There are various types of accountants; some good and some not so good... Don't be fooled by the image of a brass plaque and a firm handshake. The finest can help propel your business to the top; the worst can be a shackle for your business ambitions.

The first step is to accept you need an accountant. Bookkeeping, records, tax and general bureaucracy can be a minefield. As an entrepreneur you will probably have an opinion on the importance of all these things.


The first step is to create a short-list of potential accountants who you will meet face to face. You should have at least three.

The relationship with the accountant is generally a long-term one, so it's a good idea to try and get things right first time.

Recommendations and referrals can be great source and, but you don't want any personal loyalties to get in the way of a purely business-focussed decision.

The second source will be more formal. All qualified accountants belong to professional bodies that publish on-line regional membership directories, and it would be worth making a few phone calls to some of these.

Unqualified accountants can represent a bit of a dilemma here. Many good ones do exist. Often they will be competitively priced. The drawback is they generally won't have professional indemnity insurance, so recompense is difficult if things go wrong.

Something that the more diligent entrepreneurs may want to make time for is to check their prospective qualified candidates are actually qualified. This is a simple matter of cross-referencing names against membership directories. If somebody is lying to you about their qualifications, drop them straight away.

Once you have a long-list, make a few phone calls explaining what your business is about and what services you might need. If you're recalling one of the bigger firms, establish who your regular point of contact will be.

Questions, questions

First off, it's important that you're realistic about the nature of your business, and your own record.

It doesn't help if you've got an advisor who's operating in the dark, if you've got a chequered credit history or a business failure in the past these things will come out

Getting the best out of your accountant requires a level of trust, and never more so than when you first meet them.

Feel free to ask whatever you like. Ask about what extra services the accountant can offer.

Believe it or not, some accountants won't give you a quote upfront - they'll simply tell you what their hourly rate is, and roughly how many hours might be needed.


A third of the businesses that are starting today will have ceased within three years so not all accountants will be interested in a start-up."

Working for a new business isn't every accountant's cup of tea. They know it's a risk, and they know it requires time, so don't be offended if it transpires subsequent to the meeting that they are too busy to take you on. Instead, make a note of them for the future, because the chances are you will have found an excellent accountant. And that rare creature is something that pays for itself.