56 Questions to Ask Your CPA Regarding Your Business

Financing Your Business

1. What kind of information should be included in a business plan I present to bankers? How should this information be structured?
2. What are the key differences between debt and equity financing?
3. How can I tell if my company has reached the limit of its borrowing capacity?
4. What is asset-based financing? What can I borrow against my asset base?
5. Should financing terms be linked to the useful life of the asset being financed?
6. How can I hedge to protect against a rise in interest rates?
7. How does factoring work? Who offers these arrangements?
8. What is subordinated debt? How can I use it to finance my business?
9. What is the difference between loans and line of credit? When does it make sense to obtain a line of credit?
10. Is my business a candidate for venture capital?
11. What is mezzanine financing?
12. When is it a good time to refinance a commercial mortgage in order to trade down in interest rates?
13. What kind of questions can I expect from bankers and investors as they review my company's financial information?
14. Should I do all of my borrowing with the same bank?
15. What do my bankers expect from me in terms of financial reports?
16. If my company is facing a cash crunch, how do I know if I should cut costs, borrow money or do both?
17. What is involved in an initial public offering?

    General Management

18. Should I structure my business as a corporation, a partnership, a limited liability company or a proprietorship?
19. What is an S corporation?
20. What kind of check writing controls should I have in place to prevent employee theft?
21. How can I protect myself against embezzlement or other unauthorized use of funds?
22. Should I have a buy-sell agreement with my partners/shareholders?
23. What kind of people should I ask to join my board of directors?
24. How can I tell if my business insurance is adequate?
25. When buying business insurance, is it best to work with a broker or an agent?
26. How can I prepare a cash flow statement?
27. When I need larger space, how should I acquire such space?
28. What kind of questions should I ask when I negotiate my lease?
29. If I buy commercial property, should I put it in my name, my spouse's name, my children's name or my company's name?
30. How can I establish a succession plan that ensures continuity in my business when I retire or die?
31. In a family business, what are reasonable guidelines for employing, promoting and firing family members?
32. Is it a good idea to hold business retreats?

    Tax Planning

33. Does it make sense to own business related assets personally and lease them to my company?
34. What are my responsibilities in regard to withholding and remitting employee payroll taxes?
35. When does an independent contractor become an employee?
36. What are my responsibilities in collecting and remitting sales tax?
37. How can I minimize my estimated tax payments without making myself vulnerable to penalties?
38. Is it always wise to accelerate payables and postpone the generation of receivables at year end?
39. To what extent can I accumulate cash inside of my company rather than declaring dividends and paying taxes on them?
40. For tax purposes, do I have to run my company on a calendar year basis?
41. If it comes time to sell my company, should I sell the assets or should I sell the whole company as a going concern?
42. What are the most common mistakes made by companies in reducing their tax bill?
43. The IRS has called me for an audit. Must I go in person or can I ask my CPA to go in my place?

    Accounting and General Finance

44. Am I pricing my products and services correctly?
45. Which indicators of my company's financial performance should I be tracking weekly, monthly, annually?
46. How do my financial ratios and percentages compare with the averages for my industry?
47. How do I calculate the real cost of producing my products and or services?
48. When is it time to prune low profit items from my product/service line?
49. At what point does a business need a full-time controller?
50. When do I need to set up an internal audit function?
51. As a privately held business, when and why would I need an audit?
52. What is the difference between an audit, a compilation and a review?
53. How much is my business worth? Can you help me with a professional valuation?
54. What can I do to maximize the interest income from my business bank accounts?
55. Should my business be on the accrual or the cash basis of accounting?
56. How do I determine my break even point? What steps can I take to lower the break even point?