How to hire an Accountant?
‘It’s 28th today, shit man still a week to go before my salary gets credited!!’
Every working professional has been in this spot. And unarguably, the reason remains the same-’Poor Accounting’. Well, if you are wondering what has accounting to do with this then you are still in your learning stages. However, you may have witnessed either your mom or dad noting down all the monthly expenses and preparing a budget accordingly. Yes, this is also an accounting practice.
Accounting isn’t just a profession, it is a trait that every individual needs to inherit. Without proper accounting of your financials, you will always keep wondering, ‘Where exactly does all my money go?’
The same goes for businesses as well. Every business, irrespective of its size, needs efficient accounting practices to make sure they aren’t lagging behind their competitors and always wondering about managing their finances. This is where the need of certified Accountants and Accounting firms arises since, “An Accountant is someone who knows the cost of everything and the value of nothing.” However, hiring an Accountant isn’t as easy as it sounds. You have to take various factors into account.
So, if you are searching for an Accountant, here are a few tips that can be of help to you.
Identify your Accounting Needs
The first and most vital step when hiring an accountant is to make a note of your accounting needs. Accounting isn’t just one task, it is a collection of various processes and each process needs experience and expertise. Here are a few Accounting tasks to take into consideration before you hire an Accountant:
- Business advisory services
- Accounting and Bookkeeping
- Tax advice
- Auditing
- Financial analyst
It would be wise if you know what Accounting services are you exactly looking for instead of jumping straight in.
Post a job with the relevant keywords
In today’s digital world, keywords play a vital role both for the searcher as well as the publisher. Therefore, once you know exactly what you want, then comes the task of posting the job that includes the right keywords so that it can be found easily by the searcher. Use terms like Accounting, Bookkeeping, Bookkeeper, Accountant, Auditor, etc to increase its reach.
When posting an Accountant requirement job, make sure you mention your requirements and budget correctly since it all comes down to these 2 factors.
Leverage the power of Social Media
While you can advertise the job vacancy on various job portals, it is not necessary that you will get a response. In such cases, leveraging the potential of social media can come in handy. LinkedIN which is a social network is considered to be the largest platform where professionals from all around the world connect and share their experiences. It is also one of the best places to market your business as well as look for potential Accountants, when hiring.
It can help you build a professional network and/or find relevant referrals from other industry experts.
Conduct proper research
Accounting is a very crucial business process and you simply cannot handle all your financial data to someone just based on their online portfolio. Vetting candidates/ accounting firms before you make a decision is very important especially when in this digital era it isn’t hard enough to build a fake online reputation. Verify their work experience and qualifications that showcases their accounting skills.
Look for qualifications like CPA certification, their work experience with various accounting software, etc. Aso, go through online reviews and look for their genuinity before you move forward.
Shortlist according to your budget and requirements
Once you are through with the above processes, it comes down to shortlisting the best candidates according to your budget and accounting needs. While you may be looking for bookkeeping roles, an auditor may not be the perfect fit for the role. Therefore, before you invest time and money into hiring an accountant, make sure that they fall in the right category and fulfill your accounting needs.
Also Read – Common Accounting Challenges Faced by Accountants and How to Overcome?
Conduct an interview
Now since you have your best candidate shortlisted on paper, it’s time to conduct an interview and see if everything is for real. Try to focus on the overall personality of the accountant like his analytical and mathematical skills, attention to detail, working style, business acumen. After all, she is going to be handling your finances that will eventually reflect as your business growth.
Onboarding
The final onboarding stage concludes the hiring process. Make sure the new Accountant(firm) is welcomed and has all that they need to get started. Ensure that they are well-aware of your requirements, goals and objectives and are on the same page at the end of the day.
Conclusion:
Hiring the right Accountant is very important after all you are going to hand over all your finances to the man. Follow the above steps and make sure you have employed the best man.
