5 Signs An Accountant Should Help You

Some individuals and businesses elect to handle their accounting work without professional assistance. There does come a time, however, when it should be obvious someone needs an accountant. If one of these 5 problems is appearing in your accounting, it's time to ask for professional support.

Unexplained Losses

Tracking down where losses might have occurred can be challenging even if the numbers make sense. If there are unexplained losses on the books, though, it can be even tougher. An accounting firm can review your practices and numbers to determine why the losses are happening. If it's an accounting problem, they can help you correct it. If there is a bigger problem like waste or fraud, they can assist you in identifying the sources.

Multiple Tax Notices

If the government has some concerns about your taxes, you may need to take a close look at your accounting. Especially if you're relying on software to handle the accounting work, it might be missing some details. A professional can compare the claims in the tax notices to your books to determine what keeps causing the problems. They can then fix your accounting approach to reduce the odds that it'll upset the tax agencies.

Account Mismatches

Reconciling your books is a critical part of running a business or even dealing with sizeable personal accounting issues. You want to know that the totals that appear on all of your accounts line up with what your records say they should be. If they don't, then that's cause for concern. Not only can an accountant sort out why there are mismatches, but they can help you implement better practices to reduce the odds problems will appear in the future.

Time Spent on Accounting

If you have complex enough accounting figures that you're spending significant time just sorting them out, it's probably a good idea to talk to an accountant. This is especially true with a business. Even if your numbers are perfect, there may just be better ways you can spend your time. An accounting firm has access to tools that can speed the process up significantly. You can then focus on doing more enjoyable things that are within your sphere of knowledge.

Gains Don't Appear in Cash Flow

One of the trickiest problems in accounting is the disconnect between gains and cash flow. Generally, a business that's bringing in greater profits expects to see improvements in cash on hand. However, there are reasons why this might not happen. An accountant can get in the weeds and determine if phantom gains are plaguing you.

For more information, contact an accountant.