Accounting Consultants Key Terms

Use accounting consultants key terms to determine the services you need for your business

When it comes to accounting consultants, key terms can help you understand the services offered by different consultants or firms. Accounting consultants may specialize in helping you establish a business, may provide solutions to organize and maintain your financial documentation or offer accounting services specific to your situation. Consultants may offer all-inclusive services or charge by the service. Depending on your business structure, you may need a specific type of accountant like a certified public accountant (CPA).

 

Bookkeeping

Bookkeeping is an element of accounting that an accounting consultant may offer as a service. In this field, bookkeeping refers to recording and classifying your business transactions into financial documents. Depending on the consultant, he or she may work with you to setup a bookkeeping system that you can maintain on your own.
Try: Bean Counter provides a tutorial on booking keeping, designed for business owners and managers.

Accounting services

Accounting services involve more than basic bookkeeping services. With accounting services, your consultant will not only collect and organize your financial information; he or she will also analyze it and use the information to create reports, forecasts or other financial information that goes beyond the basic profit and loss statement.
Try: Accounting Services clearly defines the services included when you use its business as your accounting consulting firm. It also classifies additional services, which cost more.

General ledger

One of the first things a business accountant consult will examine is whether or not your business is utilizing a general ledger. If not, the consultant will help you setup a system for maintaining one. Most accountants use the general ledger to keep track of financial transactions based by account. The information provided in the general ledger will allow you to see your running account balance by category.
Try: BusinessTown.com shows how a general ledger relates to other financial transactions in a business.

Profit and loss statements

Profit and loss statements, often called P&L statements, indicate the cash flow of a business and are documents that an accountant consultant can prepare. In some cases, you may need to hire a consultant to analyze your P&L statements in order to determine the direction your business needs to go.
Try: The Ohio State University provides a fact sheet on P&L statements. It includes an overview of the information this kind of statement contains.

Certified public accountant (CPA)

A CPA is a title given to an accountant who has passed the CPA examination for licensing. The license indicates that an accountant knows and applies the laws and regulations which the U.S. Government established for the industry. The title also indicates that the CPA can perform functions that an unlicensed accountant cannot.
Try: Suite101 hosts an article that discusses the differences between a CPA and an accountant.

Business structure, type of business

If you're just starting a business, an accounting consultant can help you understand how taxes pertain to each type of business, or business structure. The basic types of businesses include sole proprietorship, partnerships, corporations and limited liability companies (LLCs).
Try: USA Today provides an article the covers the difference between business structures and includes the pros and cons for each.

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