A business person typically starts the accounting aspect of his business by adding up all the sales, adding up all the receipts for expenses and counting the cash.
His chart of accounts would be limited to sales, costs, and cash.
All the entries would be in the debit column, except for amounts owed to him, which he duly writes in the credit column.
He then deducts the Expenses from the Sales and proudly encircles the active figure and labels it Income.
By the time he realises he badly needs an accountant, he had made such a big mess of his records that it would take weeks for the accountant to make sense of the transactions and figures.
Most business people would hire an accountant earlier.
But it is not just for the record keeping, but to ensure that he makes the proper decisions, based on accurate data.
For businesses that could not yet afford to have a full time accountant, there is the option of going to accounting services firm.
We have a pool of professional accountants, ready to take on general accounting or specialised accounting tasks.
But what necessary qualifications should you look for when hiring an accountant? Here are five of them.
1. Bachelor’s Degree in Accountancy or Certification in Accountancy
Somebody who took up several modules or classes in accounting is not as knowledgeable as someone who had taken up an Accounting degree.
LCCI and CAT certificates and diplomas are also important because it serves as a benchmark of pre-professional accounting qualifications for international business, aside from the accounting degree.
A well-qualified accountant is also expected to be a part of the Singapore Institute of Accredited Tax Professionals Limited (SIATP) and the Institute of Singapore Chartered Accountants (ISCA).
2. Professional and Proven Experience in the Field
Besides just the education quantification, you want an accountant who has robust and proven track record experience to do the job for you.
It is, therefore, vital to engage someone who has a vast experience and capability to deal with issues and challenges through a real job experience.
3. Knowledgeable in Accounting software
You may not be using accounting software, but when you can hire an annual compilation services team who understands and knows how to use Cloud Accounting software.
You will benefit from learning from him and making record keeping much more efficient and effective.
4. Ability to Work Without Supervision
This is significant especially when you are outsourcing accounting services because the busy business person normally does not have the time to spoon feed data to the accountant.
Or, much worse, the business person does not know what to spoon feed to the accountant.
5. Ability to Work Under Pressure
Accountants have to cope with month-end and fiscal or year-end reports for three or four consecutive days to prepare the books for the next incoming transactions.
It is imperative that your accountant will be able to cope with the pressures and deadlines that come with being an accountant.
When you are hiring an accountant from an accounting services firm, be sure to ask how many business companies that accountant is handling and ask if he can still cope with output expected of him.
With an accountant that possesses these hard and soft skills, you should be able to survive the tediousness and perils of the accounting tasks that must be accomplished for your business.
Always keep in mind that you would always need accurate data not just for tax and legal purposes, but for you to be able to make correct business decisions.
Should you need assistance or would like to find out more about annual compilation services in Singapore, please send an email to Contact@AccountingSolutionsSingapore.com, and our business advisor will contact you.