Once you have established yourself in the market as a leading accounting firm Orlando, you will be offered many opportunities and choices to grow as an accounting firm in Orlando. One of the important decisions that you may have to make is to merge with other accounting firms Orlando.

While merging with other accounting firms in Orlando can lead you to see many open doors for opportunities, such as discovering niche markets and growing economies; it might not be the best suited strategy for you. A successful merger depends on many factors. Here is a guide that will help you better decide the merging options.

Pros of Accounting Firm Merger in Orlando

It is a common practice in Orlando accounting, to combine a one or two-partner accounting firms. With such a merger, you will be able to reap the benefits of scale and have greater opportunity to tap into niche markets and have access to potential markets. Merging with an existing accounting firm Orlando can expand your client base while merging with a relatively new accounting firm in Orlando can help you gain even more talented partners and induce new blood in the accounting firm.

Cons of Accounting Firm Merger in Orlando

One of the major problems you will have to face while merging with other accounting firm Orlando is to retain your clientele. Your clients might not like the new working practices, and changes can leave them feeling confused. You will also have to address the issue of having a larger workspace and reassigning the duties of your employees as it usually entails new tasks and responsibilities. It is also a possibility that you will face some turnover as some of your staff might leave you because of the restructuring and lack of coordination. Differences in culture can also lead to discomfort among the employees and lower productivity in initial days as it would mean a lot of shuffle around.

Accounting Firm Orlando Merger Failures

There are several reasons that can lead to failure of a merger. One of the most common reasons is reluctance or ego of senior partners in adopting new policies and procedures. Lack of communication and detailed planning can also be a contributing factor in the failure of a merger. Culture Change can also lead to the failure, as old employees might not be able to communicate with the new employees and may feel alienated.

Failure to smoothly transit staff and work materials can also have a significant impact on the merger plans. Also, senior partners should be informed of the new succession plan and opportunities for them in the newly merged organization since they can feel lost.

If you engage in merger to utilize excess office space or want to have access to more staff, then it’s better to call off the accounting firm Orlando merger. Mergers usually encompass human emotions in them, which if left unchecked can lead to a failed merger. Communicate to your staff in a candid manner. Inform them of the changes they are going to experience and how it will affect them. Offer incentives to boost productivity. Also, keep your clients informed of the changes too.

How to Identify the Right Client for Your Orlando Accounting Firm?

With an increasing amount of clients claiming to file false tax returns, accounting firm Orlando are being more vigilant and careful in accepting their clients in order to reduce their professional liability.

Some of the accounting firms in Orlando have adopted various policies and client acceptance procedures to help them screen fraudulent clients and reduce their professional liability. An organized approach to such policies and procedures can help an accounting firm in Orlando achieve better growth prospects and greater profitability.

Many accountants in Orlando apply due diligence and strict screening policies while accepting a client. Some of these policies include:

Evaluating integrity of the potential client

  • One of the best ways to determine a client’s integrity is to personally meet with your client including board members, directors, stock holders and executive directors.
  • Inquire about follow-up references from various sources such as an attorney, business consultants, banks, suppliers and vendors.
  • Find out if relationship with any of these people were terminated previously due to failure to keep up with invoices or malpractices.
  • Obtain a credit rating and tax history of your perspective client and look for any behavior that might raise flags regarding intent of fraudulent behavior.
  • If your perspective clients have recently changed accounting firm Orlando, contact the previous firm to know the reason behind the change and inquire the character, policies and expectations of the client.
  • Ascertain how your client found your Orlando accounting firm. It is better to engage clients that are referred than someone who just looked you up on Internet.
  • Analyze the risk associated with your potential client. This can include a thorough examination of perspective clients’ financial conditions, their statements, the present and future economic regulations of the market, turnover among the staff and senior management and the company’s policies in dealing with law suits and legal matters.
  • While engaging with higher risk clients, it is always better to perform background check of key members of organization. Such checks usually includes any bankruptcy proceeding, credit records, and past record of employment history and credentials.
  • Also conduct a review of your client’s public record which includes financial rating from a certified auditor.
  • Conduct a detailed investigation of tax returns, pending law suits and other tax return Orlando issues.

Once you have determined the credit worthiness and riskiness of your client, you should formalize the engagement process. Provide the client with a formalized decision-making process that could give you a base for mutual understanding and negotiations. When dealing with larger accounting firms in Orlando, do not forget to include appearance team relationship manager, executive members of accounts department and senior board members. Clarify the details of your relationship such as billing hours, modes of remuneration, client confidentiality agreement and number of working days. Do not start your services without formalizing the process.

While looking for a potential client, you should follow strict acceptance and a rigorous screening process in order to avoid any future allegations against you and your Orlando accounting firm. Let us know about your ideal client and how you engage them while mitigating your professional liability.

If you need more information about our accounting and tax services, please contact us at 407-502-2400.  Freedomtax Accounting’s staff has been providing honest accounting services and tax services for 15 years.  Our Orlando accounting and tax firm has its main offices in Kissimmee, FL.  Our services are provided nationwide, but mainly in the Central Florida market to areas like Orlando, South Orlando, Kissimmee, St. Cloud, Poinciana, and Hunters Creek, FL.  Our tax accountants and IRS enrolled agents (irs ea) specialize in corporate accounting and bookkeeping, tax services, tax preparation, back taxes help, tax debt relief, tax resolution, tax planning, itin numbers, incorporations, and non profit 501c3 tax exempt status applications.

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