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LBA Haynes Strand Attends NC Charter School Conference

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Each year, the North Carolina Public Charter Schools Association organizes a conference for educators, administrators, parents, vendors, board members, and supporters of the NC Charter Schools System. LBA Haynes Strand has attended this event for the last several years, and we are grateful for the opportunity!

The NC Public Charter Schools Association was established in December of 2011. Their mission is to grow and sustain high quality public charter schools that nourish North Carolina’s children and enrich their families. Our Firm is proud to support the Association, and provide full-service accounting, payroll and CPA audit services for prospective and established North Carolina Public Charter Schools. We understand the unique needs of charter schools, which is why we’ve structured our Charter School Accounting Division to accommodate your most common concerns.

We look forward to attending the Charter Schools Conference each year and to furthering our knowledge so that we may better serve our clients. If you are interested in discussing our charter school accounting services, set up a no-cost consultation today! We are proud of our partnership with the NC Public Charter Schools Association and are excited to see it thrive!

How Well Do You Know Your CPA Firm?

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How well do you know your CPA Firm? Can you honestly say that your CPA is a partner in your success and that of your business? These two questions should produce the same answer: “Well enough to be confident in our collaborative success.” If this is not your answer, you may want to think about rekindling the flame between you and your CPA firm.

The relationship you have with your accounting firm should exceed standard service. Strategic planning, a strong partnership, and prolonged efforts toward ensuring future financial success should be at the forefront of your relationship with your CPA. If a close relationship with your accountant has diminished, or was never established in the first place, perhaps it is time to start rethinking things. Mutual understanding and a shared work ethic between you and your CPA firm are necessary to achieving financial growth for your organization.

Below are the primary components of a healthy CPA-to-business relationship, as well as the level of familiarity required for each element to be effective.

Ongoing Strategic Planning

What type of employee benefits do you offer? How about retirement plans? Your responsibility is to maintain a healthy, positive work environment. Part of the responsibility of your CPA is to factor your employees into the strategic layout of your current and future business endeavors.

Value Service Agreement

A strong CPA firm demonstrates the desire to cultivate close client relationships. You want your conversations with your CPA to be just that – conversations. How much value are you getting out of a consultation if you’re constantly monitoring the clock, keeping a closer eye on your bill than on the pertinent financial data laid out in front of you? Ensure that the value service agreement offered by your CPA is agreeable to your budget and beneficial to your finances. Work closely with your accountant to determine the plan that works best for YOU.

Growth Conversations

Are you and your CPA overdue for a growth conversation? You and your accountant should work together to create a strategic growth plan based on the specific goals you’d like to achieve in the future. Would you like to expand your business, or are you trying to downsize? Are you going to leave your business for future generations? Perhaps you are looking to sell your company. Whatever your plans may be, it is vital to converse with your CPA to determine the best formula for reaching those goals and to ensure financial security. You need an accounting team that is just as dedicated to fulfilling those plans as you are.

Long-Term Vision

What are your longstanding goals in terms of business development? Is your CPA familiar with them? Whether you’ve omitted this important information, or your CPA has neglected to ask, these objectives are vital in creating a strong and stable plan for your financial future.

Constant Connection

Your financial consulting needs will fluctuate from month to month, year to year, and so on. Regardless, contact with your CPA should not slip through the cracks during periods of lesser urgency. Both you and your CPA firm need to maintain a close relationship throughout the year. Communication is key!

There are several factors that contribute to your long-term financial success, but none of them are effective unless a sturdy foundation is established between you and your CPA firm. If you don’t feel as though a real closeness exists, all subsequent interactions are going to be out of sync with your future financial plans. To set and satisfy all of your financial goals, contact a professional CPA firm or work on strengthening the relationship with your current one.

Ready to get more out of your accounting services? Contact us to begin to understand the value of working with an accounting firm that provides much more than surface-level, mechanical tax preparation.