Accounting & Bookkeeping & Small Business Forum

[Guest]

I am interested in getting started as a freelance bookkeeper. Currently, I am employed by a non-profit that is required to be audited every year. I know the CPA well, but am reluctant to inquire about working under him with clients, as it might seem inappropriate while he pursues continued business with my current employer.

Does anyone else providing self-employed accounting services work under the "supervision" of a CPA? How well do you communicate with a client's CPA if you are not the one providing tax preparation? (I am looking to handle daily accounting - AR, AP, monthly GL, and preparing payroll and filing tax deposits, Quarterly reports, and the like, but am not interested in completing annual IRS tax returns.)

[Guest]

Unless you are a CPA candidate yourself, there is no specific long-term benefit to working under a CPA, unless you simply want him/her as a mentor. If you know how to do accounting, you can do a great job on your own.

[Guest]

I have a CPA friend to got me started doing the day to day for one of his clients. At first I took some college accounting courses and Quickbooks, but the "big accounting picture" still left me a bit confused. Since taking UAC course, I'm able to offer more services to this client. I'm almost ready to take my test with UAC and feel that having my CPA friend as another mentor along with UAC after completing their program will only allow me to position myself better with clients. My CPA friend has approached some of this other clients and solicitated business referrals for me, he learns when in-house bookkeepers leave, etc. He and his partner are more interested in providing the "macro" items like tax planning, loan issues, positioning for sale or mergers, etc. that they really cringe when they have to perfrom the "micro" day to day paperwork. I think it's smart to partner with a CPA. What have you got to lose, but to ask your CPA colleague for referrals. Hope this helps.