Choosing an Accountant to Help You Prepare for Venture Capital Part 1 © Paul Wetton

An accountant does far more than keep your books and prepare your taxes.  An accountant can serve as an advisor in important decisions, including whether or not to pursue venture capital, and help you map a plan for your future.

They are part of your team, therefore it's important to pick the right accountant the first time. Once an accountant assumes that role for your company it's inconvenient to switch to a new accountant because they have acquired a lot of information about you and your business and re-explaining all that information to a new accountant is too time-consuming.

An switched-on accountant can provide the following services:

• Tax Planning.  Planning involves far more than filing your taxes.  Your accountant can advise you throughout the year on changes in tax laws and help ensure that your business is fully benefiting from tax breaks.

• Financial Insight.  Your accountant can advise you on your personal finances too and help you prepare for retirement and helps with estate planning, trust funds, etc.  Your personal and business finances are connected; one impacts the other.  A good accountant realizes this and makes sure that your business decisions are also beneficial to your personal finances.

• Business Consultant.  An accountant can help your business increase its profits and expand its operations.  You'll be surprised at how your accountant has knowledge about many things:  insurance, marketing, how to set prices, inventory and more.  They also have connections and can refer you to other professionals who may have expertise in an area where you have questions.  Don't hesitate to run your business decisions past your accountant for an opinion, even if it seems outside his or her area of expertise.

• Technology Guru.  Accountants tend to be whizzes with the computer and are experts in financial software as well as small business software and analyzing strategic business data with the proper software.

• Connections.  If you need a recommendation for a lender, a venture capitalist, angel investor, and wholesaler for your product your accountant is a good referral source.