As tax season approaches and companies rush to close their accounts; you may be faced with many difficult decisions. If you haven’t updated your books throughout the year, now is the time to cram all of that analysis into a couple of days, or worse, hours! A CPA might help you with that final push, but a finance expert can support your bookkeeping and financial reporting all year round.
Keeping accurate financial records and filing taxes demands a lot of skill and time, which you might not have. Thus, you might be considering hiring a professional. If you are wondering whether to hire a CPA or a finance expert, here’s the difference;
A CPA is an accountant who is qualified to do your taxes. These qualifications include their license along with relevant education that equips them with the resources they can use to help.
On the other hand, finance experts are much more dynamic and hands on. They can connect you to the right CPA for your year-end taxation requirements, but they also provide you with the right financial reporting to get you through the tax season.
Is a CPA (Certified Public Accountant) better equipped to handle your finances as compared to a finance expert? To answer this question, you must understand the difference between a CPA and a finance expert and how they complete each other to create an efficient accounting and finance function for your business.
The Difference Between a Finance Expert and a CPA
CPAs aren’t the same as your finance team. Similarly, a CPA firm can’t be put in the same category as an outsourced accounting and CFO firm. Both provide different services and are masters in their own fields.
Your finance team is comprised of finance experts including bookkeepers, accountants, and financial analysts :
- Bookkeepers are responsible for organizing, recording, and maintaining a business's financial data. These bookkeepers also maintain consistency across different accounts to protect against fraud.
- Accountants can customize your financial reporting for better business decisions. They analyze your financial statements to determine where you are lacking and what resources can be utilized to better use.
These finance experts including accountants and financial analysts also help prepare future budgets, forecasts, or investment plans.
On the other hand, a CPA can;
- Prepare a financial statement that is audited and ready for legal requirements.
- Help you achieve tax compliance by fulfilling basic requirements (Your finance expert goes one step further and helps you mold your financials to prepare for these legal requirements).
- Represent you or your business in court in case of any discrepancy.
- Conduct audits for public companies.
CPAs can file your taxes as they are directly monitored by government bodies, while an a finance expert can help your business grow through experienced data analysis.
Why I should not hire a CPA for my bookkeeping
If you are wondering whether a CPA firm is a better fit for your company’s bookkeeping, think again. A CPA might assist you with the compliance that gets you through tax season. However, a finance expert is there all year round for accurate financial recording and analysis. This gets you prepared for tax season throughout the year and doesn’t add to your burden at the end.
Hiring a CPA for your bookkeeping can become costly as you will likely pay an hourly rate and face surprise bills. A bookkeeping company has a business model that is more suitable to keep track of your records year-round at a fraction of the cost. In addition, a bookkeeping company who also offers CFO services provides you with a complete overview of your business performance and help you scale up with the right reporting.
Why hire both a Finance Expert and a CPA?
A CPA might help you with your taxes, but in the long run, a finance expert is best for a growing company. This is because year-round financial analysis and support can keep your tax information updated and provide your company with room for growth.
A financial expert and a CPA will add to your company a reliance and compliance team in one. They complete each other to give you the best finance function.
Is Cypher a CPA Firm?
Cypher IS NOT A CPA FIRM. We are mainly a tech-based accounting firm that takes care of bookkeeping, accounting, and CFO services to provide you with relevant financial advice.
We are also an aid for tech-based startups as they navigate the market in their initial years and go through investment rounds.
Our financial experts are well-equipped to do your bookkeeping at a lower cost and use relevant tools to cater specially to tech-based startups, and utilize multiple approaches to ensure an efficient process.
Who Will Be Doing My Taxes?
Your taxes will still be the responsibility of a tax accountant or CPA firm. Cypher partners with the best CPAs and tax accountants to fill in the compliance side of your accounting and finance team.
Cypher will work with you to produce tax-ready financials and analyze your financial documents all year round. This keeps you updated and ready for tax season. Your Cypher team will connect directly with your CPA or tax accountant to answer any questions in regards to your financial reports for a more efficient tax filing process.
If you do not have a CPA or a tax accountant for your year-end tax filings, your Cypher can connect you with the right CPA to handle your compliance.
Final Thoughts
You will save time and money if you trust a finance expert that provides more than one accounting service and represents you with third parties such as CPA firms, investors, lawyers, etc. In the long run, financial experts can help you analyze your accounting data and make the changes required for a faster growth.
If you want to hire an efficient financial expert to look over your entire accounting and finance function, connect with us at Cypher.
