In the early stages of a company’s lifecycle, the key members within the organization, particularly the owner, may have to wear several different hats. On any given day, you might play the role of CEO, secretary, salesman, accountant, or even intern… depending on what the business requires. 

While this juggling act may work initially, as the company scales, the trick becomes unsustainable. For instance, taxes and financial planning become exponentially nuanced and time-consuming, especially if you operate within an industry with stringent regulatory or compliance standards. 

To that end, every growing business reaches the stage where having an accountant becomes a matter of necessity. But how do you know when it is the right time to hire an accountant? By paying attention to the signs.

1. You Don’t Know How to Track Your Finances

The main purpose of any business is to make more money than is spends keeping up with expenses. Whether you’re using Wave vs QuickBooks or visa versa, if you’re not tracking your finances, you have no way of interpreting how well your business is doing.

If it’s an obligation you always put off or you simply don’t have the time or know-how, you need an accountant to maintain your bookkeeping. They’ll track every dollar coming in, as well as every expense. It’s just as important to know where your money is going rather than just how much is being spent.

2. You’re Scaling Your Business

Having a booming business is never a bad thing. If you can’t keep up, it just means you need to hire on a little more help, especially if you’re deciding to expand.

You may need an accountant to help you understand your best possible growth strategy (new locations, new hires, better marketing, new products, etc.). They’ll be able to look at the numbers to determine what you can and can’t afford, as well as any risks involved.

3. It Seems Like Your Business is Spending Too Much Money

Business owners who are inexperienced with financial management may find themselves at a loss each month. Where did all their money go? Shouldn’t there be more left at the end of the month?

If you find yourself in this position, always seeming to have spent more money than you should have, you probably need an accountant to help you get your budget in order.

4.You Have Problems With Payroll Each Month

If your business has any employees (other than you), you need a reliable and consistent payroll system to make sure you’re taking care of your staff. However, payroll can be difficult to manage, especially for busy or inexperienced business owners. You may need an accountant to help you set up a payroll system and ensure everyone’s getting accurately compensated.

5. You Need Help With Forms

When you’re a business owner with employees, there are a number of forms you need to file with federal, state, or local tax agencies in addition to your business tax return. You must file tax forms (e.g., Form 941) showing how much you paid employees and withheld in taxes.

To help you with this responsibility, you could also sign up for full-service payroll software. Full-service payroll files federal, state, and local payroll taxes on your behalf. 

Did you take out a Paycheck Protection Program loan? An accountant can help you navigate the intricacies of applying for loan forgiveness on Form 3508.

6. You Get Audited

An audit can be a nerve-racking ordeal for business owners. During an audit, the IRS analyzes and exposes your financial history to find discrepancies. 

Accountants can review your records and make sure they are accurate. They can reconcile accounts, check for missing information, and run reports to help you avoid tripping IRS audit triggers and keep your books up-to-date, clear, and accurate. 

7. Your Business Is Growing

Did your sales explode overnight? Steadily rise? Either way, an accountant can help as you grow. A bigger business means more profits—and more spending. But if you fly too close to the sun, you could be hurting your business’s future.  

An accountant has the expertise to project how successful your investments will be so you can confidently spend your revenue—without overspending. They can caution you about harmful business purchases and suggest smart investments. 

Accountants play a leading role in year-end tax planning for business owners and can help you prevent overspending or under-spending.  Their reports could prevent you from making a regrettable investment.

And if you’re experiencing business growth, you might need to update your business plan. A business plan is an ever-changing document that should evolve as your business does. You might talk with an accountant about making key business plan updates.  

8. You Don’t Understand Business Taxes

Taxes can be confusing, especially if you’re filing your first business tax return. Make a mistake, and you could wind up with IRS penalties. Not to mention, you could miss out on opportunities to lower your tax bill through tax deductions and credits. 

Not sure where to start with your tax return? An accountant can help you make sense of it by:

1. Letting you know which tax return form you need to file for your business structure
2. Notifying you of filing deadlines
3. Finding tax credits and deductions
4. Helping you understand your accounting records

You may want to hire an accountant for taxes when you’re just starting your business (or at any stage in business ownership) to help ensure you fill out the forms correctly. 

9. Turnover has increased but profits haven’t.

More money coming in must mean more profit right? Not necessarily! This is a good time to have an accountant review your books and identify areas where your expenses can be improved to make a significant difference to the bottom line.

