Switching CPAs

Today I would like to talk to you about switching CPAs. As we approach the end of the year, a lot of you might be thinking that it is time to revisit your relationship with your current CPA or tax preparer or maybe you are thinking of switching to a new CPA all together. Therefore today, I am going to talk to you about a couple of questions you should ask yourself, as well as questions you should ask your perspective CPA when making the move.

Video Transcript - Switching CPAs

The first question that I get from people is “What do you need from me?” I always like to obtain three years of income tax returns for your individual and your business if any because I always like to do a couple things with those. Number one, it helps me get you set up in my system, and number two, it allows me to become more familiar with you. Number three, in an added benefit to you, many times we find things in prior years that could be done differently or different position that could have been taken, and sometimes, making those changes results in money coming back to you in the form of tax refunds. So when people ask me what I need from them, I always tell them minimum three years of income tax returns, business and personal, and it also does not hurt to see a current year profit loss statement for any business that may be discussed.

Next I would like to talk to you about some questions that you should ask your potential CPA and be particularly careful to go over their answers in great detail with them. The first question I would ask you to ask them is what is their fee structure? How do they get paid? Do they bill by the hour? Do they bill based upon the job? Do they have a monthly contract with you or a quarterly contract? How do they get paid? Because that is going to have a great influence on your relationship with them and how you go about obtaining information from them and how they obtain information from you so make sure you find out and get a clear picture what their fee structure is.

Secondly, do they have any industry experience? If you are a business owner, do they have experience working other like businesses? Have they worked with many of your fellow counterparts over the years or are you the first person in that industry that they have worked with? This is particularly important because, as we all know, many different industries can have specific tax and accounting issues and you need that experience on your side when someone is taking care of your business.

The next question that I would ask them is who is going to be doing the work? you are meeting with the CPA, possibly one of the firm partners, possibly a senior manager, but who is actually going to be doing the work? Who are you going to be communicating with on a regular basis and who is going to be obtaining information from you? It would be very valuable for you to know who that go-to person is going to be for you because it is not always going to be the person that you are meeting with right now.

Finally, I would, and possibly most importantly, I would challenge you to ask them about technology, more specifically, how are they embracing technology, how are they using technology to give you a better experience and to add value, and also what are they doing to keep your data safe? You do not want to be misled by thinking that a large company is going to be secure and will protect your sensitive information. As we have seen from some major retailers in recent years, no matter how big you are, your data can still be compromised, and I for one, I could tell you some horror stories, we will not get into those today, but I could tell you some horror stories of people who is data was compromised via their CPA and it is very scary out there so make sure you find out from them how they are utilizing technology and get specific. Ask them what softwares they are using, ask them what safeguards they have in place to protect you and your data.

If you have any questions, comments, or ideas for future videos, please let us know.

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