You built your business with the help of a trusted team. When one of them decides to retire, it can be a mixed feelings moment for you.
This can be particularly true if they were your CPA.
If they’d been with you from the start, they knew your business from the inside out. There weren’t a lot of questions; they would just keep your books in line.
But was that always the best decision for the business?
Resetting Your Business Tax Planning
Your previous CPA may have operated under the premise of “everything looks fine.” And at one point, it may have. But if they didn’t take advantage of changes to tax laws or develop tax strategies for business owners that lined up with business growth goals, there may have been missed opportunities. It’s even possible that some of those options that were overlooked could put the company at risk of not being in compliance with IRS regulations.
With your search for a new CPA, you have an opportunity to reset your plans for financial growth. As you start interviewing CPAs, you’ll want to find someone to look over your books with an eye not just on what’s been done but on what needs to be done.
Upgrading Your Business Tax Help
If you had been in a long-term business relationship with your previous CPA, one of the things you may have benefited from was a legacy rate structure.
Your new CPA will have a different, market-driven rate, but that can come with an opening for new insights into your business tax planning. It’s an opportunity to move on from the “status quo” filing system of the past to a more forward-looking, proactive approach that pairs standard form preparation with analysis and even future planning.
The goal is to ensure you meet your current tax obligations while also developing proactive tax strategies for business owners.
Limiting Your Liabilities
One of the first things a new CPA will do is review what’s been done to date regarding your business tax planning. This understanding can help them generate a plan that can help you take advantage of all available deductions. For example, they will be able to ensure you are accurately leveraging things like bonuses, equipment purchases, and donations.
A thorough review can also help identify any potential areas that could lead to a financial concern at tax time such as:
- Outdated entity elections
- Unreviewed compensation structures
- Missing documentation for prior-year decisions
The right CPA won’t just help make corrections; they will also work to develop tax strategies for business owners that can eliminate these liabilities in the future.
Bring Tax Help For Your Business With a New CPA
It’s always tough to say goodbye to a trusted member of the team. But in doing so, there is an opportunity to gain a fresh perspective on strategies and have new ways to grow and strengthen your bottom line.
When you bring in a new small business CPA, there are also opportunities to have that role take on the work of a financial analyst, to do the financial forensic work of a controller, and even do some future forecasting. All of which can provide key data points that can strengthen your tax strategy.
If your CPA has moved on and you are now in need of trusted business tax help, contact us today for a consultation.