10. GST

This might seem simple, especially if you have invested in a software package such as Xero. This makes it feel as though managing GST is easy. However, there are a few pitfalls that new businesses can get trapped in when it comes to GST. If you are registered for GST then it is best to get some advice from an accountant.

11. Feeling overwhelmed

When you first started your business the invoices were pretty simple. You had a few customers and you collected the money and gave them a receipt. But as the business has grown you might be experience more complicated scenarios. When it starts to get tricky, it's time to call your accountant.

12. You have better things to do

Once business is going well you will be too busy working on more technical areas of your business. This is where you are going to get the most return is if you focus on the things that you are good at. 

13. Thinking of selling or expanding the business.

When selling, expanding, taking on a partner, each scenario has a number of potential tax implications. It could cost you thousands of dollars if you don’t seek professional advice. A professional accountant can ensure that you have the correct structure to maximize your profits and minimize your liabilities when making big changes in your business.

14. Buying or selling property

Buying and selling property within a business structure can be tricky and there are many things that need to be considered. An accountant can walk you through all the scenarios to ensure that you choose the best outcome. You need to get this advice prior to making any purchases as once you have signed a contract it may be too late.

15. You’ve realized how little you know about accounting!

You might have done an accounting subject at high school or uni, but times have changed and tax laws change constantly. It is best to get advice from someone who knows the current laws and how to maximize the opportunities.

16. Unexpected circumstances

Sometimes, personal affairs can impact the future of your business. For instance, if a business partner were to leave or if the company is considered a marital asset in the case of a divorce, either could change a business’ course. An accountant can help advise proper actions about taxes, business structures, estimate the business value, or produce financial statements for the company’s sale.

17. Taking out a business loan

An accountant can help you determine if taking out a loan aligns with your business plans. If so, they can recommend the best loan structure, size, and payment structure while preparing the necessary financial statements. 

Since the commencement of value-added tax (VAT) from January 1st, 2018, the format of the invoices or bills that usually exchange hands between seller and buyer will change and it is not limited to the inclusion of VAT at five percent on the invoice alone but many other elements also need to be incorporated in invoices in line with Article 59 of Executive Regulations of the VAT Law.

As per the law, invoices should not display "invoice" or "bill"; rather, "tax invoice" should be clearly displayed on it. Also, the tax registration number (TRN) issued to the supplier or seller should also find a place on invoices along with addresses.

The FTA said that four items on the receipt should be clearly marked:

• Tax receipt displayed
• Tax registration number
• Price that includes VAT
• Amount of VAT added

In a brief statement, the FTA called on consumers "to review tax invoices as businesses can’t charge VAT if they were not registered".

For issuing a tax invoice the following conditions must be met:

• A consecutive serial number not exceeding 16 characters, in one or multiple series, containing letters or numerals or special characters (hyphen or dash and slash symbolized as “-” and “/” respectively) and any combination thereof, unique for a financial year.
• Address and name of the recipient and the address of delivery, along with the name of state and its code, if such recipient is unregistered and where the value of taxable supply is Rs 50,000 or more.
• Quantity, in case of goods and unit or Unique Quantity Code thereof.
• Total value of supply of goods or services or both.
• Taxable value of supply of goods or services or both, taking into account discount or abatement, if any.
• Rate of tax (central tax, state tax, integrated tax, union territory tax, or CESS).
• Amount of tax charged in respect of taxable goods or services (central tax, state tax, integrated tax, union territory tax or CESS).
• Place of supply along with the name of the state, in case of a supply in the course of inter-state trade or commerce.

According to the guidelines issued by the Federal Tax Authority (FTA) in relation to the contents of the UAE VAT Tax Invoice, there are two types of Tax Invoice:

Simple VAT Invoice will be for supply less than the specified amount. It is issued in the case when the customers are retail consumers and don’t need to provide a VAT number. This type of invoice is for supermarkets and other retail industries.

Detailed VAT Invoice will be for supply more than the specified amount. It is issued in the case when registered business supplies to another registered user. This type of invoice is for wholesalers and traders dealing in bigger quantities.

What are the key contents of a Tax Invoice?

