I had no idea where to put this thread . . .

I looked mine up in the Yellow Pages of the phone book. I called three and spoke with each of them over the phone. I made my decision based on the brief conversation I had with them.

Sincerely,
Gehanna

I've known mine since before she decided to become an accountant. But if I were looking for one today, I'd ask friends, relatives, and business associates if they have one and if they'd give me a referral.

I live in a relatively small community. We found ours by asking around. We've had him for over ten years. We trust him with our lives!

I AM an accountant - well I do not DO accounting any longer as a profession or as a job, but I looked no further than myself.

What do you need an accountant for? There are many that specialize these days - and many do over all. You can find by business or by accountant - depending upon your needs.

If you are not comfortable just trusting someone (say with an inheritance) you can always go with a business that guarantees handling of your business and offers accountants to handle your case specifically.

If you merely need someone to do taxes? You can find many and a quick search on google or in yellow pages should suffice for such.

Let me know if I can assist you with specific information on your needs. I may be able to direct you.

Christine

Accountant? What would I need an accountant for?

I have like a lot of years experience at doing accounts - I do them up to TB. Then I talk to my FIL...who used to be my boss.

I couldn't find a good accountant ANYWHERE, ya know.

So I became one.

What do you need an accountant for anyway? If you can add and access the IRS website...you can do it yourself.

Of course, if you have a business and you don't trust yourself with Quickbooks, then ask other people who have businesses similar to yours to reccomend their gal...or guy.

If you are in the general D.C. Beltway area, PM me and I can give you names of a few folks that are honest and not to expensive.

I looked in the mirror. I'm not an accountant any more, but I was for a long long time. Self-employed. ALL my clients found me via word of mouth - I spent not one dime on any form of advertising except business cards. So my suggestion is to ask around.

Looked down at my fingers and thought, yep, you'll do.

I don't know about Florida, but in Arizona anyone can call themselves an 'accountant'. That doesn't mean they know any more than the average bear. You will have more assurance of competency if you look for a CPA. Not to say there aren't incompetent/unethical/greedy CPAs too (ie Medoff's auditors), but they tend to get weeded out by the state licensing boards. I agree about asking friends/associates for referrals. I get 99% of my clients by referral.

MM

awhyley said:

Thanks for responding. I'm curious as to the questions that you asked, because I'm thinking of starting a business, (seperate from the writing), and I have no clue. I'm looking for someone in Miami, who has self-employed cliente, but apart from that, I don't know anything.

Click to expand...

Bolding mine. It might be best if you were a little farther along in the process before you started looking for an accountant. First off, you should have a decent business plan worked out, to make sure that your business is a viable one. Hiring an accountant before that point is premature, IMO.

I personally wouldn't be looking for an accountant until the point where my business was off the ground and running. Until that point, I'd keep track of expenses using Simply Accounting or another good program.

Then, when it is time, ask for referrals to a CPA from other small business owners you know. It might help if there's an association of small business owners you can join to network with.

And good luck to you.