A corporate accountant does much more for a company than just preparing their tax forms at the end of the year. There are many advantages to having a corporate accountant on staff or working for your company throughout the year rather than just calling him or her at tax time. Consider the top three reasons every company needs a corporate accountant.
- They can advise on losses and deductions to be claimed all year long
The way a company does business and the money it makes throughout the year will affect its overall tax bill, so many companies have a corporate accountant who can advise them on tax matters all year long, and especially on losses or deductions to be claimed at the end of the year. When equipment or materials become obsolete, it may need to be claimed as depreciation. Certain expenses purchased for company shareholders may be considered deductions.
A corporate accountant can advise on these matters throughout the year rather than waiting until tax time to claim these on the company’s paperwork. This will ensure these losses and deductions are not overlooked when taxes are filed.
- Capital gains taxes may be deferred with proper strategies
Most countries allow capital gains taxes to be deferred through structured sales or charitable trusts, and these are things that need to be planned during the year and not just at tax time. A corporate accountant can better understand what capital gains tax the company will be facing and can put a plan in place to defer or lower that tax through proper tax planning strategies. This will lower a company’s overall tax bill, but these strategies need to be in place and implemented before tax time. A corporate accountant can assist with this strategy throughout the year.
- Corporate accountants will stay abreast of changing tax laws
When tax laws change they typically go into effect during the next calendar year rather than in the middle of tax season, but an accountant will stay abreast of these laws and advise corporations on how they need to change their tax planning strategies for the upcoming year. This can allow a corporation to plan accordingly when it comes to their structured sales or the creating of charitable trusts, so they can keep their tax bill as low as possible as those laws change and go into effect.
These are just three reasons why every company needs a corporate accountant no matter their size and no matter their industry.