Contents of tax invoices are classified on the basis of simplified and detailed tax invoices as follows:

1. Simple VAT Invoice

• A simple VAT Invoice must the word “Tax Invoice” at a prominent place.
• It must consist the details of the supplier. Name, Address and Tax Registration Number (VAT Number).
• In addition to the above, it must contain, Date of issue of the tax invoice.
• The complete description of goods supplied must be included.
• Apart from that, the most important thing a simple VAT invoice must have is the Total Amount Payable and Total VAT Chargeable.

2. Detailed VAT Invoice

In addition to the above details that are in simple tax invoice, a detailed VAT Invoice will consist of the following details:

1. Name, address, and TRN of the recipient.
2. A unique invoice number
3. Date of Supply, if it is different from the date of issue.
4. Price per unit, the supplied quantity/volume, rate of tax and the payable amount in AED.
5. Discount, if applicable.
6. Payable Gross value of Invoice in AED.
7. Payable Tax Amount in AED.
8. Statement relating to Reverse Charge, if applicable.

How can a business entity avoid errors in a Tax Invoice?

According to the law of VAT, all registrants should offer sufficient details in the tax invoice in UAE, this should not be incomplete or contain any wrong details otherwise the registrant would be responsible to make payment of administrative penalty. The right method to make sure that the invoice contains all the necessary details according to the law is to utilize software that will notify the user if any kind of detail isn’t involved and this will also help in making changes to the invoice according to the updates brought in the laws. Utilizing such software would save the registrant from making payment of a penalty and issue the invoice to the recipient in a timely manner.

Hire the Best Tax Agents in Dubai, UAE

Failing to comply with the requirements of tax invoice under VAT in the UAE will lead to hefty penalties which call for the need to hire the best Tax Agent in Dubai. Our company is well-known for providing specialized tax services such as UAE VAT registration, VAT deregistration, VAT compliance / VAT Return, excise tax services, and services related to VAT reconsideration etc. We ensure that businesses get efficient services through a dedicated team of VAT specialists and approved tax agents in Dubai, UAE. With our efficient VAT services in Dubai, UAE and a registered Tax Agent in Dubai, UAE the businesses ensure compliance with all the existing laws.

In a statement, the FTA said 16 types of administrative penalties have either been reduced or had the method of calculation amended under the latest initiative in line with Cabinet Decision No. 49 of 2021 about amending some provisions of the Administrative Penalties for Violation of Tax Laws in the UAE, is designed to support tax registrants and help them fulfil their tax obligations.

Khalid Ali Al Bustani, director-general of the Federal Tax Authority, said the new amendment will become effective on June 28, 2021, and will reduce many administrative penalties imposed for violating tax laws. He said late payment penalty will not be imposed on voluntary disclosures if payment is settled within 20 business days of submitting the voluntary disclosure.

“This comes as part of the wise leadership’s directives to implement the tax system according to the best standards that ensure further growth for the national economy and help achieve transparency and economic momentum, providing an ideal and resilient tax legislative environment that encourages self-compliance and keeps pace with change through constant issuance of decisions in accordance with phased requirements,” Al Bustani said in a statement to Khaleej Times on Saturday.

Atik Munshi, managing partner at Enterprise House, said the relief announced by FTA on various penalties and their calculation is a positive step from the authority which will certainly be well received by the business community.

“This will also provide a proper direction on how to interpret the various articles thus a further clarity is now known. Such positive action from FTA will boost the business confidence. It remains to be seen on what shall be the outcome of the assesses who have filed and paid their penalties as per previous interpretation,” Munshi told Khaleej Times on Saturday.

To keep your business away and safe from the tax Penalties Get our Taxation Service.

1. Amendment of administrative penalties 

The new resolution amends the administrative penalties listed in Table No.(1), Table No.(2) and Table No. (3) of Cabinet Decision No. 40/2017. 

Some of the key amendments to the administrative penalties listed in the new resolution are as follows (non-exhaustive list):

1. AED 20,000 reduced to AED 10,000 for failure of the taxable person to submit a registration application within the timeframe specified in the Tax Law. 
2. AED 10,000 reduced to AED 1,000 monthly (not exceeding AED 10,000) for failure of the registrant to submit a deregistration application within the timeframe specified in the Tax Law.
3. AED 15,000 reduced to AED 5,000 for failure by the taxable person to display prices inclusive of VAT.
4. AED 5,000 (for each tax invoice) reduced to AED 2,500 (for each instance discovered) for failure by the taxable person to issue a tax invoice / tax credit note or an alternative document when making any supply.
5. AED 5,000 (for each tax invoice) reduced to AED 2,500 (for each instance discovered) for failure by the taxable person to comply with the conditions and procedures regarding the issuance of electronic tax invoices and electronic tax credit notes.

