A business owner and accountant’s working relationship is pivotal for effective financial management and tax planning. However, questions often arise around who has ultimate decision-making authority. While accountants provide excellent record management systems, it is imperative to understand where the line is drawn between advice and control.

The Accountant’s Role

As a professional, an accountant’s primary role is to provide expert advice and guidance to clients regarding financial and tax matters. This includes:

• Tax Compliance: Preparing and filing tax returns, handling tax audits and correspondence with tax agencies.
• Financial Advisory: Advising on accounting, bookkeeping, budgeting, planning and overseeing the client’s finances.
• Risk Management: Identifying risk areas and ensuring compliance with relevant laws and regulations.
• Record Keeping: Maintaining accurate financial records and transactions on behalf of the client.

While the accountant manages these responsibilities, the client has the ultimate decision-making power. The accountant can only recommend options—it is up to the client to decide the best course of action for their unique situation and goals.

The Client Remains in Control

As the paying customer, the client controls the overall client-accountant relationship. Some important things to note:

• Business Decisions: All strategic and operational decisions regarding the client’s business or financial affairs rest with the client.
• Financial Commitments: The client determines spending levels, approves financial transactions and makes the final call on investments or loans.
• Tax Strategies: While accountants propose tax planning strategies, clients decide which strategy and timings fit their risk tolerance.
• Scope of Work: The client defines the accounting and advisory work required and has discretion over additional requests.
• Dispute Resolution: In disputes, the client holds the higher authority for final conflict resolution.

While the client retains the final say, they mustn’t make decisions in a vacuum without considering their accountant’s professional guidance and expertise. Accountants spend years gaining specialized knowledge that individual clients typically do not have. Therefore, dismissing an accountant’s well-researched advice could result in poor outcomes.

At the same time, accountants must accept that clients have private contexts, risk-tolerance levels, and personal priorities influencing their choices. Not all clients will conform perfectly to the textbook “best practices.” An empathetic accountant explores this context thoroughly to customize their recommendations wherever possible.

Building trust is essential for a collaborative client-accountant relationship. Clients must have faith that their accountant has their best interests in mind over trying to upsell additional services constantly. Likewise, accountants must demonstrate competence, transparency, and responsiveness to clients’ needs to maintain this trust.

Regular check-ins allow both parties to re-evaluate evolving circumstances and ensure their understanding of each other’s perspectives remains clear. Changes in the client’s financial situation, personal life, or business landscape may warrant adjusting strategies. Maintaining open communication channels forestalls disputes down the road.

Ultimately, clients and their accountants can achieve optimal results together by treating one another as partners pursuing shared goals through mutually respectful discussion and compromise.

A Successful Partnership

Both parties need to understand their distinct roles for the relationship to be productive. Accountants should provide expert recommendations backed by analysis, and clients should consider advice prudently before making the ultimate decisions. With open communication and mutual understanding, the partnership can optimize outcomes.