{"id":862,"date":"2019-11-09T06:38:35","date_gmt":"2019-11-09T10:38:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.saudercpa.com\/blog\/?p=862"},"modified":"2019-11-09T08:01:13","modified_gmt":"2019-11-09T12:01:13","slug":"questions-are-the-strategic-runway-towards-a-great-business-segment-iv","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.saudercpa.com\/blog\/2019\/11\/09\/questions-are-the-strategic-runway-towards-a-great-business-segment-iv\/","title":{"rendered":"Questions are the Strategic Runway Towards A Great Business (Segment IV)"},"content":{"rendered":"

Preface: Accounting approaches\u00a0are not created equal. It\u2019s like suit coat shopping; you have choices, \u2018tailored-services\u2019 or \u2018off-the-rack\u2019.<\/em><\/p>\n

Questions are the Strategic Runway Towards A Great Business (Segment IV)<\/strong><\/p>\n

Credit: Donald J. Sauder, CPA | CVA<\/em><\/p>\n

There is a day approaching when your business will need an accountant; ok, no new news there. Whether you\u2019re an early year\u2019s entrepreneur or working in a traditional family enterprise, trusted accountants have their place in service to every business.<\/p>\n

The role of accountants has changed in recent decades from only keeping books or preparing tax filings, to more of an advisory position. When you have the budget, a large accounting firm can seem like a right choice, but there are always risks that you will get an \u2018off-the-rack\u2019 accounting service versus an accountant with a \u2018tailored services\u2019 approach who will genuinely listen to understand your business goals, aspirations, strategy, and needs as an entrepreneur. Only then can you obtain optimal solutions. Accounting approaches are not created equal. It\u2019s like suit coat shopping; you have choices, \u2018tailored-services\u2019 or \u2018off-the-rack\u2019.<\/p>\n

Tethering your business to a great working relationship where you can build trust is vitally important to get the most from your trusted advisors. To maximize value from your relationship with an (accountant) advisor, you need to be comfortable communicating\u00a0on a effective and trustworthy basis and feeling confident with the professional judgments of the advice.<\/p>\n

The best accountants look at what\u2019s best, not only for the business, but also for you, the owner, and your team. The \u2018right\u2019 accountant is usually not a universal ‘one\u00a0size fits all’. If business\u00a0is simply a Dutch Blitz<\/em> game, there is a substantial difference between a cheerleader and an expert coach.<\/p>\n

When you are building a business, of any size, Luke 14:28 tells us why excellent accounting is of utmost importance. \u201cSuppose one of you wants to build a tower. Won\u2019t you first sit down and estimate the cost to see if you have enough money to complete it? For if you lay the foundation and are not able to finish it, everyone who sees it will ridicule you, saying, \u2018This person began to build and wasn\u2019t able to finish.\u2019<\/em><\/p>\n

Whether a journeyman in business or a businessman, now ask yourself the following business self-assessment questions for Accounting and Taxation. If you answer any question \u201cNO\u201d, then follow-up and ask yourself \u2013 \u201cWHY NOT\u201d? Document your answers, concisely. Answering \u201cNO\u201d isn\u2019t necessarily wrong, but you should<\/em> know “WHY NOT”?<\/p>\n

Accounting | Taxation
\n1. Does your executive team continuously collect, track, and analyze key financial and operational data?
\n2. Does your business prepare\u00a0an annual\u00a0budget?
\n3. Does your business have three to five-year financial projections?
\n4. Does your business have a plan to effectively\u00a0manage debt ?
\n5. Does your business meet annually with your banker?
\n6. Does your business have seasonal cash flow challenges?
\n7. Does your business have a line of credit with an outstanding balance?
\n8. Does your business monitor the equity to assets ratio?
\n9. Does your business regularly monitor and track working-capital levels?
\n10.Does your business track and manage overhead cost variances and expectations?
\n11. Does your business calibrate costs of production or customer service at least annually?
\n12. Does your business have a travel policy?
\n13. Does your executive team track key performance business indicators weekly?
\n14. Does your business plan strategic capital expenditures?
\n15. Does your business have target ranges for cash and working capital?
\n16. Does your business have satisfactory conversations with your accountant each year?
\n17. Does your business consider tax filings to be relatively stress-free?
\n18. Does your business have a sales tax compliance plan?
\n19. Does your business maintain appropriate compliance with multi-state income taxes?
\n20. Does your business have a high level of confidence in your tax filings and income tax compliance?
\n21. Does your business invest in annual tax planning?
\n22. Does your business obtain quarterly or annual enterprise financial statements?<\/p>\n

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Preface: Accounting approaches\u00a0are not created equal. It\u2019s like suit coat shopping; you have choices, \u2018tailored-services\u2019 or \u2018off-the-rack\u2019. Questions are the Strategic Runway Towards A Great Business (Segment IV) Credit: Donald J. Sauder, CPA | CVA There is a day approaching when your business will need an accountant; ok, no new news there. Whether you\u2019re an … Continue reading “Questions are the Strategic Runway Towards A Great Business (Segment IV)”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saudercpa.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/862"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saudercpa.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saudercpa.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saudercpa.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saudercpa.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=862"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/www.saudercpa.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/862\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":870,"href":"https:\/\/www.saudercpa.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/862\/revisions\/870"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saudercpa.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=862"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saudercpa.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=862"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saudercpa.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=862"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}