Let’s be honest, not all of you, business owners, pay attention to your company’s need of a highly competent tax accountant until one peaceful normal operation day (or so you thought) a letter landed on your table with the header of someone you least expect to communicate with – the almighty BIR. It may be a notice stating that a certain tax that your company paid is relatively low compared to industry average, or a letter informing you that someone from the BIR needs to see all your financial records!

You tried to ignore the letter, after all it is just a piece of paper, or is it really? However, a few days later, another letter appeared. This one looks more serious because something is written in Latin – “Subpoena Duces Tecum.” This time it did catch your attention and you find it hard to focus on what you should be doing – running your business. So you decided to call your long-time retainer accountant and you told him about it. He said that he will “call you later.” But after one week, he hasn’t called at all, he didn’t even ask for his retainers check for that month. Upon googling, you realize that BIR’s subpoena is a serious matter so you try to take matters to your own hands. You ask your staff to prepare all documents that needed to be submitted and to your surprise, you have nothing! Your manual books are empty like it has been bought yesterday. You struggled with the tax/accounting documents – it is actually your first time hearing some of it. And you know where this story is heading. Is this tale all too familiar?

You promised yourself that you don’t want to relive that situation, the unnecessary stress you went through just because your tax accountant did not perform his job well.  So this time, you are set to find a highly competent and professional tax accountant.

To help you with the search, here are some qualities of a professional tax accountant:

1. Updated with all the tax updates from the authorities. Understanding that tax laws are ever-changing, your tax accountant must have their fingers on the pulse on the latest happening in the tax world. Making mistakes on your taxes can cost you and may haunt you in the future. While there are no guarantees that a tax accountant will not make a mistake on your taxes, the chances of an error slipping through the cracks is far less likely than when you hire a mere professional.
2. Organized and detail-oriented. Tax is 50% deadlines, because of this there are a lot of things keep track of. This is why it is crucial for a tax professional keep tabs on all of the due dates. The other 50% is paperwork. It is important that he or she is also organized with all the papers that needs filing. The corresponding attachments of the BIR forms should be intact and filed accordingly. Transmittals to the BIR should also be in a clean file for future reference. These are very simple things but a lot of accountants are struggling with this. Loss of some papers may cost you dearly in the future.
3. Have a high-level communication skill. It is one thing for you to hire an accountant who is good with numbers, but a responsible tax professional is someone who can answer any questions you might have along the way using simple and comprehensible words. He should be able to explain to you patiently and clearly why you must pay for this much or why he cannot do something based on his professional judgment. He should be able to express his views and professional opinion in a manner that is understandable to the stakeholders to aide them with their decision making.
4. Understands your business well. Some freelance accountants perform one-size-fits-all approach to working with their clients, but every business is different and therefore, presents a different set of challenges with regard tax. A professional will be interested to deeply understand how your company operates and recommend some ways on how you can maximize your tax incentives and minimize your tax exposures.

Finding the right tax professional for you who has most or all of the above qualifications is definitely not cheap. Business owners should understand that cost is also a factor in choosing a tax accountant. While you want to manage your business taxes professionally, you also do not want to put yourself in unnecessary debt. Before you decide on getting a tax professional service, make sure that their fees are in line with your budget. One thing is for sure, if you hire a professional tax accountant with the above-mentioned qualities, you won’t be stressed out about some letter from the BIR because you know that you have a reliable tax partner.