As a Las Vegas accountant, one of the things that I get asked a lot is, "What should you ask an accountant in Las Vegas if you are considering hiring one?". One of the most important things is there licensing (their credentials, exactly what they have other licenses in). You should contact their state board of CPAs and the American Institute of accountants to see whether or not there has been any disciplinary actions put against them, and also check out their licenses - they usually do have them posted in their offices.

One of the other things that you should ask a Las Vegas accountant about is their fees: how do they charge you, is it an hourly billing, is it a value billing, what exactly will they charge you for phone calls, what type of meetings can you have with them on a regular basis? You want to make sure that you understand that before you hire an accountant. Additionally, you want to ask them how you could reduce your fees. Do you charge me less or more if I bring in a box of receipts? Could I possibly do some of the work and keep my fees at a minimum? One of the last things that I would consider asking them is 'what their strategies are with their financial statements and their tax returns?'. Are they aggressive, or are they conservative? You want to hire someone who is exactly like yourself. If you're aggressive and you like to take an aggressive strategy on your tax return, you want to make sure that an accountant is willing to look at that without disobeying the laws.

One of the biggest concerns that we have with our Las Vegas business consulting clients is, "How do I succession plan for my business?". In other words, 'How does the business owner build his business, grow it to a substantial size, and either have his children take over the business, have key employees take over the business, or just sell it to a third party?'. Business consulting in Las Vegas in an important first step, because typically it takes from 5 - 10 years to be able to transition the management, the style, and the culture that you developed in your business, as well as to make sure that the next generation wants to participate in the business in that way, or that there are key employees that have been trained and nurtured to operate the business and that they have been given sufficient control prior to you wanting to retire or transition out of the business completely.

Often times in Las Vegas it does take the management and the owner a few years where they may work closely with that replacement party (whether it by a child, or an employee, or even a third party). So they may have an employment contract for 2 or 3 years subsequent to the actual sale of the business. A successful business consulting plan is important because it provides for the continuing of the business, it allows the employees to feel secure and safe - that they have a job that will last for many many years, and it also allows the owner to feel good about the methods that he has used in preparing his business to meet the demands of the future.

As a CPA in Las Vegas I want to take just a minute to talk about the service you should expect from someone who is really interested in you, and that is your CPA. Most CPAs in Las Vegas have a perspective of history - they ask you for last year's tax returns, they ask you for last year's information for financial statements - but someone who is really worried about you needs to be looking towards the future; needs to be looking to see what the past has in its base of information that will help you reach your goals and objectives in the future.

I have often said that CPAs stand on this line, which is today, and look back, but they should be taking that perspective of seeing what's in the past and looking forward towards the future; to help you meet your goals and objectives, your wishes and your dreams. That perspective will help you plan for the future and allow you to make the goals that you have for yourself. Most residents of Las Vegas feel like they're making an educated decision when choosing a CPA, however, they might be looking for the wrong things. While experience and reputation are still very important, you should be focusing on that personal relationship. You want to avoid any CPA who treats you like everyone else, and find the CPA in Las Vegas that will really take a personal interest in you specifically.