Is it time to give your CPA the boot?

It’s that time of year again to assemble all of your financial information and bring it to your Certified Public Accountant. However, some of you may be dissatisfied with your current Certified Public Accountant and are contemplating a change.

 

In a mailing to business owners back in 2003, I included the following list of the Top 10 Questions for them to ask themselves in order to determine if it was time to change certified public accountants:

1. Do you grab your chest when you open your CPA's bills?
2. Do you feel shunned by your CPA whenever you call his office?
3. Are you tired of seeing a new face handling your account each year?
4. Are extensions your CPA's MO?
5. Are you no longer shocked when you receive an IRS notice?
6. Do you find yourself auditing the work of your CPA?
7. Do you suspect that your CPA never heard of tax planning?
8. Can't remember the last time your CPA discussed his findings with you?
9. When you receive your financials, is it already time for next year's?
10. Do you wake up in the middle of the night in a cold sweat, worrying about an IRS audit?

A lot has changed since 2003, especially in regard to information processing. Moreover, the American economy has been suffering from a meltdown for over a year—which may last many more years to come. Consequently, considering whether or not to change CPAs may even be more necessary and urgent now than ever before. In light of this, in addition to the 10 questions listed above, I decided to compile a list of 10 things to be especially on the lookout for to assist you in deciding whether now is the time to change CPAs.

 

My Top 10 List for Knowing When It’s Time to Give Your Current CPA the Boot!

 

1. Your CPA brags about all the money he made on investment referrals to Bernard Madoff’s Investment Securities.
2. The cover letter accompanying your tax return is in Sanskrit, bearing a New Delhi address.
3. You received a wedding invitation of your CPA’s marriage to his prison cellmate, Buster.
4. Your CPA included your dog, Muffy, as a dependent on your 2008 Form 1040.
5. Your CPA billed you for a 2008 Form 1040 tax return filed for Muffy.
6. Your CPA’s tax organizer asks you for all of your credit and debit card numbers, CVV numbers, PIN numbers, expiration dates, and names as they appear on the cards.
7. Your financial statements and tax returns appear on his website as testimonials.
8. Your CPA off-handedly mentions that he recently hired some big mafooch named Guido to handle collections.
9. Your CPA text messages his attorney always before signing your financial statements and tax returns.
10. Over drinks your CPA lets it slip out that that correspondence course—found on the back of a matchbook cover—sure paid off for him.

 

Perhaps you have a few tips to share about knowing when to change CPAs.

 

Have a tax or an accounting question?  Please feel free to submit it to William Brighenti, Certified Public Accountant, Hartford CPA Accountants.  For information and assistance on any tax and accounting issue, please visit our website, Accountants CPA Hartford, and our blog, Accounting and Taxes Simplified.

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