6 signs you’ve outgrown your accountant

Have you ever questioned whether your current accountant is stunting your business’s growth? Sometimes, the accountant who filed your first tax return may no longer be equipped to provide the more advanced support your growing business needs.

If this is the case, you might have to speak with your accountant to find a solution or find someone who better understands your business and its goals and can introduce a wider skill set to your accounting and finance functions.

To help you decide, we’ve compiled a list of six signs that your business may have outgrown your accountant, what each means, and what to look for next.

1. You only hear from them at year-end

For many businesses, the only contact they have with their accountant is when year-end accounts are prepared. You may receive annual accounts and tax returns but have little discussion throughout the year, and the information you do receive is historical rather than being useful for decisions you need to make now.

As your business grows, you need financial information that helps you make decisions before they happen and advice throughout the year, not just reports on what happened in the past.

2. You find yourself making important decisions without knowing your numbers

If your accountant can’t help you answer questions like, “Can we afford another employee?” or “Can we increase salaries?”, the relationship may be too compliance-focused rather than advisory.

Advisory services, like Management Accounts, forecasting, and proper budgeting, can be a huge boost for business growth and shouldn’t be ignored.

A good accountant should help you make and evaluate decisions using accurate financial information. They should not simply record the outcomes.

3. No one is proactively discussing tax

If tax planning only happens after the tax year has ended, and your accountant isn’t suggesting ways to manage your tax position going forward, then you may have outgrown a purely compliance-based relationship.

Examples include salary/dividend planning, pension contributions, and exit planning, all of which need to happen before the deadline, not after. The key to good tax planning is time; the more time you give yourself, the better your tax position will likely be.

4. You feel like they don’t understand your plans and goals

If you’re starting to feel like “just another client”, it could be a sign that your accountant doesn’t fully understand your business or is unable to fully commit themselves to the partnership. A growing business needs an accountant who understands its goals and ambitions, because these help frame advice and help them equip you with the right financial support needed.

Without that understanding, the advice you receive may remain reactive or too generic to be useful beyond the basics.

5. You’re constantly asking what something means

If you receive your accounts but are left wondering what they mean for your business, it could be a sign that you need more than compliance-based delivery.

For growing businesses with greater stakes and complexity, your accountant should help translate financial information into terms you clearly understand. That is how better business decisions are enabled. If you feel as though you’re being left in the dark or, not sufficiently educated on what your accounts are saying, this could be a sign you need more advanced support.

6. Your complexity has grown, but your relationship hasn’t

Growth brings complexity, whether that's switching from sole trader to limited company, taking on multiple projects, or expanding into new areas.

Complexity doesn’t automatically mean that you need a bigger accounting firm, but it does mean you need the right expertise available when the time comes.

Whether you’re hiring a management team, looking for investment, or considering an acquisition, your accountant should be there to identify what you need and bring the right expertise into the conversation.

What does this mean?

These signs don’t mean that your accountant is bad. Instead, it could simply be that they were once the right fit, but your needs have now outgrown what they offer.

In some cases, the answer is simply to ask your existing accountant: “Can you provide management accounts?” or “Can you help me understand what the numbers mean?”

If the answer is yes, perhaps you haven’t outgrown them, you simply need to adapt the scope of the relationship.

If the answer is consistently no, it may be time to look elsewhere.

The right accountant should grow with your business

Your accountant doesn’t need to be the biggest firm, have the biggest team, or offer every possible service, but they should be able to support the stage your business is at and the stage you’re trying to reach.

We believe a modern accountant should be equipped to provide more than accounts and tax returns. They should help you understand your financial performance, identify opportunities for improvement, and ensure you’re making informed decisions throughout the year, not just when a deadline is approaching.

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If your business has changed significantly since you appointed your accountant, it might be worth having a conversation about your current needs.

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Wondering whether your business could benefit from more proactive advice? We could help. To discuss further, contact us today.