Gone are the days when you can just choose anyone that is good with taxes to look after your tax matters for you. The government is clamping down on tax preparers and for very good reasons. Many of them set up temporary kiosks and don’t have any formal training. As a result a lot of mistakes are made and they are no longer around after tax season to be held accountable.
Plus, the tax rules and regulations have become so large and so complicated, that even an average tax return filing has become a real challenge.
All of this leads to the need for a qualified accountant, but now gives you the task of finding one. Here are a few tips to help you do just that.
Accountant Qualifications:
It is not just enough for this professional that you are checking out to just tell you that he is qualified or calls himself an accountant. He should be able to show you his certificates. Make sure they are valid. Also check out the institute that has certified him as an accountant. You want one that has been trained in Canadian tax and financing.
The expert’s practice:
While there is nothing wrong with starting with a recent accounting graduate you may prefer to have a seasoned expert. This is especially true if you have anything more than a simple tax matter. You also want to make sure that this tax expert you are using has an actual work location. You don’t want to be meeting him at some agreed upon location, or his home. If there any tax issues that have to be followed up after tax filing then you should be able to resort back to the accountant that assisted you with your filing.
Speciality:
Some accountants prefer to specialize in certain industries. If this is not a line of business you are in, then you may want to seek out a full service accountant instead. This particular professional is up to date with all general tax laws and not just specifics for one type of business.
What are the services offered?
If you are looking for an accountant to just assist you with your tax matters then this is the only service that you will be interested in. If you are small to medium business then you may want to have full business accounting services. Ask the expert if they have accounting packages that they offer that would fit your particular business needs.
Here at Toronto Accountant we are prepared to meet all of the requirements we have set out here and more. We are prepared to answer any questions you may have, that will build your confidence in using us for your accounting services.
