Financial management is a large part of running a business but is time-consuming and sometimes complex. As a business owner, you don’t always have the time to take care of your bookkeeping and financial reporting. That’s when outsourcing your financial management to an accounting firm starts to make sense.
An accounting firm is staffed by professional bookkeepers and CPAs who organize your financial information into the proper categories. Not only will they balance your books, but you also get information about your business performance, forecasts for future income, and your taxes filed in a correct and defensible manner. Here’s a look at some of the work an accounting firm can do for your business.
Financial Reporting and Analysis
Financial reporting is an overall view of how well your business performs over a certain period of time, and analysis shows your business’s weak spots and strengths. It’s something that accounting firms in Waterbury, VT., compile and organize for business clients to help the client improve their operations.
The financial report shows how well your business performed weekly, monthly, quarterly, and annual. It tells you how well your business strategy worked, identifies areas that need improvement, and whether an event was a one-time thing or a regular occurrence. An analysis of the financial report by a CPA shows you the hows and why your business did well, why it failed to perform, and how to change for more consistent performance.
Budgeting and Forecasting
An accountant helps you control your spending by creating a budget based on your financial flows. They can also use your business’s past financial performance to indicate future performance and estimate annual growth. These items help you allocate your income, expand your business with what’s available to you, and get an idea of what you’ll have available to spend in the future. A budget helps you maintain your operation during slow times and take advantage of extra cash during upswings.
Tax Planning and Compliance
Business taxes come in quarterly estimated filings, FICA taxes for payroll, sales taxes, and more. They’re a necessary part of doing business, but preparing the filings and making payments can take a lot of time. Tax preparation is one of the core skills of a CPA, as is awareness of tax laws and how to apply them to your business. They can also inform you about potential tax liabilities and how to take advantage of tax laws to manage your liabilities.
Regulatory Compliance
Regulatory compliance is a broad term encompassing the need to meet certain federal, state, and local government requirements. It also applies to maintaining financial records in the event an audit happens. An accounting firm can assist your business with maintaining your corporate standing with the state and keeping your records organized to ensure regulatory compliance.
Audit Support
No one likes to be audited, but it sometimes happens when the IRS sees a discrepancy in your reported income and profits. When your business taxes are prepared by accountants in Brattleboro, VT, you’re also getting audit support. Accountants are trained to take all legal and applicable deductions and credits for your business taxes. They’ll defend their work to the IRS on your behalf and show that their work was done per the IRS rules.
How a Brattleboro Professional CPA Firm Can Help Your Business
At Clear Accounting, we provide professional accounting services to support business owners who want to grow but need financial help. We offer accounting and bookkeeping services that make it easy for you to see how well your business is performing, keep ahead of taxes and regulatory compliance, and help you plan for the future. Call us today to learn more about how we can take care of your needs.