Images_Digital_Edition_January_2019

KB BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT www.images-magazine.com 120 images JANUARY 2019 Accountants are heroes too T he mere mention of a chartered accountant (CA) can send a cold shiver down a small business owner’s spine, particularly in the early years after start-up when expenses must be carefully controlled and cash preserved. I know – I’ve been on both sides of this fence, first as a CA providing small business owners with accounting and auditing services, and then as a small business owner. But, cold shivers notwithstanding, an accountant is one of the more important companions to take along for the journey down the road to small business success. And by ‘accountant‘, I refer more to the function than the title. You don’t necessarily need a big-firm, big-fee CA. What you need is someone to provide accounting services at a level of expertise appropriate to the nature and complexity of your small business. Accountants aren’t likely to be particularly exciting or newsworthy in a hero-saves-the-day kind of way. In fact, it seems that when an accounting firm is mentioned on the news today it’s in the role of villain rather than hero for having not detected a massive fraud perpetrated at another failed multinational conglomerate. The fact is, though, thousands of small business owners will tell you that their accountants, while never likely to be publicly hailed as heroes, are heroes for a number of reasons. In the small business arena, accountants stand between chaotic and orderly records, late and timely tax returns, well-reasoned and reckless pricing, and in some cases, between survival and failure. Every small business owner should have such a hero. The type of accountant you need When you need medical services (and all of us do), your practitioner is chosen based on the nature of your need. A paramedic might be able to quite easily handle your need, but if it’s more complex, you might require the attention of a GP. And if it’s really complex, you might need a specialist – one of those people with a wall full of framed certificates and a 12-month waiting list. Characters Who Can Make Or Break Your Small Business is a wise and witty new book from accountant and print industry veteran Michael Best. Through 39 characters he identifies the issues faced by small business owners and offers advice backed up by real life examples. Images will be running excerpts from the book throughout 2019 – we‘re kicking off this month with the accountant chapter Six months later we received a package from a firm of trustees in bankruptcy