Every once in awhile a situation arises which reminds me of the reasons why Susan and I were compelled to start E&S Entrepreneur Advisors, LLC. This week I encountered one of those situations: a situation that happens over and over through no fault of the service provider, but which greatly impacts the small business owner.
If you bring your information to your tax accountant in a reasonable time frame (not March 31!) and your tax accountant immediately suggests filing an extension, then that might be a flag to you that your books are not in good order. If your tax accountant is asking you a lot of questions and indicates that they will have to make quite a few adjustments, then that is another flag that your books are not in good order.
Tax accountants are extremely busy from the beginning of the year until tax time, especially the smaller CPA firms and Single-Person Tax Providers. They do not have the time to be straightening out your books. They file extensions and then put your information aside until they do have time later. And, depending on the tax accountant’s demeanor, they may never tell you that you are accounting for things incorrectly. Remember, the tax preparer’s main focus is on taxes.
In the meantime, many small business owners are frustrated and overwhelmed. They end up incurring late penalties on their other year-end government reports and operating 6 months into the following year, at a minimum, with poor financial information. They are not comfortable with the integrity of their financial data.
If you are in this situation, give us a call now to set up a Free Consultation. We will straighten out your accounting situation and put procedures in place for you so that you have the vital information at your fingertips each month in order to effectively manage your business and make timely business decisions.