Frequently, I receive telephone calls from new prospective clients seeking a CPA for various reasons. These are my perspectives about how you could work more effectively with your CPA. The topics are how to select your CPA (presented previously), how to work with your CPA, preparation for meeting your CPA, your reasonable expectations from your CPA, and added value I can provide you.

1. How to work with your CPA

1. Please define your problem area or think about what you want to accomplish in our meeting so we can discuss it. This will permit us to develop and evaluate alternatives.
2. My real function is to provide you new ideas. If I cannot give you new bottom line contribution alternatives besides the tax or compliance work, I do not deserve your business. A lot of my time is spent in client problem solving with the goal of getting you into a proactive or planning mode rather than just reacting to the situation.
3. As an example, if you had a ten percent increase in profits how you would utilize the funds to improve your business? What would it take to increase sales by ten percent?

2. Preparation for meeting your CPA

1. Please bring all supporting documentation. This includes the prior two years personal and corporation income tax returns and related financial statements, if applicable. If you will call be first, I will gladly provide you specific items for our discussion. I would rather have too much information, than not enough.
2. If this is about an Internal Revenue Service (IRS) notice or communication, please bring the notice, the IRS document request list, and the documents, if available.

3. Reasonable expectations from your CPA

1. My approach is to work with you and your employees to fix your business problem.
2. The estimated cost or estimate for each alternative is provided with payment terms.
3. Explanation of any item you do not understand with telephone calls are returned daily.

4. Added value I can provide you

1. We help many clients move into low cost computer accounting packages.
2. As a CPA since 1976, I have solved numerous IRS, estate, and business problems.
3. Since my practice consists of individually owned businesses, I can help you.
4. Simple business analysis of the advantages and disadvantages of your alternatives.
5. If you want additional information, a complimentary meeting, or IRS forms, please call Richard Caldwell at 281-398-9199, fax 281-398-9966 or email rjccpa@rjccpa.com. You are welcome to visit my web site at www.rjccpa.com.