Chartered Accountants: Business Partners or Bean Counters?

Many business owners seek advice from their Chartered Accountant when it comes to tax planning, corporate and personal tax return preparation, and other corporate needs such as incorporation, financial statement preparation and reporting, etc.

Each of the above services are definitely best provided by a Chartered Accountant, who would have significant experience and expertise in various areas of taxation and financial statements are reporting. However, these services, while necessary, are just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the various ways that a CPA, CA can add value to your business.

Chartered Accountants must endure a significant amount of practical experience requirements, as well as rigorous testing on their knowledge of taxation, assurance, governance, and performance management of a business. The combination of formal education and practical experience make for a potentially valuable asset to your business. The question is, are you fully utilizing the resource that can help your business grow and be more profitable?

Have you considered leveraging your Chartered Accountant for the following:

Strategic planning

Business planning

Budgeting and forecasting

Pricing analysis

Market analysis

Business insights

Business transformation

Performance improvement

Financial systems consulting

Operational improvements

Policies and procedures

Risk management and planning

Business research and data collection

While the list above is not a complete list of all advisory services that a Chartered Accountant can provide, it should give you an idea of some of the potential options you may have to leverage a very capable resource to help you with forward-looking business and operational tasks and functions, rather than simply preparing tax returns and financial statements for your business.

Some of the reasons you would want to choose a Chartered Accountant as a business advisor:

Formal Business Education

The CPA, CA process requires a well rounded education in all aspects of business, not just accounting.

Audit Experience

The experience gained by a CPA, CA during their articling and beyond, while performing audits, provides them with significant exposure to many businesses, and often allows the CPA, CA to see “what not to do” when running a business, as well as best practices from clients with high performing businesses.

Broad Experience With Many Businesses

Many Chartered Accountants have hundreds of clients, of which some may be in a similar business to yours, or have applicable insights and best practices. While you may have experience running your own business, the CPA, CA would have gained knowledge from hundreds of businesses that may be able to provide you with advice and guidance that would lead to growth and improved profitability.

Knowing What the Numbers Mean

As mentioned above, many business owners use their Chartered Accountant to prepare reports, financial statements, and tax returns; however, there is an added step which would be to have the CPA, CA interpret the financial statements and the business aspects behind the numbers and trends.



While the above is a solid case that Chartered Accountants are solid business advisors, and should be leveraged as business partners rather than being seen simply as “bean counters”, we do recommend that you inquire about the general level of experience and industry experience before choosing a Chartered Accountant as well as a business advisor.

In the case of Robey CPA, our Managing Director is not only a Chartered Professional Accountant, but also holds a Master of Business Administration with a specialization in Business Strategy. The combination of the CPA, CA designation and the MBA, makes for a great business advisor that can help with many of your business needs.

Should your business require a Chartered Accountant or trusted business advisor, please contact us.