The success of an organization depends to a great extent on its financial department. And, why not? After all, the supreme powers of a moneymaking organization ought to rest in its financial wing. Considering the importance that the financial department of an organization holds, it becomes more than important that the organization recruits the most efficient accounting services.

Handling never ending records of endless data is no easy job. One must understand that accounting is a task that involves great responsibility. An accountant needs to keep track of even the minutest of details and record them in a systematic manner. The job of accounting is such that even the slightest of error can make the firm run into huge losses.

This is where the services of accountant New York comes into play. These accountants can render the perfect accounting services that you would need for your organization. Accountants in New York not just have the expert skills to perform the given task, but they also have sufficient experience to offer you the best accounting solutions.

One of the biggest causes of concern of any company that chooses to hire accountant New York is the privacy of confidential data. The financial information of a company is highly secretive. Outsourcing the job of accounting always poses a risk of this confidential information being leaked. But, there is nothing to worry when you are hiring accountants in New York. These accountants are thorough professionals and make sure that your information is kept strictly confidential.

There is absolutely no comparison between an amateur and an expert. Likewise you may recruit in house accountants for your firm. But they will not be able to match the brilliance of these chartered accountants. These accountants maintain your records on a regular basis and supply you with the right information whenever required. The scope of error in the work of these professional accountants is very minimal. They understand that any mistake on their part can lead to several problems for the organization and thus take great care to ensure that they offer flawless results.

An accountant New York further gives you the chance to relax and shed your burden of accounting responsibilities. Reduced workload means that you can focus more on your core jobs rather than keep worrying about financial records. With people concentrating on their jobs, the overall efficiency level of the organization is also reduced. Further on, these accountants also help reduce the need for manpower in your organization.

What is even more intriguing about these accountants is that they offer highly effective accounting software. These software help an organization maintain its records in the user-friendliest manner. With the help of this software, the accountant makes it easy for the organization to access its financial reports without any hassle. Plus this software also records various financial transactions that have taken place through the year. This ensures that one does not have to flip through accounting books to look for particular information.

With all this, it goes without saying that accountants New York are pivotal to the success of an organization.

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Although most people would argue that there is no need to learn basic accounting principles, what with the numerous accounting applications as well as accounting service providers available in the market today, in reality, you would still need to study them just in case your software crashes or your service provider is suddenly not available, or you just simply need to keep your expenses low. Unfortunately, this is easier said than done especially in the case of non-profit organizations.

What makes accounting procedures doubly hard for non-profit organizations is the fact that, on top of the usual processes that you need to do and keep track of, you would also need to monitor grants as well as keep a close eye on where each cent goes and from which project it came from.

The good news, however, is that there are a number of accounting software applications that ca help you manage your finances. Although no two applications will work the same way, at the very least, it could help shorten the time it would take you to record information and generate needed reports. You would just need to do some slight tweaking along the way.

Although the market is already saturated with much nonprofit fundraising software, it is still no surprise that Sage emerges as the leader of the pack. This is partly due to the fact that Sage has always been equated with scalable and highly user-friendly software applications. This is apart from the fact that Sage has always been focused on marketing accounting products that focus on the accounting needs of various industries, great or small.

Sage features a number of nonprofit software such as the Sage MIP Fund Accounting, Sage Fundraising 50, Millennium, Sage Fundraising 100, and the Sage Fundraising 100 Rainbow Edition. Of these Sage fundraising software applications, it is the latter that was produced in partnership with United Way and is specifically designed to answer the needs of the United Way organizations within the US. It comes with about 75 standard United Way reports and allows users to manage workplace campaigns, track designations from donation entry, and do data mining.

If you feel that these Sage fundraising software applications might be an unfamiliar territory to you, you can always avail of the Fund Accounting and Fundraising Consulting services of Sage where trained professionals can guide you in setting up accounts and customizing the features of your software.

