Use accountants who understand your type of business

Mark’s Management Tips: Our ongoing series where Aussie retailer and EPoS seller Mark Fletcher shares his expert advice

I have been working with a couple of newsagents recently to help them each get to an accurate Profit & Loss and Balance Sheet so they can sell their business. I’ve had the help of a qualified accountant who has experience doing the accounts for several newsagency businesses.

In each case, the accountants used by the newsagents charged too much to produce financials that are inaccurate and cannot be used in the sale of the business. In one case their accountant wanted to charge thousands to fix the botched job.

It’s important to choose an accountant who understands the nature of your newsagency business. Recommendation from a newsagent you trust would be a good guide in my view. Choosing an accountant because they are local could lead to your business being poorly served as has happened to the two businesses I have been working with.