Moreover, the percentage-based penalties applicable to the late payment of the tax due - in the tax return or in the voluntary disclosure or in the tax assessment - are reduced and the 1% daily penalty previously imposed is eliminated. 

The new late payment penalty is now calculated as follows (the 300% cap still applies):

1. 2% of the unpaid tax due on the day following the payment due date, 
2. 4% monthly penalty due after one (1) month from the payment due date, and on the same date every month thereafter, on the amount of tax that has not been paid to date.

The voluntary disclosure penalties that are applicable to the difference between the tax declared and the tax due are now linked to the period during which the taxpayers amend the previously submitted VAT returns and range between 5% (in case the voluntary disclosure was submitted within 1 year from the due date of tax return or tax assessment or refund application) and 40% (in case the voluntary disclosure was submitted after the 4th year). 

Please refer to the Cabinet Resolution No.49/2021 for a comprehensive list of the amended administrative penalties for violations of tax laws in the UAE.

2. Calculation of penalties

The new resolution stipulates that the payment due date for the purposes of calculating the late payment penalty shall be as follows:

1. 20 business days as of the date of submission of voluntary disclosure.
2. 20 business days as of the date of receipt of a tax assessment.

The above overrides the application of late payment penalties retrospectively from the due date of filing of the tax return subject to amendment or assessment. 

3. Discounts for previously imposed penalties 

Administrative penalties - that have not been paid - imposed before the effective date of the new resolution will be reduced to 30% of total unpaid penalties if all of the following conditions are met:

1. The penalties were applied under the previous Cabinet Resolution No. 40/2017; 
2. The registrant has paid all taxes due by 31 December 2021; and
3. By 31 December 2021, the registrant has paid 30% of the total administrative penalties due and unpaid by the effective date of the new resolution (i.e. 60 days as of 28 April 2021).

4. Effective date of the new Cabinet Resolution 

The new resolution shall be effective after sixty (60) days from the date of its issuance on 28 April 2021, i.e. effective as from 28 June 2021.

What Is Financial Auditing?

A financial statement audit involves performing a detailed evaluation of a company’s financial records. Regular financial statement audits are essential to every business – particularly those that are undergoing rapid growth – when it comes to tax planning, legal compliance, and the ability to develop an accurate budget. However, sifting through countless mountains of paperwork can undoubtedly put you behind schedule when you are trying to manage a business. While there are many reasons why your business may need a financial statement audit

During a financial audit, a company’s accounting records and financial statements are examined. In the process, any issues are uncovered and documented in a final report. Sometimes the audit is carried out by an external auditor and sometimes by a committee within the company itself. External specialists know how to conduct professional financial audits and understand what to focus on. Internal audits are usually held in regular intervals, such as yearly or quarterly.

What are the benefits of an audit?

Audits can be incredibly beneficial to the growth of your company. A successful report can even help improve your credit rating and make you more eligible for financial business loans. It may even lead to lower interest rates and determine eligibility for certain types of loans which may be more difficult to apply for.

You will also be able to prove to investors that your company is reliable and can be trusted. This is not only a benefit for potential shareholders but can also improve the image of your brand in general.

By conducting an audit, you are able to promote accountability which will help employees be more organized and work more efficiently. Additionally, it helps you gain perspective and insights into problems and areas that could be improved.

For businesses, it’s very important to be transparent and accountable. Financial audits are relevant to companies in all industries and can increase confidence and trust in your brand.

It can even make your accounting easier since you will be motivated to organize your process better and be highly detailed when keeping records.

Why Are Audits Necessary?

An audit is important because it provides credibility to financial statements in your company. The credibility provided by an audit goes a long way to save you from many hassles and delays in the business world. The purpose of audits is to ensure that a company or business keeps accurate records and follows proper accounting principles.

Audits assure shareholders that the accounting records presented in the financial statement are fair and accurate. In addition, with the help of audit reports, companies can improve their internal controls and systems. And, if your company is audited, it can increase your chances of improving cash flow through financing, investors, etc. (more on that later in the article).

