Medical Accountant
8 Jul 2009 by M Reeves
Accountant checklist
Accountants and bookkeepers are some of the most important people in any business, especially in the medical profession. Since medical accounting is extremely complicated, it’s important to hire intelligent, knowledgeable accountants and bookkeepers for your financial record keeping needs. Often, your accountant will also be your bookkeeper, but this isn’t always the case; sometimes, practices will keep a bookkeeper on staff and contract work with accountants. Regardless of whether you use separate accountants and bookkeepers or not, choosing a quality accountant is an important task for any private practice. Follow this checklist to make sure you’ve found the right person.
1. Does your accountant have medical record-keeping experience?
Medical accounting is very different from other kinds of accountancy. Make sure to ask potential accountants if they’ve worked with private doctors’ offices in the past.
2. Will they have to travel to see you?
If your office is far from a town, you may be unable to avoid a long-distance accountant. But if you can, find a local accountant to take care of your records. You’ll need to meet with this person regularly, so it’s much better if they’re nearby.
3. Who else do they work for?
Your accountant may not tell you the names of other clients, which is fine, but you want to make sure they either have regular work or have a good reason for working only occasionally. Unless you hire a full-time staff accountant, it’s not a good sign if your potential accountant doesn’t have any other job. If the accountant seems good but isn’t working elsewhere, ask for references from past employers and check them.
4. Is your accountant part of a professional organization?
Look for someone who is a member of a professional organization. This will prove they’re serious about their job.
5. What services will your accountant provide?
Outline what you need done, and ask your accountant if these things are part of their standard services. If you’re looking to hire an accountant who can also do your bookkeeping, be sure to ask about this; don’t just assume it will happen.
6. Are they part of a larger firm?
You’ll probably want to hire an accountant who works in a group; this way, if something happens to your primary accountant you’ll have built-in backup. If you like someone who has their own business, ask about their support network. Typically, however, medical accounting is a job best left to firms.
