4 Places to Find an Accountant

Not every freelance writer needs an accountant, but if you determine you do, finding one is your next step. Let's face it, fees charged by accounting professionals can add up fast, making it critical to find someone as efficient as they are skilled. Otherwise, that hourly rate may balloon into more than you can afford.

Unless you have an accountant relative or friend, you may have no clue where you can find someone without resorting to your favorite search engine. Google, Bing and the rest have their usefulness, but this one requires a personal touch. So, close that laptop - after you've finished reading this - and visit the four places to find an accountant.

Local Chamber of Commerce

Certified Public Accountants (CPA) are highly trained professionals with advanced accounting degrees and the stamina to make it through a 10-hour certification exam. They're also salespeople. Even the best accountant in your area must advertise or network in some way if she wants new clients because word of mouth advertising only gets you so far at the beginning of your career. Your local Chamber of Commerce is often the best networking game in town and financial professionals of all specialties join.

You have two options for using your local Chamber of Commerce to find an accountant. Find out when the next networking meeting is. If you're okay with an early morning breakfast meeting, you can mingle with a variety of businesses and usually hear the 30-second sales pitch of everyone in the room. Of course, if mornings aren't your scene, visit the Chamber's website for a list of members. You won't be able to give your own sales pitch to a room of potential clients, but you will get the contact information you need.

Financial Institutions

Since deregulation of the banking industry, most banks widened their focus to become financial services companies offering a myriad of products and services to meet your needs. No, they won't do your taxes or offer advice on deductions, but you might find a quality referral source. This goes for any business encompassed in the financial institution's umbrella of companies, including mortgage representatives and financial advisors.

Whether you know it or not, your bank is a hardcore sales machine, designed to get 100% of your financial business. With the exception of tellers, the employees make a point to build a network of referral sources in the community. Your banker's goal is to find an accountant who will send all his clients in need of loans, investment products and mortgages to him, but you can benefit from the arrangement.

Talk to every financial professional you do business with to determine what area accountants they may know. Ask if they've heard anything negative about them from other clients. If your banker has personal experience dealing with the accountant in question, even better. A happy customer referral from someone you trust is more valuable than its weight in bank lollipops.

Colleges and Universities

If you have a university nearby then you have a goldmine of options in your backyard. In order to teach accounting courses, you must have some level of demonstrated expertise on the subject, even if you no longer work with clients. Just because an accounting professor chooses to teach doesn't mean she cannot work with you if she likes. Don't count out junior or community colleges in your area, either.

As a bonus, professors stay current on tax law changes to avoid giving bad information to students. In the event no one in the accounting department is able to help you, you they might be able to refer you to someone they know still actively seeing clients. If you're willing to work with someone seeking professional experience, you can ask the professor for promising students. A graduate student working towards CPA designation won't charge you as much as he will after he adds those three letters after his name.

Friendly Referrals

If you strike out with the first three suggestions, you have one more strategy to embrace before you thumb through the phone book. Talk to your friends, family and acquaintances about your search. Working with an accountant isn't the same as finding the perfect hair stylist. When you find someone to give you the perfect look, people notice and you talk about it. That doesn't happen when you get your books in order.

Speaking of hair stylists, remember to ask her if she uses an accountant the next time you're in the chair. Because most stylists are self-employed individuals renting space from the salon, you have common tax time concerns.