Reasons to audit your financial statements:

Detecting and Neutralizing Fraudulent Activity:- Running a business and analyzing your finances can be an overwhelming task. Paying attention to every detail of your daily operations while sifting through hundreds of documents can affect your company negatively. With so many tasks at hand, discovering possible fraud – and neutralizing it swiftly – can be difficult for business owners.

A financial statement audit will allow you to have a detailed report on your finances. Having accurate information about every business decision over a set period places you in a better position for identifying whether fraud has occurred, and if so, when and to what extent. Tying into the point above, a financial statement audit can help you boost your credibility with stakeholders and investors, demonstrating that your company is managing its funds vigilantly and appropriately.

Expanding your Business:- Growth and profitability should be among the top focuses of any company. As your business expands and adds more branches or employees, so does the need for tight financial controls and efficient decision-making. A financial statement audit can help you determine the best courses of financial action to help your business continue its growth. If you are thinking about expanding your business, then you may need an audit that lets you know where your company stands financially – and where it can be improved.

Timely and Accurate Information:- Information is a powerful tool which can be used to drive the future success of the company. In saying this, the information must be both timely and accurate. If the information received to make decisions is accurate, but a year out, to what use is the information? Conversely, if the information is timely, but incorrect, a misstep is likely. Our firm works with a lot of small and medium sized companies and a common theme we find is that when management has no outside statutory requirements, the timely and accurate close of the books suffers in lieu of the day-to-day operations. We field calls all the time from companies looking for reviews or audits many months after the year-end because a requirement has suddenly come about. In many of these cases, the books are still not closed. Having an annual review or audit on the calendar each year sets a precedence for management to focus on annual closings. It now becomes a bit of an annual report card for your accounting team. Management now knows that there is an expectation for timely annual information which hopefully results in timely monthly information throughout the year.

Our firm also works with management to ensure financial statements are prepared in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America (“GAAP”).  We find that many small to medium sized companies prepare their financial statements on a cash basis. Firstly, this is not in compliance with GAAP and secondly it does not provide ownership with the complete picture of what took place during the year and how it may compare with previous years. Also, many industry standards and ratios are based on GAAP reporting, therefore when ownership is comparing the results of its company to the industry, the results may be deceptive. A review or audit will take a look at the accrual-based accounting as well as provide footnotes to users that provide additional information about the financial health of the company.

As a business owner, you may be so focused on operations or may not be versed enough on GAAP reporting that you cannot properly assess the performance of your accounting team, which brings us to our second point.

Improving Your Operations:- Running and keeping a business afloat in today’s economy requires a high level of focus and control. While some business owners have a management background and experience with finances, many others might not have the same luck. If you don’t have enough financial expertise, or no experience at all, obtaining internal audit services is in your company’s best interests.

It’s understandable that business owners want their finances to be in top condition, to make new investments, and ultimately, make their business grow. However, business growth and development requires having funds – and further, having an accurate, comprehensive picture of how those funds are being allocated. A financial statement audit allows business owners to see the bigger picture. An accurate report will let you make better decisions for improving your business’ operations and future development.

Audit Allows One:-

1. To get a reliable idea of ??the adequacy of the reality of financial and accounting reporting
2. Identify the facts of incompetence of employees and deliberate misrepresentation of accounts
3. Comply with mandatory requirements of law, bank and counterparty
4. Get an idea of ??the compliance of accounting and tax accounting with regulatory requirements
5. Assess the system of internal control of the client for compliance with regulatory requirements, scale and nature of the activity
6. To identify significant risks in the tax sphere and in relations with other enterprises and individuals
7. To Identify and use all legitimate opportunities for tax optimization.

On the basis of the information received during the audit, develop proposals for the elimination of identified shortcomings, as well as control the results of their implementation.

Mandatory audit is conducted annuall:- Compulsory audit of the accounting (financial) statements of organizations whose securities are admitted to trading at stock exchanges and (or) other trade organizers on the securities market, other credit and insurance organizations, non-state pension funds, as well as consolidated reporting is conducted only by audit organizations. Thus, it is important to engage a professional that provides internal audit services for you.

During these difficult times of the Coronavirus pandemic, there has been a lot of discussion about the different government programs available to help small businesses weather the storm. However, there are several internal things that businesses can do to help them make it through an economic downturn. Below are the actions that all businesses should be doing during a downturn in the economy.

1. Adjust your strategy and long-term goals. - While focusing on putting out fires in the short term is important, your business plan should focus on long-term business continuity and profitability. Your accounting team is there to help you sort out your options.

