Find the Best CPA

Best CPA Framingham MA

Finding a CPA is easy, anyone can do it. However, very few know how to find the best CPA and having the best can make all the difference for you and your business. Here is a three-part process of how to find the best CPA.

• Referrals

Getting referrals is a very important way of getting a good CPA as long as your referral sources are good. By good sources, it means you are asking the right people. Family and friends are great referral sources as long as they have some tax or financial expertise. If they don’t, probably the only thing they can assure you of is whether or not the CPA returns calls or if they are nice people. 

The best referrals you can get are from professionals such as your financial advisor or your attorney. The point is the best referrals you can get are from people who are familiar with how CPAs work from the technical side. It means you want references from someone who can identify any professional problem or even a lack of qualifications. Also, while looking for referrals for a CPA, keep in mind the specific reason why you need one in the first place. You could be looking for someone to only handle your taxes or someone to offer business consulting. 

• Ask questions

Most business owners end up hiring the wrong person since they are in a hurry to get someone and settle for nice rather than qualified. Prepare a list of questions for when you have settled for a handful of candidates to choose from an interview. Your questions can focus on getting answers to the following aspects:

• The type of client they focus on and why
• What differentiates them from other professionals
• How long they have been in business
• Their charges
• Whether they offer audit protection
• How they handle IRS audits
• What licenses they have and how they acquired them
• The number of clients they have
• Whether they have ever been sanctioned by any professional board before
• Whether they have had complaints before
• How many of their returns they had audited in the last year
• How many clients left them in the last year and why
• What to expect from them in their first year of service

You can get answers to these and add more when you feel you want to find out more. This is important since you are about to give this person your entire financial future, therefore, ensure that you get as much information as you can in advance.

Also, you can settle for a candidate who is keen on asking you questions as well rather than just being modest and trying to impress you with credentials. If someone doesn’t ask about you too, it could mean they probably don’t care or think of you as an individual which can be a fatal flaw when it comes to handling your finances. 

• Get a second opinion

Once you have settled for the candidate you are more confident with, you can let her review your last tax return and provide a price quote. In the process, you can also get a critique to review what he should have done differently and why, or whether he noticed any flaws or errors or missed opportunities or whether there are audit red flags that need to be addressed. This way, you would be looking for thoroughness, creativity and value-added. If what you are getting from this person is nothing better than what you already have, then keep looking. It’s better to find this sooner rather than later after you have wasted time and money. 

Finding the best CPA requires time and adequate preparation. Start today by meeting Ash Wasilidas, CPA. He has over 20 years of growing businesses of all sizes. Call (617) 462-6651 or book an appointment online.