Hello!

Well, I had no idea it had been so long since I wrote a blog. Slap on the hand for me. But, summer’s over and the kids are back to school so here I am. In previous blogs and Facebook posts, I  make no bones about explaining the difference between a qualified bookkeeper and one who isn’t qualified. But here we go again, but with a more personal touch. There is no question that, like all professions, there are some who are better than others. There are good doctors and not so good doctors. Same with lawyers. Retail workers. Construction workers. You get the picture. There are many professions whereby some sort of accreditation is required or highly recommended in order to practice. Accountants are a good example. The rules around whether or not accreditation is necessary to practice accounting are dependent on exactly which services are being provided. More often than not, accreditation is required to practice public accounting. Any smart business owner knows they need a good accountant on their side. Accountants are highly educated individuals who have passed rigorous exams in order to call themselves CPA’s or, Chartered Professional Accountants. They are required to report to a governing body and have a code of conduct they must follow. Continuing education is a must to maintain the designation. See this link for more information. The services a CPA can provide can make or break your business. However, like every other profession, there are good accountants and ones who could use some refreshing, shall we say. The good news is, if an accountant makes an error or practices without integrity, they can be reported to their accrediting governing body. Discipline or loss of license can occur. This is a wonderful protection for the industry and the public. I have the utmost respect for the Chartered Professional Accountant.

What About Bookkeepers?

Sadly, bookkeeping remains an unregulated industry where anyone can set up shop and call themselves a bookkeeper without so much as having taken a single accounting or bookkeeping course. For more information on the difference between an accountant and a bookkeeper see here . Let me tell you about a recent situation that had me up in arms about the fact that just anyone can call themselves a bookkeeper. A business owner came to me in distress because his bookkeeper was falling behind, causing penalties and interest on late remittances and ignoring requests for answers. I assured him that we could get him up to date on the bookkeeping and remittances thereby stopping the penalties and interest. And keep it that way. After some pleading for a copy of the working file of the software program being used, I finally got it and opened it up. What I saw was something from an accounting horror show. Payroll liabilities had never been recorded, bank and credit card accounts had never been reconciled, HST was improperly recorded and perhaps worst of all, cash sales were NEVER recorded in an effort to keep the ‘tax implication down’. If this client  gets audited, the proverbial poop will hit the fan. I wanted to call this bookkeeper and scream: what right do you have to practice bookkeeping in such a reckless, unethical manner? I wanted to report this person to any accrediting body that they may be licensed with. But alas, I did neither. Do note though, the only reason I didn’t report this individual was because, well, there was no one to report to!  So this person will be allowed to continue providing cut rate bookkeeping services which meet no level of acceptability in my opinion and causing grief in countless numbers of oblivious business owners. This is why I wrote a previous blog on knowing who’s doing your bookkeeping. Check it out; there is some good information on what to look for in your bookkeeper.

So What’s The Point?

My point is this: you get what you pay for, bookkeepers included. Don’t get me wrong, there are lot’s of wonderful bookkeepers out there who have decades of experience with no accreditation. And there are accredited bookkeepers who also need refreshing. But know this: having an unqualified, inexperienced bookkeeper will NOT save you money. In fact, the opposite is true. It is not a matter of ‘if’ it will cost you more, but ‘when’ it will cost you more. At some point, someone is going to discover that something is terribly wrong. Could be you, could be your accountant or, heaven forbid, CRA. Then you must pay not only someone to correct the mistakes, but pay any penalties and interest on top of that. I’ve seen this run into the thousands. It’s just not worth it. And do you really need the stress and sleepless nights? So, do you want to know what to look for in a bookkeeper? I have written on that too. Read it here.

Til next time, happy bookkeeping!