4 Questions You Should Ask Your Accountant Every Quarter

Working with an accountant is almost always a great experience for business owners, particularly those who don’t have a background in finances.

However, while an accountant can help your business in many different ways, it is important to make sure you are working with your accountant in the best way possible by asking a couple of important questions every quarter.

Keep reading to learn what these questions are, and how the answers from your accountant help your business.

1. How is the financial health of my business?

Your business financial health is arguably one of the most important factors you should be concerned with as a business owner. Your accountant will be monitoring your business’ financial health as part of their job – hence it is important that you listen to a run down of your business’ financial health every quarter to get a better understanding of where your business is heading (the direction of your profit margin).

Your accountant should be able to give you a clear idea of your business financial health, as well as predict how your business financial health may improve or deteriorate in the future. It is important to apply your accountant’s advice in bettering your business’ financial health.

2. Can you explain my business cash flow to me?

Similar to the financial health of your business, understanding your business cash flow through your accountant is also important when running your business. Through profit and loss statements, as well as balance sheets recording your business credits and debits, your accountant should be able to detail your business cash flow to you, giving you a clear picture of money movement in and out of your business. Understanding your business cash flow will also help you better plan for future growth strategies and manage your business operations as efficiently as possible.

3. Do you have any financial advice based on the data you’ve gathered on my business?

Listening to advice from a business expert who is well versed in the financial operations of your own business will always be beneficial to you in the long run. As such, be sure to ask your accountant for financial advice, particularly on how you can improve the financial health of your business and whether there are any weak points of your business you need to address.

You can also ask your accountant what their other clients are doing to maintain successful profit rates and growth. Accountants with experience as financial advisors will be able to help you run your business for the long term as well.

4. What are you doing to make this tax season a good one?

One of the main roles of an accountant is to make sure you pay your business taxes on time and can claim back relevant payments from the ATO (Australian Taxation Office). Although most accountants will do this for you automatically, it is useful to ask your accountant for more information on how they are doing so, so that you can better understand the tax obligations your business is facing (such as BAS).

It is also good to compare your current tax season with previous years’ to see how your accountant is working with your business tax obligations (and whether you are paying more or less in taxes). As taxes make up a great portion of your business’ net come, it is important to understand how your accountant is helping your business meet its tax obligations.

Make sure to ask your accountant the above four questions every quarter to maximise your accountant’s services and guarantee a rewarding and worthwhile experience!