The modern world of the Internet is full of new creations and surprises. People keep adopting different ways to make their web sites look more impressive and user friendly. Whatever services we enjoy on websites are generally provided by database web applications. Now, there have been dramatic changes in the marketing techniques employed by CPA accountants also. One of the greatest changes is the use of the Internet and user friendly websites.

Now Internet Websites have become mandatory for every accounting firm and this is especially true to keep an updated professional image. Developing an image of professionalism is the way to get oneself and his organization recognized amongst his customers. The first thing one need to do is focus on building the brand with the help of creative and custom website design services. This helps in staying ahead among the rest of the competition.

The CPA Accountant, in just one opportunity, gives a good impression by making and designing the website in such a way that it attracts loads of people.

Web applications are developed in order to get brilliant results in return. This development of web applications is known as a software process in which a software product is developed in an organized way. It is really very useful in driving more customers and making a website as informative as possible. Software products include accounting software, enterprise software, media players, graphic and office suit software.

A CPA Accountant designs the Website to attract new and retain existing clients. The Website is developed in such a way that it attracts prospective clients and has him or her respond by contacting the CPA. Furthermore, the Website he designs aims to direct potential clients with the help of the Internet search engines to the website.

A CPA relocates his marketing efforts to the Internet with its Website, as the Accountant who fails to do so may not be able to create a positive image among potential clients and thus his practice will not flourish. Whereas, the CPA Accountant whose Website is highly visible to the Internet traffic would have a much better growth than those whose visibility is less. A CPA website design is innovative and creative in its own way and is of great help to the accounting firm.

In a metropolitan city there is thousands of CPA accounting firms, all competing for getting prestigious accounts with the help of search engines by providing greater visibility.

One should always choose a web developer who provides individual care to develop the CPA Accountant’s Website, using techniques and methods that are independent of standard key word phrases. But remember, if the accounting web developers are performing the same service for the other thousands of CPA accounting firms, then that firm should not be employed.

Websites are necessary for CPA Accountants in today’s technological and modern world. The impression the Website projects of the firm along with its visibility on the Internet is very important. An Accounting firm’s long-term future purely depends on how well its Website is designed and positioned.

So, one must make his business grow by hiring web application developers who can help in achieving one’s goal and motive. One should also remember that it is extremely important to have a knowledgeable professional prepare a CPA Accountant Firm’s website with high visibility. The web application development services are available at affordable rates so that the goals of your business are achieved.

Now that the first 5 mistakes have been described in my first article and detailed in my associated whitepaper and podcast, here are . . .

The Next 5 Mistakes

6. NOT INVESTING ENOUGH IN YOUR BUSINESS

7. NOT PAYING ATTENTION AND ASSUMING THINGS ARE GETTING DONE

8. FAILURE TO UTILIZE THE RIGHT TAX STRATEGIES AVAILABLE UNDER THE LAW

9. NOT USING THE RIGHT TALENT FOR THE RIGHT JOB

10. BUYING THE LATEST SOFTWARE TO SOLVE ALL YOUR PROBLEMS

OK, there’s the list, six through ten.  Now let me explain to you what I mean for each of these points.

6. NOT INVESTING ENOUGH IN YOUR BUSINESS

As an accountant in Chicago, Illinois, I often see business owners making this mistake when the economy is beginning to slow or has slowed. The natural reaction for most business owners is to pull back on spending and often this only exacerbates the less than ideal conditions. Many business owners will immediately cut their selling and marketing budgets in an attempt to conserve cash. However, this is often the last thing you want to do in a slowing economy

Marketing and selling are the lifeblood of any business and so long as you are measuring results properly and you can demonstrate (through your managerial accounting) that marketing dollars invested are returning revenue dollars at a positive rate of return you should continue to invest in these areas. In fact, you might even consider expanding your marketing and selling efforts to take advantage of the fact that your competitors are likely pulling back and leaving you with a tremendous opportunity to expand your market share.

The other area that every business owner should be investing in is developing the skills that they possess and their employees possess. Especially in today’s day and age!  What makes more sense?  Investing in your business or some Wall Street fund that just lost you 50% of your capital?  I think you can guess what my advice as a Chicago accountant will be!

