Which professions would you expect to be classed as uninteresting!?
A recent survey found that the fifth most boring profession in the country is consulting and accounting. It was conducted by Emolument, an employment company, which asked 1300 people in 14 sectors.
The sad part of this survey is that the accountants described their own jobs as boring and it was this rather tragic admission that secured them the fifth spot on the list.
However dull accountants may find their jobs, the fact remains that what they do is important, especially if you are a small business owner.
Your accountant should be your best friend (if for no other reason than you may be able to cheer them up).
They are crucial to any small business because well-kept accounts can inform you of the health of your business. It can show you where you are spending too much and where you need to invest a little more.
It can help with all sorts of things such as calculating whether your advertising budget is being well utilised or whether it would be better spent on something else.
You can also track your finances over time and if you spot trends or correlations, you can learn things that you would not be able to otherwise.
Doing it yourself may be cheaper but it could potentially open you up to all sorts of problems. Here are a few reasons why you should consider retaining an accountant full time:
The threat of a tax audit, or worse, prosecution, hangs around everyone’s neck like the proverbial dead albatross. The problem with not having immaculately detailed and organised accounts is that in the event that the HMRC suspect you (probably erroneously) of tax fraud, you will find it difficult to disprove the charges.
They will send you what is called a Contractual Disclosure Facility which is an opportunity for you to disclose any potentially incriminating information about how you’ve been organising your finances.
If you have made missteps and you admit them within sixty days, you will likely be spared prosecution but your taxes will be investigated and re-calibrated to adjust for the previous mistakes.
If you fail to send it back within the required window, you will be investigated anyway but without the guarantee that you will not be prosecuted in the event that something is found.
Hiring an accountant could, therefore, be a lot cheaper and a lot less stressful than trying to do it yourself and ending up in trouble.
However, accountants are good for other things too. While they keep you on the right side of the law, they can also help you find the small legal loopholes that can save your business money.
If you are a new small business owner and you do not have as much experience in the world of commerce as you’d like, accountants, with their decades of experience, can help advise you on all sorts of things that only experience can teach you.
Since they dedicate their days to keeping an eye on your expenses and overheads, they are the best people to tell you how to reduce them.
Accountants may find their jobs boring, but they do important work and having one work for you is a good idea.
