Don't wait 'til April.

• Author: Horvath, Terri
• Position: Accounting firms

Accounting firms do a lot more than tax returns and audits

In 1968, Ron Flickinger knew he needed a different firm to handle the accounting and tax-return needs for his Fort Wayne-based company, Flickinger Industries, a manufacturer of fluid power products. He tried the then-fledgling local office of Geo. S. Olive & Co., and says he has never regretted the decision.

Therefore, when Flickinger needed tax-planning assistance, he sought the advice of Oliver & Co. The question of how to establish a profit-sharing program for employees led him back to his accountant once again. He returned to ask about benefit plans and, most recently, when the company needed help with new software.

"It seems that as we grew, we used more of their services," Flickinger says. "And as they grew they had more services to offer."

Today the trend among accounting firms, both large and small, is to do more than tax returns and audits. The breadth of their offerings ranges from strategic planning to pension and benefit analysis to executive searches and more. One area in particular demand is computer consulting, a popular selection among accounting firms.

"Business owners and individuals alike look to CPAs for a wide variety of services," says Gary M. Bolinger, executive director of the Indiana CPA Society, "because the nature of accounting services allows the professional to learn a business very intimately and be in a position to provide a wide area of advice other than the tax and audit issues."

To illustrate his point, Bolinger uses the example of the audit process, in which the accountant must examine every aspect of a business. Part of this process requires the accountant to make recommendations or observations on how to improve the client's operation.

Adding to Bolinger's observation, John Harris, managing partner of Olive & Co. in Indianapolis, says "whenever a big transaction is planned, tax dollars are involved." He cites an example of a company buying real estate. By consulting with his accountant, the buyer could identify elements that would lower the tax bill. Of, if a company is building a new plant, an accountant familiar with state regulations might be able to locate some tax incentives. Fulfilling wants like these is one reason that accountants have diversified their services.

Another impetus spurring the change, says Bolinger and other accountants, stems from the enactment of the Tax Reform Act of 1986, which shifted many corporations from a fiscal to...