Vol. 4 , No. 11 , July 24, 2008
Accounting Company Helps Business Owners 
The staff at Accounting Professionals includes Mark, left, Owner Mike, and Robert.
By: Ashley
Mike started a business called Accounting Professionals in the heart of (hometown) in March 2006, with the intent of helping small- to medium-sized businesses with their accounting needs.
Mike said his wife grew up in (hometown), and moving there was like coming home for him as well. It is a great place to raise their three kids, and run the accounting business.
He received his bachelor’s degree in finance from Brigham Young University, and has been in the accounting field for six years, he said.
Before coming to (hometown), Mike worked for a construction company in Colorado, and when he decided to move to Utah and start his own business, they asked him to continue doing their accounting.
He said this allowed him to start his business with a base. There are a few other companies in Colorado he also does accounting for. He goes back there about once a year, but most of his communication with those companies is by phone and e-mail.
However, he can cater his service to whatever a business owner needs. He meets with some of his clients weekly, and is very flexible and accessible, he said.
Mike answers his own phone and can communicate regularly through phone, e-mail, or in person. He wants to do whatever the customer is most comfortable with, he said.
He said his focus is on taking care of businesses that are generally not large enough to hire personnel to do their accounting, but still need help. Hiring an employee involves a lot of expense, and until a company grows to a certain point, it can frequently be more efficient to use an accounting business.
Mike is very familiar with the laws, deadlines, deductions, and other things that can be confusing, he said. He can help give the business owners direction, and handle the accounting side.
Some business owners are frustrated by the financial end of the business, and struggle to compile everything when it comes to tax time. He said he can help the business owners who have a shoebox full of receipts and spend a lot of time trying to figure it out on their own.
His business’s goal is to help people simplify things, and help keep them on the right track legally so they can direct more of their attention toward the parts of their company they are experts at, he said.
“My desire is to help them be able to focus on their business,” Mike said.
He said a lot of people think they could never afford an accountant, but he has established an efficient business system and passes on his savings to the customer.
“I consider my business to provide a very affordable solution,” he said.
His customers can pick and choose the accounting services they need, and pay for just those.
Mike and his two employees do everything from payroll, job cost accounting, accounts payable and accounts receivable, to Quickbooks training, collections and bad debt reduction, and taxes.
Mike said it is also important to him to help things make sense for his customers. There can be a lot of confusing accounting jargon, and he can help explain it. He wants to work with them and apply the accounting to their business, instead of trying to apply their business to the accounting.
Sometimes it feels like the government is trying to make it harder on small business owners, with frequent new and confusing laws and regulations, he said, but his business is to keep on top of and make sense of those kinds of things.
He said he gets satisfaction from helping small business owners with the bookkeeping burden and giving them the extra time to devote to other things.
Luckily I wasn't the only one to leave care aside. While Mike was giving my cell phone a rubbing alcohol bath, a little bit got on the kitchen table and dissolved the finish in a couple spots. Whoops!
