Bookkeeping Services: Interviewing a Potential Auditor For Financial Management

Bookkeeping solutions help keep track of an organization’s financial exchanges. Experts can easily keep track of corporate activities depending on the company’s accounting needs and relevant documentation — for instance, bills, receipts, and invoices.

Corporate transactions can be maintained manually but it is a slow and costly approach. In present times, companies must opt for intelligent bookkeeping solutions to enhance their financial health.

Implementing smart bookkeeping solutions is an important part of conducting business and maintaining financial records. With the help of bookkeeping services providers, any company can easily monitor its financial potential and achieve profitability goals for sustainable development. The following are ten critical questions to help entrepreneurs guide through the process of hiring an efficient auditor:

1. What academic qualifications and memberships should the bookkeeper have? Does the auditor have registration as a BAS agent?

The Tax Agent Services Bill 2008, applicable since 1st March 2010, guides that anybody extending BAS services professionally must be a registered agent. If the auditor must take on the job, fulfilling the requirement is necessary.

The minimum requirement for the must be Certificate IV Financial Solutions. The auditor should be a member of any professional bookkeeping alliance. For instance, The Institute of Certified Bookkeepers (ICB) or the Association of Accounting Technicians (AAT).

2. Does the bookkeeper have any insurance?

The least insurance that the auditor should have is professional indemnity. 

3. Who will take responsibility for data entry and BAS preparation?

It must be clear if the job will be continuously done by a bookkeeping service provider or by any other team member. Finally, who will take on the task of proofreading?

4. Are there any relevant experiences/references?

In some cases, given references can be unreliable. In this way, doing a bit of research can be helpful in filling the gaps in information. A number of online platforms provide independent reviews of professional services.

5. If there is any accounting package, who is responsible for the ownership of all the information?

A number of bookkeeping organizations will complete the job with the help of personal data files, which is highly cost-effective. In the case that entrepreneurs want to introduce bookkeeping services in-company, the shift of ownership will cost a minimum. Undoubtedly, if the accounting system is cloud-based, clients can access the desired information with the help of PINs/ password-based logins. In this case, the responsibility for subscription lies with the bookkeeping service providers.

6. What is the decided location of work?

It is essential to establish where the auditor will complete the job: Onsite, private, or remote.

7. Who will take on the job of proofing the final work?

Mishaps may date back years; making corrections can be expensive because it can comprise involving re-organizing data, adapting BAS, and evaluating end-of-year financial reports. Is the auditor going to do the job free of charge?

8. What does the auditor need to complete the job?

It is important to clearly list what the bookkeeper requires from the company to complete daily tasks. For instance, the auditor might need receipts. It can also be the case that there should be codes or explanations on the given material to complete the job. Nothing of this sort should be left to assumptions because they hinder the smooth flow of work.

9. What is the official mode of communication with the accountant?

In the case that organizational accountants and third-party bookkeeping service providers are not linked with a firm, it is important to introduce them and encourage professional relationship building. This is really important to strengthen business communication and achieve goals timely. If these steps are not taken, it will badly impact the business project. In the end, it is important to decide the fee for services to remove any confusion.

10. How much will everything cost?

The major issue is that the job of bookkeepers is highly underestimated, which is unfair to an ambitious auditor. In case, there are competent bookkeeping service providers, seize the opportunity. In this way, it will become easier to manage financial reports on a timely basis and make informed decisions for sustainable business development.

Concluding Remarks

The implementation of smart bookkeeping services helps organizations in meeting their development milestones timely. In this regard, organizations can easily ensure compliance with statutory requirements to avoid hefty fines. Collaborating with bookkeeping service providers facilitates enhancing the financial health of the organization. Finally, entrepreneurs can monitor their organization’s income, expenses, and profits in real-time.