouth. I never advertise, don't need to.

truth is there is no magic involved. most cpa's in my area know how to do their job. there are differences in how much some charge but by and large you'll get a very similar return back from most firms if you give them the same set of facts.

now there are a few who are notoriously cheap and one or two who are notoriously crooked. believe me when I tell you IRS knows who both are. the super cheap ones don't know their jobs and the crooked ones (everyone knows who they are) engage in fraud on a regular basis and put every one of their clients at risk because their PTIN is on every return they file and easily singled out for audit.

within the realm of competent firms most client turnover is more related to personality differences and to a lesser extent pricing. in my experience 9 of 10 clients leaving the cheap accountant (typically not even a CPA) have returns with errors or major missed issues. 10 of 10 clients leaving crooked accountants aren't welcome in my firm (I'm not cleaning up someone elses fraud after the fact) and maybe 1 of 10 from legit firms have significant errors or missed issues. more than 1 of 10 BELIEVE they have missed issues but very often it is a misunderstanding on the clients part. maybe 2 of 10 from legit firms were gently pushed out the door for being a pain in the ass and thus less efficient to work for.

I know this is more than was asked by OP but thought some insight into the industry might be helpful.

[yellowperil]

They should be judged by physical appearance only, and they should all look like Bill Hickman, the driver of the Charger in Bullitt.