7. NOT PAYING ATTENTION AND ASSUMING THINGS ARE GETTING DONE

There will likely come a time in your business when it grows large enough that you will have to begin delegating authority and decisions to others.

This brings to mind several points:

First, you must be certain that the person to whom you are delegating has the skills and knowledge necessary to perform the task well. This might require some additional training, education, or skill development.

Second, you must be certain that the person to whom you are delegating approaches the task with the same level of importance that you, the business owner, do.  This person will be functioning on your behalf.

Third, you must look beyond the update reports your employees hand you and question the validity and accuracy of the information you are being handed. Don’t simply toss the report on a pile of 50 other unread reports or someday (perhaps soon) you will be surprised to find that your business is in deep, deep trouble.

Delegating authority is not abdicating authority! In the end your business will never be as important to anyone else as it is to you.  However with the proper training, monitoring, and incentives you can build a team that will allow the business to grow and allow you the work-life balance you desire.

8. FAILURE TO UTILIZE THE RIGHT TAX STRATEGIES AVAILABLE UNDER THE LAW

Albert Einstein once said “The hardest thing to understand in the world is income tax.” Boy was he right! The tax code is very complicated and often there are peculiar provisions for each industry. So it’s very important that your tax professional or accountant have experience in your industry to be certain that you are taking advantage of all of the various possibilities.

Let’s take something like a desk, a fairly common small business capital asset. There is a provision known as a Section 179 election that allows you to write-off the purchase price of that asset in the first year. Now the alternative to Section 179 is to depreciate that desk over seven years! So you can see that there is a significant tax benefit to Section 179 if you qualify to take it.

Contractors are one of many areas where I have special accountant expertise in the Chicago area.  Contractors with less than million a year in revenue have the ability to do what is called the completed contract method of accounting. What that means is they are not required to recognize the revenue from a job until the job is completed. This can sometimes be very advantageous when the contractor has jobs that stretch over multiple years.

For larger contractors, those with revenues exceeding million a year, there is something known as percentage of completion which provides the contractor the ability to recognize profits pro-rata along the way. In some instances this method can be very advantageous. In the end, you’ll end up paying taxes no matter what method you choose but a skilled accountant can explain the distinct advantages available to you depending upon your particular circumstances.

It is impossible for the average business owner to be an expert in tax compliance accounting and often what I see here in Chicago is that they are misled by what they read in the local paper, trade journals and other sources of information. In some cases I have seen costly mistakes made and penalties incurred, not because the business owner was trying to do something sneaky or illegal, but simply because the advice they had gotten was incorrect for their particular circumstance.

9. NOT USING THE RIGHT TALENT FOR THE RIGHT JOB

In my role as an Accounting-CFO I am frequently called upon to help my clients define their business culture and help them identify talent both within their existing employee pool as well as external to the company.

A second area I can bring specific insights is the concept of matching the right talents for the right job. This frequently manifests itself when I notice that high-priced talent within an organization is spending an inordinate amount of time doing busy work or paperwork that could easily be handled by a far lower priced administrative employee.

Often times as organizations grow the most talented individuals seem to accumulate or acquire an unusually high proportion of non-revenue-generating tasks simply because of their “get it done” nature. I’ll see vice presidents and even presidents of companies who are filling the copy machine, un-jamming the fax machine or doing the bookkeeping because they have always done it that way.  When all of these things should be done by lower paid employees, accountants, or simply outsourced, thereby freeing up the executive for additional revenue generating opportunities.

The flip side is also true though. I sometime see situations where lower level employees are performing critical tasks with little or no oversight from management or outside expertise. For example, to help control costs one Chicago based business owner was relying upon an internal bookkeeper to keep the day-to-day operations running and act as an accountant. This was fine until I performed an external audit on his business and found that the bookkeeper/accountant was in over her head and that the entire Accounts Payable and Accounts Receivable ledgers were in disarray! Let me tell you it was not a good day when that business owner suddenly realized that his company didn’t have the money to make payroll or replenish inventory!

