| Certified Public Accountant (CPA) designation signifies | | | | Forensic Accounting, Income Tax, Information |
| that your accountant has undergone specialized | | | | Technology in accounting and auditing, Management |
| training and passed rigorous education and examination | | | | Consulting, Performance Consulting, Tax Preparation |
| requirements. Even so, not all CPAs are equal. When | | | | and Planning, or Venture Capitalism. Make sure your |
| choosing a CPA, be sure to look beyond the | | | | CPA is well-versed in the area where you need the |
| acronyms and find out about his or her education, | | | | most help. |
| experience, expertise, and whether or not they meet | | | | 4. I need (state the requirements of your business) and |
| your needs. To help you make this judgment call, begin | | | | I'm wondering if you have the necessary knowledge |
| by asking these five questions: | | | | and experience to help me with this type of |
| 1. Have you met all the requirements to be considered | | | | accounting? |
| a Certified Public Accountant in my state? | | | | Chances are, you know what part of your tax return |
| The first step when vetting a CPA is to determine | | | | is the most complicated and potentially problematic. Be |
| whether or not they are a genuine CPA in your state. | | | | up front about this issue and make sure they can |
| You can actually answer this question on your own via | | | | address it with confidence. |
| your state's professional licenses website. You can | | | | 5. What are your hours and availability? What kind of |
| find a list of CPA institutions by state at aicpa.org. | | | | contingency is there if I am audited? |
| Make sure your CPA is up to date with their | | | | Lastly, you'll want to make sure that your CPA firm will |
| requirements and are not suspended or inactive. | | | | be there for you when you need them. Make sure |
| 2. How many years experience have you had as a | | | | they can meet with you when you are available (i.e. do |
| CPA? | | | | they only operate during business hours when you are |
| The road to becoming a CPA is marked by years of | | | | also at work? Are lunch meeting feasible?). You'll also |
| education and training, so even a freshly minted CPA | | | | want to be sure that they'll be accountable (no pun |
| won't be completely inexperienced. But it's still best to | | | | intended) in the case that you are audited. Otherwise, |
| choose a CPA who has considerable hands-on | | | | you'll have to reverse engineer their work in order to |
| experience as a practicing CPA. | | | | answer all of the IRS' questions. |
| 3. What is your financial expertise in? | | | | These five questions should just get you started. |
| There are a number of CPA specializations, including | | | | Choose your CPA carefully and ensure that you feel |
| Assurance and Attestation, Corporate Financing, | | | | comfortable and confident in their experience and |
| Corporate Governance, Estate Planning, Financial | | | | expertise. |
| Accounting, Financial Analysis, Financial Planning, | | | | |