Why Won't My CPA Call Me Back?

Why won't my CPA call me back? This is a common thing I hear in the industry. Many people say, you know, I'm working with an accountant, but they never call me back. They never give me the information or answer my questions. And what people are usually saying is, they're just not there for me when I need them. If you need somebody who's got your back, it may be time to reevaluate your relationship with your accountant or your cpa. And I want to give you a few tips on how to make sure that you understand the situation you're in and what you may want to look for if you think you need a change. First, if your CPA is not calling you back, I'm going to tell you, our industry has a lot of people out there who are running a tight ship, we'll say. But that tight ship is the wrong ship. And that means that many CPAs are cheap. And if they're cheap, they may not have progressed their systems enough to free up their time to be able to make a return call to you. And more than likely, their fees are too low and you're not paying enough. I know you hate to hear that, but CPAs have a really tough time advancing forward. They're typically like people who do the same thing that they've done every year before that. I'm not in that role, but many of my colleagues in the industry are. And so if they've not made those progressions to free up their time to be able to value those communications with you, it may be time to move on. Now, sorry to say, but you're gonna have to pay more. If you want somebody who will be responsive. It may be that you're gonna have to add a little money to the pot to get what you really want. If you're paying low fees and expecting that CPA to call you back and spend time with you, going into that, that CPA version or accounting firm version doesn't really work anymore. We have to be able to take the use of technology, the use of streamlining processes and, and add those things to our mix to be able to make sure we reserve our focus time to help each and every person be their best. So it may be time to move on from that. Now, I've also heard a lot of other people say, well, I'm with a big farm. I pay so much in fees, but I'm still not getting the return. All right, maybe you're a small fish in a big pond in that scenario. So if you're working With a firm that's too big for you, you're also probably not going to get the responsive care that you want. Those firms are going to know, like, this customer pays me a lot more than you do and I have to be more responsive to them than I do to you. So it's kind of like the Goldilocks syndrome. You got to find that right fit for you. And the right fit you will be able to tell in the sales cycle or in that discovery process. What does that firm look like during the discovery process? Because I got news for you. It's not going to get better, it may get worse. It's only going to be that good in the discovery process. So in the discovery process, watch out. Do they immediately respond to you? Do they allow you easy access? Are you able to schedule your appointment right then and there? Do they have helpful information? Are their directions clear? Do they look like they've done this before? Or is this kind of a one off process that they don't really have a process for? So watch those things when you're interviewing new accountants and CPAs. And lastly, the accounting industry is highly understaffed at the moment. There are a lot of baby boomer accountants who are retiring and exiting the industry and not many people in the pipeline coming in. So yes, there are far less people. And you'll find a lot of firms are closing or merging because they're being sold to other firms. So it's not getting any better. Very quickly. Your only move to make sure that you get the care you need is the right select the firm that's going to help you the best. Now, many firms are industry specialists and that can help you go a long way further than somebody who's just a generalist. I myself at Calculated Moves, we are industry specialists in campground industry diving and scuba shops and paint your own pottery studios. And we focus our energies on those people. Those are our people. So we are able to help them dive deeply. And we have knowledge that not just every CPA down the road is going to have. I promise you we're going to be more expensive, but I also promise you it's going to be worth every penny and then some. So make sure you have the right fit in this new year to suit the needs of your business and to give you that peace of mind to put your head on the pillow at night and say, they've got my Sam.