If he was, he'd be sitting in a plush office on Park Avenue, not in a podunk firm over a Chinese restaurant in the strip mall down the street. He may try to convince you otherwise, but he's not a really great business person.
Just remember that your CPA is mostly a tax guy. And then ask him again and again why he isn't doing what he said he'd do, when you've done your part. Confirm this delivery, in writing, by email. List all the things that your CPA requests from you. They haven't finished your financial statements because you still owe them this and that. They can't complete your return because a certain receipt is missing. Find someone who specializes if you need that kind of help.ĬPAs are notorious procrastinators. Don't let him tell you he knows this stuff. He's not a personal financial planning expert or an estate planning guru. Your CPA doesn't specialize in state, local, or sales taxes. He's also likely not a specialist in your industry either, though he should be, because there are always best practices and new tax rules that may be particular to your type of business. To make money as a small CPA, you need a lot of clients, which means there's no way your CPA is really on top of all the stuff he needs to know to service you best. Related: Why Your Lawyer Might Be Wrong For Your Business You're a client, and like a doctor who looks at that patient on the operating table with dispassion, your CPA is likely looking at you in the same way: a billable few hours, a partial payment towards his next vacation or a couple of hours of his kid's college tuition. But even though he may have your best intentions at heart, the fact is your CPA has his own agenda. In fact, you better because the guy knows your most intimate financial details. Shutterstockīut come on, you like your CPA, right? He hasn't aged well, I'm sure you'll agree. Lucky for the profession, I haven't practiced accounting in years. For me, if the numbers are close, that's good enough, which is not exactly the sign of good CPA. I keep up the certification, but that doesn't mean I'm a very good CPA.
Not many people know this about me, but I'm a Certified Public Accountant.