Accounting is a fundamental pillar within the structure of any business, and the accountant not only focuses on determining taxes but is also an advisor involved in financial and administrative planning.
A very common question that entrepreneurs or owners of MSMEs ask themselves is at what point in the business's life is it convenient to hire the services of an accountant?
However, this question, despite being so frequent, implies a wrong approach to the accounting profession, and in reality, the correct question should be:
Why do I need to hire an accountant?
One of the reasons this confusion arises is the misconception that the accountant only focuses on determining the company's taxes.
Based on this logic, if the undertaking is in a planning stage -or if it is a small business that does not yet want to register with the Treasury- it is normal to have the idea that an accountant is not needed until you start paying taxes.
Accounting services are tailored to the company.
Accounting is one of the fundamental pillars of any company, for ventures that are barely an idea and for already functional businesses. No matter its size, accounting adapts to its characteristics.
Hence, the question should focus on the company's specific needs when defining which accounting services should be hired.
Contrary to what is thought, an accountant can provide both strategic planning and supervision services in the fiscal, administrative and financial areas.
Importance of hiring an accountant from the start
When the business is in an initial stage of development, it is essential to carry out financial and tax accounting planning.
It is not about keeping two accounts but about making the projections from two aspects that, although they are different, are correlated:
Financial projection
The financial projection will allow the development of cash flow analyses necessary to know if the business model will be functional in terms of money. Thus, the entrepreneur will see the income and expenses involved in starting the operations and make investment decisions.
Tax planning
For its part, the accountant's tax planning focuses on projecting the taxes that the new company will have to pay.
Even if they are not paid in the short term, the business will invariably have to comply with its fiscal obligations.
So that when the time comes, the tax burden does not become unsustainable, it is necessary to contemplate them from the beginning in financial planning.
Administrative Accounting
Likewise, it is essential to analyze the needs of administrative accounting since it allows us to identify at an operational level what is needed to keep accounting on track.
For example, inventories and their costs, budgets and, in general, all administrative processes, and thus facilitate the company's operations using tools such as an ERP system.
In any case, it is essential to carry out a diagnosis of the business to know what kind of needs the company has, such as:
Financial planningTax strategyRegularization before the SATProcess auditInventory Controladministrative restructuringInvestment project
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