Accountants and clients have to have a solid working relationship in order to do away with miscommunication and promote a fair exchange of ideas. From trust and transparency to setting and meeting certain goals, there’s a lot of give and take that goes behind every accountant and client match.

When accountants are being shopped by possible clients, they should be devoting some time to not only promoting their services from a sales standpoint, but how they can work together to improve upon the client’s needs. If a client hires an accountant and they feel their needs aren’t met as initially discussed, they can in turn bring legal claims against them.

But before legal issues happen and accountants professional liability insurance needs to kick in, accountants should be diligent about the entire vetting process. Here are some important topic to discuss with clients:

Company Growth

Business clients may be planning major changes to their organization, which in turn can affect their valuation overall. CPA’s should understand the importance of this and how it can also affect their taxability. Make sure to keep your clients abreast of any liabilities that could have any impact on them.

Risk Management

Small businesses don’t typically have a plan in place when it comes to protecting their business from operational disruptions. Things like power outages, floods, construction and market issues can all impact their business. Accountants should be upfront and transparent with their clients about the importance of how to best mitigate risk.

Financial Planning

It’s no secret that budgeting and finances are at the top of every company’s plans for new fiscal years. In this case, it helps to do a full portfolio scan to make sure your clients have a clear outlook on their financial future.

Tax Compliance

Federal taxes and state taxes both play a role in how your client’s processes. CPA’s should discuss any new tax laws or breaks that could affect their business and how they can start to implement changes to address them.

Accountants Insurance

As mentioned above, failing to meet the needs of clients can lead to possible legal issues. When they feel their needs aren’t being met or something detrimental to their business has occurred, the finger could be pointed at you in a court of law. Having accountants liability insurance in place will help to cover claims not covered under a general liability policy. Allegations of errors, omissions or negligence, especially in financial terms, can spell trouble for an accountant and their firm. Have peace of mind with this kind of insurance.