10. BUYING THE LATEST SOFTWARE TO SOLVE ALL YOUR PROBLEMS

Accounting software is only as good as the data that goes into it and the talent that is using it. Yet all too often I have been called into situations where a business owner has bought new accounting software thinking that it would somehow miraculously solve their managerial accounting problems. This is simply absurd.

As an accountant in Chicago, I have found that no matter what accounting software you use, you must have the supporting processes in place in order to assure that the correct data is getting into the software package and just as importantly that the correct data is being accessed and displayed in a useful fashion.

When considering changes to your accounting systems you must be certain to take into account all of the investments necessary to make a successful change. Often times the cost of the financial software itself is relatively small in comparison to the impact on the organization from a training, downtime, and implementation perspective.

In some cases you may need to have the old system and the new system running in parallel for an extended period of time. It always seems to be that conversions to new systems are never as easy as they are promised to be and that they typically cost 2 to 3 times more (when all costs are accounted for) than what the business owner anticipated.

Remember, your accounting systems are the foundation of your financial house! You must be absolutely certain that any changes you make to the accounting software you use improve the strength and flexibility of your financial house’s foundation!

Accountants Holden Associates who provide a tailored service towards micro and small businesses have decided to provide all their clients with more than just accounting software.

Accountants Holden Associates have teamed up with the leading provider of on-demand online small business software, winweb, to provide their award winning solution to all their clients free of charge, so no hard sell of accounting software from Holden Associates.

OnlineOffice 5 from WinWeb.com is a truly unique offering, the latest in cloud computing from WinWeb.com allows Accountants Holden Associates to advise and support clients throughout the UK, no matter what their business or where their location.

Jason Holden (founding partner of Holden Associates) explains:

Holden Associates teamed up with WinWeb.com over 2 years ago to help them develop and continually tailor their online on-demand small business infrastructure.

We are very proud to be Gold Partners with WinWeb.com and we now offer to all our clients FREE of charge the OnlineOffice Version 5 Standard Edition.

This means for the smaller business clients that Accountants Holden Associates act for, are now able to take full advantage of the following online services:

Messages
Contacts
Calendar
Networking
Planning
Sales
Accounting
Data Storage
Website
24/7 365 Online Assistants
Academy

We feel in these uncertain economic times accountants need to do as much as they can to help their clients and this is just another example of how much Holden Associates are committed to helping their clients succeed.

For more on what is on offer please go to http://www.winweb.com/uk/holden-associates or for more about Holden Associates visit our website at http://www.holdenassociates.co.uk

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Small Businesses – Are You On Top Of Your Finances & Accounts?

We understand that, for small businesses, spending your money wisely is always top of the priority list – and sometimes it can seem more cost-effective to carry out business-related tasks yourself rather than pay for an external expert. And in the case of looking after the business finances – well, it’s pretty simple to keep a track on what’s owing and what’s due in, right? Wrong.

If that sounds typical of your business, then it’s time to think again – spending a little of your business income on a book-keeper or accountant will actually save your business money – and far more than you think. Here’s why every small business should make the smart choice and look to the experts when it comes to managing money matters and accounting software.

When it comes to the taxman, there’ll be no nasty surprises

Do you know how much tax you’ll be liable for at the end of the tax year? – and will you have reserved sufficient funds to cover your tax bill? Whether you’re a sole trader, partnership or limited company, your tax obligations and tax allowances can be complex. With an accountant on board, they’ll be able to advise you of the latest tax laws and how to operate your business more tax-efficiently – often saving you significant amounts off that year end bill. Not only that – with financial tax guidance and use of accruals on your accounting software, you can put enough by each month to make sure your business doesn’t take a cashflow hit come year end.

