When Did Your Accountant Last Call You?

Most small business owners think they have an advisor. What they actually have is someone who performs a task.

That's not a criticism. It's just an accurate description of how most accounting relationships work. You have a deadline. They meet it. The return gets filed, the payroll runs, the books get closed. The work is done correctly and on time.

But somewhere between January and April, while you were making decisions about your business — hiring someone, signing a lease, restructuring how you pay yourself — your accountant wasn't in the room. Not because they don't care. Because that's not the relationship you have.

The relationship you have is transactional. You reach out when you need something. They respond. The work gets done. It never occurs to you to call them in July to go over how the year is tracking. You never call when you hear about a tax law change and wonder how it affects you.

That's not negligence. That's the model.If it wasn’t for the need to file taxes, would you even have any relationship with an accountant?

The difference between an accountant, or tax preparer, and an advisor isn't credentials or experience. It's whether they know your business well enough to have an opinion about it before you ask — and whether they're willing to share it.

When was the last time you called your accountant? More importantly, has your accountant ever reached out to you?