Building a relationship with your accountant is something that you should be putting into practice throughout the year, as they are in a position to help guide you through challenging times. From a business perspective, now is a great time to sit down with your accountant and discuss your year-end business planning. 

One of the biggest mistakes that a business owner might make is waiting to speak with their accountant about critical business issues until tax time. However, there are many critical tax and accounting decisions that have imminent deadlines.

Arranging a year-end business meeting with an accountant is one way to ensure that you are engaging with your accountant pre-emptively( and outside of the usual frenzy of tax time).

After a year of challenges (be they social, economic or environmental), businesses may be looking towards planning for their next year ahead. With some smart financial planning, you can minimize uncertainty and maximize opportunities to grow your organization.

During a year-end business planning meeting, here are some questions that you can ask your accountant to prepare for 2022. 

What Does The Tax Situation Look Like? 

Tax is never simple, and you may usually leave it to your accountant to ensure that things are being completed properly. However, 2021 has had a few financial, legislative and practical uncertainties that may have occurred for your business that could make filing taxes a headache for everyone involved. 

In this case, ensure that you are aware of: 

• What your estimated tax payments may be so that you can avoid unexpected penalties.
• How you can minimise your taxable business income for next year.
• Finalising business closure procedures, and what may be expected of you

Budget & Cash Flow Situations For 2022

It’s more important than ever to ensure that you have a good budget and cash flow plan in place. The following are ways that you and your accountant can discuss optimal strategies for your business in a year-end planning meeting.

• Set a budget for 2022 – This will show how you intend to operate and provide a framework for your business’s future. A budget is a tool for planning and controlling your finances, as well as an early indicator of any problems or setbacks down the road. Your budget allows you to make decisions informed by the financial realities of the previous year, and map out better ways of traversing them in 2022.
• Create a safety net for 2022’s potential challenges with improved cash flow that can weather the direst of situations, and plan for when that may not be enough.

As accountants, we are the experts you may seek for assistance with business planning and tax questions. When it comes to your end of year planning, you may want to consider beginning a conversation with us so that we can help you look towards 2022.