Talking of cashflow – be proactive, not reactive

With a book-keeper at hand managing your accounts with accounting software, you’ll know at any given moment exactly how much you owe and how much is due to you – meaning you can plan your cashflow more effectively. Many book-keepers will also carry out invoicing and credit control duties for you, meaning that you can concentrate upon running your business whilst an expert helps you reduce your debtor days. When you’re wearing several hats it’s all too easy to put debt-collecting to the back of the queue, so with your credit controller actively managing your cashflow, your bank balance will look healthier – and your bank manager happier.

How’s your business doing? Can you name your profit margin?

A good book-keeper or accountant isn’t just invaluable in managing your receipts and keeping your accounting software up to date – they’ll be able to provide you with accurate advice on how your business is really performing and how to help improve that bottom line. Without professional financial guidance, it’s all too easy for business efficiency to slip and overheads to creep up – so it’s a wise move to make sure you have a trusted professional to keep a close eye on your business performance and who can give practical, proven advice on how to keep your business running at maximum performance.

And finally…. it’s a matter of horses for courses

If you’re a business owner who currently manages your own accounts, unless you’re an accountant yourself then you’ll be all too familiar with this scenario. Sitting in the office until late at night, ploughing through spreadsheets or unfamiliar accounting software, checking and re-checking those figures which you’re still not sure are right…. we’re sure you’ve been there. If you counted the actual cost of the time you’ve laboriously spent trying to figure out your accounts, you’d probably be in for a nasty surprise – and the small monthly cost of hiring a book-keeper starts to show itself as a cost-saving from the off. Why spend many hours of your valuable time stressing over your accounts when a professional could have it done in a fraction of the time?

When you look at the evidence, isn’t it time you reached for phone and called that book-keeper or accountant who you once thought might be a waste of money? It just might be the smartest business decision you make all year.

If you are considering hiring a bookkeeper or accountant but fear that you will lose control of your accounts and where your business stands then fear not, online accounting software will enable you to logon at anytime and from any location and keep an eye on who owes your business money, what money you have in the bank and print of financial reports as and when you need to. This will provide you with a win win situation.

Accounting Software by online accounting provider Fusion Accounts, small business accounting software.

Copyright (c) 2010 Michael Atma

Keeping accurate, timely and up-to-date financial information in a small business can certainly be a major headache if you don’t have the right software and know how to use it properly. From stress and anxiety over getting your accounts lodged in time to the tax department through to lost invoices or IT problems the loss in time, sleep and productivity from ineffective systems can be high.

In inexperienced hands, this is usually followed by a series of small computer mishaps which usually end in the ultimate disaster – a hard-drive crash or virus infection, either of which usually strikes when there is no data back-up.

The other possibility is often to assign all of the accounting needs over to a professional accountant who charges regular fees to process entries – minor or otherwise.

What are the pros and cons of either alternative – and can there be a satisfying compromise to find balance?

Do It Yourself Accounting Software:

Advantages: (These all assume a reasonable knowledge of bookkeeping practices and well-developed computer skills, including the discipline to back up your system after every session).

=> Access to your data at a moment’s notice

=> Total control over the information being entered into the system

Disadvantages:

=> Amount of time required to keep the system up to date

=> Without a basic knowledge of double-entry bookkeeping, if you make a mistake you may not be skilled enough to correct it.

=> Lack of knowledge of GST and ATO requirements Outsourcing A Business Accountant:

Advantages:

=> Business accountants are skilled in running computer accounting systems

=> Computer equipment, software, expertise and file back-up systems are already in place

=> Skills include the ability to interpret data and explain it to lay people

=> Accountants know what information is required for the business to satisfy GST and ATO requirements. Disadvantages

=>The cost to fully outsource the recording of every transaction may be prohibitive for a small business, especially in the start-up phase.

=> This is the point where business owners should ask themselves (and almost never do), the single most important question on which their success will depend – “what is the best use of my time?” If, for example, you are an architect, what brings in the money – your architectural skills or your bookkeeping skills? Regardless of your trade or profession, your time is always worth more in business development and management activities, than in feeding information into an accounting package.

