Academy Chartered Accountants Limited
Chartered Accountant
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Local accounting

So you're looking for a local accountant? But do you actually need your accounts done locally? Or might you be better off with a "virtual" chartered accountant? Someone who is available when you are - without leaving your office? Someone who is in some ways closer than a normal chartered accountant? Someone who can work with you on your computer system without you ever leaving your office? And someone who's a full chartered accountant in public practice who specialises in working over the Internet rather than in a conventional practice?

What does a local accountant do?

Well, if you want someone who you visit regularly, or like to visit socially, then a local person is important. They might run your debtors - or payroll. If these are what you need then read no more - our services probably aren't for you. Of course we do work with local bookkeepers who focus on those jobs while we focus on higher-level accounting jobs.

If you're looking for a chartered accountant who helps you produce quality accounts and tax returns, and who loves you to ask questions (generally with no extra charge) when they come up rather than leaving it till year end, then our accounting services could interest you. And if you are interested in growing your business and seeing how far you can go, then you might even be more interested in our extra services.

What does a virtual accountant do?

We think we offer a pretty good service - and from the average length of time we've dealt with most of our clients, they do too. What particularly appeals to them is knowing they have an accountant on their team who helps them get things right for their business. But not everyone means the same thing by the same words - so I should explain what I mean by having a "virtual" accountant on your team. In many ways having a virtual accountant is more local to you than a local accountant.

Our clients only get a choice of two ways of doing their accounts. First we can do them (including GST returns) via BankLink - in which case all they have to do is identify what transactions are for and provide extra information at year end (e.g. debtors, creditors, etc) to let us complete the accounts and tax returns. That's popular with those who want to do as little as possible with their accounts.

But our main choice is far and away our most popular choice. That's where you use your own accounting system, and we help you use it properly, minimising the chances if IRD finding errors when they check your data. If you talk with chartered accountants, they'll tell you stories of clients who come to them saying "There's not much left to do - it's all in XYZ". Almost invariably they will shudder as they think of the problems that come with such a system. Many often simply extract the data into their own system, and redo the accounts "correctly". Such extra work may seem onerous - but experience has led them to conclude this is the only safe option.

We take a different approach, If clients are going to keep their accounts in a computer system, the first thing we do is make sure the system is robust. For example, how it handles GST is one issue that frequently causes mistakes - and extra work - along with a higher number of errors. And there are other issues as well. You can read about the systems we recommend - but we can also work with others - we just like to ensure that both the client and we aren't going to regret it.

Having made sure we're comfortable with the system chosen, we then help the client make best use of it. We do this over the Internet with TeamViewer software. That means that we can both see what is happening on your system, and can work together. It's very efficient - as long as you have a broadband connection. So we can help as you go - for five minutes or a couple of hours. We also review your first GST return or two (including teaching you how to reconcile these - absolutely key yet most people don't do it) - and at year end check and finalise almost everything again before taking your data for the accounts.

But we don't stop there - after doing the accounts we provide the information needed to make your system agree with the accounts. That way your system agrees with the formal accounts, including depreciation, salaries and tax, simplifying the following year's accounts. All that and having an accountant to call on whenever you want to run by us any business issues is why many people like our servuces. And that's not an add-on to our normal work - that is the way we work with all our clients.

Are we for you?

So what's the catch? Well we don't think there is a catch. We've identified up front the limits imposed by being a virtual chartered accountant. And we require a monthly A/P of our fee - but even that is a pretty good deal. First payment in advance means that IRD will allow the accounting fee when paid, rather than when billed in the following year. Second, you know what the fee will be. Our A/P is all inclusive - so you won't get a further bill when the accounts are done. We can charge extra - but that is only for extra services agreed in advance. These may include software upgrades (but you can do that yourself) or additional services like new entities or services. Almost always we will provide a quote in advance so you always know what the cost will be.

If you want to find out more about having us on your team, send us an e-mail - or Skype us.