The Benefits of Engaging an Accountant

If thinking about accounting brings you out in a cold sweat, you’re not alone. Laws and legislation, rules and requirements, recording and reporting, taxes and take-home. There’s so much to think about and so much to know.

“Do I need an accountant?”

It’s an often-asked question. And, like a lot of situations in accounting, the answer is ‘it depends’.

You could read up, train and learn all the rules and regulations in order to fully understand the world of accounting and then you could do your own accounts. It could take you a few years, but you could do it. However, if you haven’t got a few years spare – or your screen project is about to start – you would probably want to consider engaging the services of an expert in the profession.

So, what benefits would you get from hiring an accountant? Here’s my list:

1. They save you from the monotony and detail of bookkeeping
2. They know the laws and rules
3. They can save you time
4. They know how to use systems and software
5. They can give you peace of mind
6. They can save you money (yes, really!)

Let’s look at each in more detail.

1. They save you from the monotony and detail of bookkeeping

Few people would offer the opinion that doing the bookkeeping is an exciting pastime. It requires a huge amount of data entry and recording, and then creating and interpreting schedules and reports.

Accurate accounting needs attention to detail as most aspects of a project will have a financial effect. Much of the work is time-dependent and can be time-consuming.

Accountants know what needs doing and when, and they are very used to keeping up with all the requirements and workloads. Save yourself the effort and engage an accountant to do the work for you.

2. They know the laws and rules

Law and rules affect almost every part of accounting. From basic business requirements, through transactional bookkeeping, accounting standards, pay and taxes, to specialist reporting for funding partners, there’s a lot to know.

Accountants know immediately what financial laws and rules you and your project need to abide by. They know all about paperwork requirements, receipts and invoices. They know about taxation. They know what you can claim and what you can’t. They know how to pay people and what the obligations are surrounding that.

Whilst the general requirements for business and taxes will be known by all accountants, like many industries, the specific requirements of the screen industry are best known by accountants who have a background in, and experience of, film and screen production. So, if you need that extra level of information, look out for someone who has that specialist knowledge too.

3. They can save you time

Your time is precious, especially when you’re focusing on your project, and you don’t want to have to deal with a whole layer of bookkeeping and accounting on top of it.

Give that work to your accountant and not only will they be able to get the bookkeeping and accounting done much more quickly and efficiently, but they can be doing all that while you’re finishing your own work – both pieces of work can be done alongside each other and can be completed at much the same time.

Your accountant’s knowledge of accounting requirements also means that errors can be avoided and issues that might take a less knowledgeable person quite some time to investigate, consider and resolve, can be sorted in a much quicker timeframe.

4. They know how to use systems and software

There’s no doubt that using accounting or bookkeeping software is a good thing to do. But software can be viewed as only really a tool to help you organise your record keeping, you still need to understand what entries to make, how to enter them correctly (according to the many rules) and be confident in knowing that you’re getting the right information back out again.

Most software products have the same basic functionality but even getting to grips with how that works means you need to educate yourself, which takes up more of your time. If you give the work to an accountant, they will know what needs to be done and will have experience and expertise in the working and functionality of the popular systems.

A specialist screen industry accountant will also know how to use the software to meet the screen-specific requirements and be able to produce the reports needed for your funding partners, when they need them.

Using cloud and online systems means that you can give access to your records to your accountant and you can still have visibility – and retain overall responsibility – without the need to do the detailed work.

5. They can give you peace of mind

When there’s a lot going on, your attention can be called into many different directions. Having an accountant on board to take care of the financial aspects gives you the comfort that monetary matters are being dealt with on time and accurately.

You’ll know that your crew and your funding partners are being kept happy, your legal and taxation obligations are being met, and that you can concentrate on delivering your project.

6. They can save you money

When budgets are tight, it can be tempting to not want to spend money on someone to do your accounting for you. But investing in the knowledge, skills, and expertise of an accountant can actually help you to save money.

Getting the help of an accountant can stop you making costly mistakes. Financial errors are not just annoying, they can be expensive, especially if they relate to taxation. Get your GST paperwork wrong and you could be paying out for something you didn’t need to. Deduct the wrong income tax from your crew and you could over or underpay them (they would not be happy at that!). File your taxes late or pay the wrong amounts and the IRD could charge you penalties and interest.

Efficiency is another way to save money. Saving time by having someone else do your accounting can save you money. Reducing the time to follow processes or resolve issues can save you money. And whilst you may be able to deal with your errors in the long term, the short-term effects on your cash flow can hamper your project’s progress, taking up more time and costing more. Engaging an accountant to take care of these things reduces the risk of them happening, so improving your efficiency and reducing your costs.

Finally, however much work you decide to pass to an accountant, it is always of benefit to know one who can give you advice and point you in the right direction. Being proactive about getting the right support and the right information will help guide you and your projects toward success.