Looking for advice regarding CPAs

[Mary Schlabach]

What questions do I ask a CPA or CFP? 

I have been questioning our current tax preparer for a while now. We were notified less than a week ago that our 2020 taxes are now done! Why has it taken this long? I realize 2020 was horrible but we don't have much besides our W2s and house! I think I need to start asking more questions! 

[Jonathan Pavkov]

Hi @Mary Schlabach!

There are 3 functions an accountant can help with:

1. 1. Bookkeeping (tracking financial spending and receiving) - needs to be detailed oriented, not necessarily a CPA [$ or $$]
2. 2. Filing taxes - needs to understand taxes, and must at least work for a CPA [$$]
3. 3. Tax planning - needs to be a CPA, looks at wholistic financial situation and helps you minimize taxes [$$$$]

In general, these are more expensive as you go down the list. A good CPA can help you with 1 and 2, but they'll charge more. To answer your question - what are you looking for? Just tax prep? Or bookkeeping? Or tax planning?