Your Business is Growing – Should You Change Accountant?

Running a small business that is experiencing strong growth is an exciting time. Business growth is a validation of your idea and hard work, and it creates optimism for the future. A growing business also brings challenges, long hours, uncertainties, new complexities, and, sometimes, sleepless nights. As a result, you need the right support, especially from your accountant. Is this the time to make a change?

Your accountant is an important partner for your business. While you might be happy with the support and service you have received so far, the needs of growing businesses and their founders change as revenues increase, new staff join the company, and more customers sign up, call, or come through the door.

So, should you change your accountant?

For many businesses and their owners, the answer is yes.

The following six questions will help you make a decision on whether your growing business needs fresh accounting support.

Question 1: Have Your Accounts and Finances Become Too Complex?

Accounting requirements and business finances almost always become more complex as a business grows. Tax requirements, for example, can become rapidly more complex, so require more detailed management and planning to avoid compliance risks and missed opportunities.

Financial planning and forecasting requirements can also become more sophisticated and complex as your business grows.

Accountants typically specialise in supporting certain types of businesses. When your accounts and finances have become too complex for your current accountants, it is time to make a change.

Question 2: Do You Need Specialist Support and Advice?

All businesses can benefit from the support and advice provided by an experienced accountant, but your support and advice needs can become more specialised as your business grows.

For example, you might need support in scaling your systems and processes to keep pace with the growth of your business and ensure you remain compliant and maintain service standards.

At certain stages in the growth of your company, you might also require specialist advice to help you access the financial and other support that is available from government agencies like Enterprise Ireland.

Or you might need more advanced advice and support, such as on mergers or acquisitions.

In these and similar situations, you should consider changing your accountant.

Question 3: Would Your Business Benefit from an Accountant with Expertise Supporting Larger Businesses?

Your decision on changing accountants could come down to a straightforward choice of working with a larger firm with a wider range of expertise and more experience providing accounting services to larger businesses.

Question 4: Do You Need Proactive Support Rather than Standard Services?

Many smaller accountancy practices (and some larger ones) provide a standard level of service and not much more. This type of support is reactionary in nature where a specific task is completed, a box is ticked, and you get the bill.

Those tasks still need to be completed in your growing business, but your company will get much more from an accountancy firm that takes a long-term interest in the financial wellbeing of your company and you as founders. Proactive advice and support are arguably at their most valuable when a business is growing.

Question 5: Would You Benefit from Fresh Insight and Advice?

Do you feel you are not getting enough or the right advice or guidance from your current accountant? Are you concerned you are not taking full advantage of the opportunities available to your company? Or maybe you are worried you are not sufficiently aware of, and protected against, existing or emerging risks.

Fresh insight and advice can help deliver on your vision and ensure your business reaches its full potential.

Question 6: Does Your Business Need Additional Accounting Services or Capacity?

Decisions on changing accountants can also come down to very practical considerations. This typically occurs when your existing accountant can’t provide all the services you need or doesn’t have the capacity to scale its services to keep pace with the expanding needs of your business.

The Next Steps?

Whether you answered yes to one of the above questions or all six, it is worth considering making a change to your accounting services provider.

It can be a daunting prospect, especially if you have a good relationship with your existing accountant. Or you might be worried you simply don’t have the time because the business is so busy.

The reality is that changing accountant is more straightforward than you might think, especially when you switch to a firm with well-established processes and extensive experience like us at Gilroy Gannon. Your business will benefit almost immediately, and you will be able to focus more of your efforts on the things that matter – maximising the growth potential of your business and serving your customers.