Having an accountant on side for your business can do so much for your financial health and organisation.
However, despite the strengths of a chartered accountant, it isn’t a legal requirement to employ their services.
What about your statutory obligations to HMRC and Companies House? Do you need an accountant to file accounts or to do your taxes?
Can I do my own accounts?
There’s nothing stopping you from doing your own accounting work, either for yourself or a company. Just as there is no legal requirement to have an accountant, there is no legal barrier to any individual performing their work.
There are, however, dangers to trying to undertake accounting tasks for which you don’t have the skills or experience. Chartered accountants are well versed in the matters of a business’s annual schedule, like filing statutory accounts which must be done by law.
An accountant might not be a legal requirement, but much of the work they undertake is vital.
What does an accountant do that I can’t?
Chartered accountants don’t just bring skill sets; they bring experience and knowledge of what goes in to a business, often from legal and managerial perspectives as well as financial.
Accountants can analyse your bookkeeping data to produce management accounts that provide key insight to the financial health of your business. These help you and your accountant flag concerns and spot any patterns that could lead to hardship in future. They’re produced more regularly than statutory accounts, which are annually.
Management accounting for SMEs can be particularly useful for demonstrating the steady growth of your business to stakeholders and investors.
And, as mentioned earlier, although you can prepare your own corporation tax returns, these must be done on time and in the correct way. Failure to file these within deadlines will incur penalties and likely become a bigger headache than they ever needed to be.
Do I need an in-house accountant?
No at all! You can gain the help of a chartered accountant without needing to add a new employee to your payroll.
Times have changed and now you can gain the services of a fully qualified accountant through a cloud-based service utilising software and remote working. This lets you leave the number work to your accountant while business runs as normal.
Venn Accounts takes this exact approach and it’s been the basis of countless relationships forged on trust and a genuine desire to support businesses as they grow.
We get to the heart of your operations, understanding them completely so that we can deliver a bespoke service that addresses any and all of your accountancy needs.
To find out more about how we can help your SME or start-up accountancy, please contact us today and speak to one of our experts.
