Why Does My Small Business Need A CPA?

An accountant is a professional who takes care of all the detailed and essential numerical tasks that are involved with running a business. An accountant should know how to record business transactions and prepare financial documents such as tax returns and monthly financial statements for a business. A Certified Public Accountant (CPA) is an accountant who performs these duties and also meets the educational and experience requirements of the state where he or she practices. A CPA must pass the state’s two-day CPA examination, earn continuing education hours including ethics, and be regulated by the state Board of Accountancy.

In other words, there is a big difference between an accountant and a CPA. All CPAs are accountants, but not all accountants are CPAs. While a CPA can’t make business decisions for you, a CPA can offer helpful advice and provide these services:

  • Tax advice and planning: To help your business save on taxes now and plan for future tax situations.
  • Tax review and representation: To help find any problems with your tax returns before the IRS does and represent you before the IRS if any tax problems occur.
  • Payroll administration: To make sure employees get paid and to file all the required payroll reports on time.
  • Accounting: To review and analyze the financial statements prepared by you, train your staff to use QuickBooks, or else prepare the financial statements for your business on a monthly or quarterly basis.
  • Business startup: To recommend the form of business organization for your business and the steps needed to form an organization in your state.
  • Business advising: To help you to analyze your business, make recommendations for improving cash flow, planning, budgeting, and internal control, and serve as a sounding board for your business ideas.

A CPA can help your business with much more than recording numbers or filing tax returns. Hiring an ethical CPA that you can trust is an important business decision. We are a local CPA firm that has over 25+ years of experience in providing quality services to small businesses.

To learn more about our small business services, contact our office today at (727) 391-7373.