5 Tips for Hiring an Accountant in Dublin
Are you an entrepreneur who is thinking of starting a new business venture in Dublin? Perhaps you’re a Dublin-based business owner who is thinking of outsourcing your payroll and book-keeping services? If you can relate to either of these situations, hiring a business accountant is a very smart move.
Unless you’re a qualified accountant yourself, ensuring that you stay on top of VAT and tax returns as well as managing invoices and employee payroll correctly are tasks that are best left to a professional. Whatever industry you’re in, to ensure business longevity and compliance with regulations, it’s imperative to ensure that such tasks are managed efficiently. Having said all of that, with so many accountancy firms based in the city and suburbs, finding an accountant in Dublin can seem like quite a difficult task.
What things do you need to look out for? How do you shortlist your options? Don’t stress over these questions as we’ve compiled a list of our top 5 tips for hiring an accountant in Dublin.
- Ask How They Charge for Services
The way that accountants or accountancy practices charge for their services can vary from firm to firm; some may charge by the hour, some may offer fixed rate packages for set services while others may require payment of a monthly retainer fee. Before you hire an accountant, ensure to ask how they charge for their services so that there are no major surprises down the line when you are sent an invoice for their services.
- Ask About Qualifications & Licenses
When hiring an accountant in Dublin, you’ll have your pick of professionals with varying qualifications and licenses. If it’s tax and VAT returns that you need help with, ensure that your chosen practice holds the correct qualifications and licenses to practice in these specialist areas. If you want to have accountants that are conversant with matters across the board, it’s best to choose a chartered accountant as they will hold the broadest range of accounting knowledge.
- Research Industry Specific Accountants
Specific industries such as construction, auctioneering and training providers can sometimes require specialist accountancy knowledge. For this reason and many more, you will want to ensure that the accountant you hire completely understands your industry and type of business. Check to see if there are accountants in Dublin who exclusively specialise in accountancy for your industry/type of business or who currently deal with similar clients to you.
- Check How They Communicate
Ask an accountant about how available they are for communication about financial aspects of your business – can they be contacted on urgent matters out of hours? Will they regularly communicate new taxation or financial laws via e-mail or phone? Will they facilitate regular meetings or calls to keep you in the loop and updated on all the various financial aspects of your business? These are all very important questions that you should put to an accountant before you hire them.
- Get References
When you hire an accountant, you need to ensure that they are reliable and trustworthy. Before you sign on the dotted line, ask an accountant for details of at least 3 clients that you can contact for references. Many businesses have fallen victim to deceitful accountants in the past so you need to ensure that your chosen accountant or firm is as honest and diligent as they claim to be.
Given the fact that choosing an accountant might just be one of the most important business decisions that you’ll ever make, we certainly hope that the 5 tips above will help to make your search for an accountant in Dublin a little easier.