What does an accounting firm do?

Accounting firms are an integral partner to business owners due to their wide range of services that they provide. They help business and companies to be tax compliant, stay financially organized which result in business growth. However, accounting firms vary and not all of them provide the same services. For example, Linghams Chartered Accountants in Cardiff, South Wales, offer cost-effective audit solutions, corporate and personal, tax planning solutions and compliance and support services. As a business owner, you should the best accountancy firm that will meet the specific needs of your business. Here are the roles, duties and responsibilities of accounting firms.

Audit

It is a legal requirement for all companies to conduct annual audits. An audit can be defined as an investigation into a business or company ensuring that the accounts give an accurate reflection of the status of the business. Such heavy lifting can only be done by chartered accountants so that any misconduct does not reflect the status of your business. Audit work varies from financial, safety provisions, environmental impact, IT security and a company’s health. Auditing involves preparing accounts, reports and even presentations.

 

Tax planning and preparation

Perhaps this is the most defined role for accountants across the globe. Tax planning and preparation are part of the mantra of what accounting firms are required to do for businesses. Not only do accounting firms prepare year-end business documents but also file taxes. This is a requirement by state and corporate tax laws and by having your business compliant with the law is essential. Businesses need to establish entities with the most favorable tax impacts. 

Accounting firms must help identify the best solutions and create the best tax for the company or business. Some estates or companies belong to many business owners and it is the duty of accounting firms to identify these. Accounting firms develop the right mix of business for companies by visualizing the needs of a business and its key owners.

Bookkeeping and payroll

Business owners are known to be the engine that provides the product or service that drives businesses. Many financial aspects are involved in running a business and business owners are not experts in this. Chartered accountants come in handy with this. Accounting firms receive copies of bank statements that they use to maintain cash flow records. They also, create profit and loss statements that explain the breakdown of costs and revenue streams of a business. Payroll processing is a huge task that experiences lots of cash exchanging hands is key to get everything right. Accounting firms have to process federal paperwork for employees so that the company can provide year-end payment documents.

Advisory

Expert advice and insight go a long way in determining the success of any business or company. Advisory work involves a broad spectrum of fields, it could include advising clients on rearranging their structure, improving their performance or dealing with future risks. Another part of advisory is galvanizing and working as a team on a larger project which will ensure that the project will be completed on time and will meet the industry standards.

Business development and valuation

Valuation reports or audits are required by financing firms and it is part of what accounting firms do. A business may seek funding or loans from either a bank or a private investor, the transaction should be legitimately and expertly valued. This is essential for purchases. By looking at books of return, years’ revenues and growth curves, accounting firms can value a company and give the figures to investors or potential buyers. If a business needs to expand it requires pro forma statements and projections. An accounting firm has to calculate the data and provide the data for funding.

Top accounting trends

Below are trends that influence the field of accounting c. Accounting firms need to stay up to date with these developments to maintain a competitive advantage in the industry.

Accounting automation

Popular applications and automated accounting software are increasingly becoming popular. Automation in this industry means that accounting professionals will not spend much of their time on manual tasks. Accounting automation will make accountants more effective, it will save on time and resources.

Transparency and security

Transparency is crucial in the field of accounting and data security has been greatly focused on. The industry has experienced restoration in trust and credibility in processing financial reports. Nowadays, it is a norm for businesses to report their financial reports to the public. Accountants are required to maintain strong security purposes to protect organizations.

Data analysis

In recent years, there has been a proliferation of data and this requires accounting experts to perform tasks that require analytical skills. There has been an increase in the number of applications of data analytics. The industry requires an analytical mindset to remain competitive in the long run.

Final Thoughts

Being an accountant involves much more than just balancing the books and crunching numbers. It is a career that offers endless opportunities and securing your position in an accountancy firm is more than an achievement. The above duties and responsibilities are only a tip of what accounting firms do in their day-to-day operations.