And the good new is there is a happy medium between DIY and fully outsourcing to a Accountants. If cost is the major barrier, consider hiring a part-time bookkeeper to do the data entry, then transfer the data to your accountants weekly to reconcile, run reports and keep you advised of the state of your business.

If your accountants have offered you an affordable package, then hand all your accounting worries over to them, and get on with what you do best – building your business.

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Every business is run with one motive in mind, to earn money. The continuous cash flow depicts that numerous transactions are taking place, which in turn require regular monitoring. Thus, an accountant is a highly indispensable part of a company.

An accountant has to keep track of a variety of things like the monetary dealings and transactions, expenditures, earnings and savings – in short, everything. Each cent earned or spent has to be considered and recorded. This, at the end of a year gives you a complete idea about the position of the company, say after a year of work.

Today, there are various accounting software available in the market. The software is has many advantages over a live accountant, for instance, it’s affordable and easy to maintain, and the fee charges are hourly-based. This has led to the omission of the live accountant from the companies, and the people now rely on these software to perform the tasks of an accountant. By far this has turned out good.

However, there are times when a live accountant proved to be better than accounting software. An accountant doesn’t have any technical difficulties (like software crashes), and thus at the time of crisis your software might fail but not a live accountant.

A direct conversation and discussion can be had regarding company plans and financial affairs. A live accountant can sit and formulate financial plans with the Finance Manager of the company to help the company reach heights.

If you thinking that keeping an accountant is a little too heavy on your pocket, then you can contact Firms that provide accounts on hourly basis and thus you avail same benefits from that also. All you have to do is, interview accountant or the firm, check the experience level, comfort level and personality. Also, look for references or talk to their previous clients.

It is an all too familiar position; most people have found that they keep telling themselves that they do it tomorrow or later or at the end of the week, and before you know it your deadline is upon you and your all stressed out to get it in on time, It’s time to get help!

Affordable professional help

Being a small and/or at home business owner are you tired of the lack of affordable professional help available?  So you need to find professional help whom are able to offer such things such as:

· Free and up to date accounting advice

· Realistic solutions to card payments and cash flow issues,

· A good supply of Bookkeeping/Accounting forms for the small business readily available

· Advice with managing online card merchant accounts.

· What sort of Accounting software is suitable to your type of business

· Tools & Resources helpful to your Business, those that are current and up to date, to know today, what others will find out tomorrow.

· Where you can access free spreadsheet bookkeeping templates

· Who run forums where Like Minded people, like you, can discuss online business issues that are not just financial issues?

· That have links to other useful sites

· Where you can also advertise your own business.

· The ability to Use the latest of modern technology to effectively manage your accounts from the other side of the country without massive Technical costs to your or themselves.

Certified And Accredited

Bookkeepers:

It is important that you find a bookkeeper that is certified and accredited Accounting technicians. There are many governing bodies but the two most, well known governing bodies are:

1. The AAT (association of accounting Technicians) 

o The Association of Accounting Technicians, or AAT, is an accountancy organisation with over 108,000 members worldwide. The AAT is a technician level qualification which entitles those who have completed the exams and obtained relevant supervised work experience to call themselves associate accounting technicians. The AAT is based in London but there are branches all over the UK and the rest of the world.

Professional recognition

The body is sponsored by four of the UK chartered accountancy bodies. These are:

· The Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (CIMA);

· The Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW);

· The Institute of Chartered Accountants of Scotland (ICAS); and

· The Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy (CIPFA).

AAT versus CAT (Certified Accounting Technician)

· The one UK chartered accountancy body which does not sponsor the AAT is the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA). This organisation used to be a sponsor of the AAT but broke away in order to form a rival body which offers the Certified Accounting Technician (CAT) qualification. The ACCA implemented this policy as it wanted a technician level qualification which followed the same business model which it did, ie. one with a global presence.