Look at the profitability of each of your products and services. Is everything profitable? Are some products or clients more profitable than others? Have your accounting team do a thorough financial analysis, and use the results to build a new, more profitable business strategy.

2. Know where you’re making and losing money - Revise your revenue forecast to factor in the current economic climate so you have real numbers in your budget for the rest of the year. Consider which of your products, services or clients are profitable.

For one of our clients, our accounting team assessed the profitability of each of its customers and products. Through this analysis, we suggested variable-based pricing and to shift its sales and marketing to its most profitable customers. In less than two months, it removed 20% percent of its customers so that it could focus on the more profitable ones.

At first, this might sound like a loss, but cutting the least profitable clients actually took this client out of the red, and its revenue didn’t drop at all. Once it had a clear picture of who its most profitable clients were, it narrowed the focus of its new client outreach. The result? Its compounded annual growth increased by 40% per year.

3.Get aggressive with collections - According to the partner of a consulting firm, "when business is good, companies tend to become lazy about collecting on receivables. This can prove dangerous in a recession." Assume that the average collection period for your industry is 45 days, but your company is at 51 days. After bringing that collection period down to the industry average, keep working to get it down to 40 days. Being tough with customers may be unpleasant, but it's an important safeguard against the effects of a prolonged economic Downturn.

4. Ask yourself what your business truly needs - The Covid-19 pandemic has made us reflect on the merits of what we buy, asking ourselves, “Is this product really essential”? Ask yourself about your overall operating costs, especially those that are recurring month over month. Look at your credit card statement; for each item, ask yourself: Would I buy this again? If the answer is no, cut it. Cut recurring subscriptions you hardly use. Are there items that just keep hitting your credit card that you don’t really need? Do you know your margins? How can you maximize those margins? 

Do make sure not to cut the wrong things. To foster business growth, consider putting more into business development and marketing. Don’t cut anything that helps you minimize risk, such as insurance, which can be a lifesaver if the unexpected occurs.

5. Focus on Quality - Don’t let being understaffed impact your level of service and quality of your product. Options include freelancers, consultants, and part-time employees. One advantage of a slowdown is that hiring gets easier because there are more candidates from which to choose due to layoffs and other cutbacks.

6. Manage Inventory Balances - Typically, during a slowdown, there is an imbalance between sales and overstocked inventories. One possibility is converting inventories into cash. Monitor the results, keeping an eye out for those products that can tolerate even leaner inventories or that should be eliminated from your stock. This way if sales drop significantly, less of your cash is locked into unproductive assets.

7. Analyze Your Pricing - A recession is the last time you want to increase your pricing, so understanding your cost structure is essential to drive down costs and optimize profits. If your cost analysis shows that your current pricing is not enough to cover costs and provide a reasonable profit, you must find ways to be more efficient rather than increasing your price.

8. Ask what you need right now and define your backup plan - How and when are you receiving your cash, and when do you need it? Compare this to your revenue forecast. Where can you reinvest? If you see cash-flow issues, can you renegotiate payment dates with your vendors or offer to make payments in chunks? Your accounting team can help you get creative without burning bridges with your long-term business partners.

If cash is tight, what’s your backup plan? Maybe you can acquire a line of credit from a bank or gain family or friend funding, an SBA loan, or one of the government’s current programs, such as a Paycheck Protection Program or EIDL loan. For government programs, your accounting team needs to be well versed in the specifics so you don’t miss out on a loan because of a clerical error. Some outsourced accounting firms also have special relationships with banks and can help you access capital.

If you are looking for best accounting firm in dubai who have talented accounting team then risians accounting is the best UAE accounting firm. 

Leverage your accounting team and consider “zero-based budgeting,” which helps you to assess what’s essential and what’s not. With their help, you can create the foundation for a strategy that helps you get through this difficult time so you come out highly competitive and ready for growth. 

Accountants are available to help small businesses survive through these difficult times. If you can’t complete this process internally or don’t have qualified accountants on your team, consider outsourced accounting and HR services. Many companies hire outsourced back-end office teams because for the same cost as a full-time person, they can provide specialists who work with you to find more technical and nuanced solutions.

Regardless of your strategy, speak with your accounting team about these ideas, and find out what their plan of attack is. If they are not able to help you develop a business continuity strategy and future goals, then they may not be the right team to help you survive the current economic downturn.