Can Accountants Save a Company From Going Under?

An Accountant Could Find Ways to Cut Costs

The first thing that your accountant will do is conduct a complete audit of company finances. Every expense report, executive bonus and other expenditure will be scrutinized to make sure that they were reasonable expenses. If they are not, they may be cut in the future or the employees who benefited from them may be asked to repay the money. Your accountant will also spend time looking at payroll costs to see if they can be trimmed.

Past and Current Clients May Be Asked to Pay Their Bills Now

Businesses run into trouble when they get lenient with their invoices. When services are rendered, an invoice should be provided that explains when and how payment for services will be made.

While it is common to give clients 30 days to pay their debt, some companies don’t enforce the terms of the deal. That could cost a business thousands or millions of dollars per year.

Customers who are still in good standing may be asked to pay their bills early to help provide extra cash flow to the company as it tries to get back on its feet.

Tax Issues Will Finally Be Addressed

A business that owes back taxes may try to stonewall the government or take measures to avoid paying that tax for as long as possible. Your accountant may be able to work with your legal team to settle past tax debt with the government. Having a payment plan that works for the company and satisfies the government could put an end to legal action and other penalties that could be crippling your business.

Do Not Hide Anything From Your Accountant

All relevant information should be made available to your accountant. If you are missing any important documents, simply say that you don’t have a copy of the document or documents that the accountant needs.

While it makes it harder for the accountant to do his or her job when information goes missing, it is even harder to get the job done when he or she is going off of false or misleading information.

Business owners should understand that they are still responsible for any tax or financial information that their accountants send to the government or any other regulatory body.

If your company has unsettled accounts and bankruptcy looming in the future, an accountant could help the company stay afloat. He or she will go over the financial information provided by the company and come up with ways to save money and get rid of any outstanding debt that the company owes. Business owners who follow the advice of their accountants may be able to save their businesses from going under due to mismanagement.