· Whilst the AAT is recognised as a professional qualification by the Department of Trade and Industry in the UK, the accountancy professions there, the USA and existing and former British Commonwealth countries, CAT is not. CAT is a professional academic qualification within the ACCA examination structure. AAT is both a recognised academic and vocational qualification in its own right.

2. The ICB (Institute of Certified bookkeepers)

The Institute of Certified Bookkeepers (“ICB”) is a not for profit organisation that promotes and maintains the standards of bookkeeping as a profession, through the establishment of a series of relevant qualifications and the award of grades of membership that recognise academic attainment, working experience and competence.

Started in the United Kingdom in 1996 the ICB has grown rapidly and now has a world wide presence in over 50 countries.

The Institute’s objectives

· to promote bookkeeping as a profession

· to enable bookkeeping to gain recognition as an integral part of the financial profession

· to promote training in the principles of bookkeeping

· to develop personal study skills and improve confidence of those persons who undertake a course in bookkeeping

· to enable the achievement of a qualification, which may be used to enhance prospects for progression into higher levels of study

· to improve the career prospects of its members

The ICB is the largest bookkeeping body in the world, with over 150,000 members and students. By offering career advice and support to bookkeepers the ICB has helped many throughout the world set up a successful practice.

You cannot buy your way into any of these associations, like most trade governing bodies, but have to take stringent examinations and also to keep memberships you must also keep up your CPD (Continual Professional Development), and also have current professional and Indemnity Insurances.

A professional Bookkeeper should be able to answer most of your day to day financial questions, before you need to start thinking about a Chartered Accountant, which is when the price will jump up dramatically. They should be able to process personal tax returns and give you basic help with corporation tax calculations.

In most cases a Bookkeeper should, if unable to answer your questions, then know exactly where to find the answer or to put you in touch with the right person.

Accountants:

Now be careful here as there are many people out there that can call themselves an accountant, but what you are really looking for is a chartered accountant. There is often some misconception as to the type of accountant needed, or indeed that there are more than one type and below are just two of the main types of Chartered accountants there are:

1. The Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA) is a British chartered accountancy body with a global presence that offers the Chartered Certified Accountant (Designatory letters ACCA or FCCA) qualification worldwide. Since Chartered Certified Accountant is a legally protected term, individuals who describe themselves as Chartered Certified Accountants must be members of ACCA and, if they carry out public practice engagements, must comply with additional regulations such as holding a practising certificate, being insured against any possible liability claims and submitting to inspections.

Continual Professional Development – Before 2005, Continual Professional Development (CPD) was mandatory only for holders of practising certificates and insolvency licences. From 2005, ACCA is extending mandatory CPD to all members on a phased basis:

2. The Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (CIMA) is a UK based professional body offering training and qualification in management accountancy and related subjects, focused on accounting for business; together with ongoing support for members. CIMA has two grades of full membership:

o Associate – designated by the letters ACMA

o Fellow – designated by the letters FCMA

To be admitted as an associate a candidate must have:

o completed a period of qualifying practice of at least three years, documented and signed by appropriate witnesses

o passed the institute’s 15 qualifying examinations

o Been proposed and seconded for membership by two individuals who have direct experience of the candidate’s work experience but who do not need to be members of CIMA or even accountants.

To become a Fellow a candidate ACMA must, in addition, have appropriate experience at a senior level.

Summary

It is very important when you look at any of these professionals to view their portfolio and testimonials to see what experience they have in what industries. For example a bookkeeper or an Accountant may have worked primarily for manufacturing companies and yours is an online business. Although they will understand the principles, it will take them a lot longer to understand your business and also may not have the contacts and resources easily available to hand that is relevant to your business.

So before you go head long into picking that all important Professional help, take the time to interview & research them just like you would with an employee or a supplier and ask for some testimonials from their current customers that are of a similar industry to yourself. Try to get it right 1st time. But don’t worry if you don’t, because you can always change!

Author: Monique Davis MICB CB Cert. MAAT & CIMA Student

Website: http://www.davisbusinesspro.co.uk Helping Your Business Grow!