For some individuals and business owners, the waters of tax preparation and accounting can be muddy.

For others, they may have a full grasp of the many facets of accounting and bookkeeping, but they simply don’t have the amount of time to “crunch the numbers” that they would like.

These types of situations may be best suited for a CPA firm — or a certified public accounting firm. Chances are, you’ve heard this term thrown around before, but perhaps you’ve never learned what a CPA actually is or does.

However, an important distinction to make is that while all CPAs are accountants, not all accountants are CPAs.

That’s why we’re here. In this blog, we’re going to help educate you on the types of expertise offered up by certified public accountants, such as those employed at our trusted Fort Collins CPA firm.

So keep reading to learn more about what a CPA does and contact O’Dell & Company today if you’re ready to see what sets us apart.

Defining “CPA”

In order to understand what a CPA firm does, we have to first understand what makes a CPA. Simply put, a CPA is a certified public accountant who has met their state’s stringent licensing requirements.

These requirements typically require a college education in the field of accounting, minimum requisite experience, and a comprehensive CPA exam.

Therefore, a CPA is a fully licensed and certified accountant who is well-equipped to apply a level of knowledge and expertise that others simply can’t offer.

At O’Dell & Company, our Fort Collins CPA firm employs three experienced and knowledgeable CPAs, each of whom are leaders in the community and in the industry. Whether you are in need of small business tax planning, business consulting, assistance with bookkeeping, or something else related to personal or business accounting, chances are we can handle it.

What CPAs Do

Unlike non-certified accountants, a CPA is more experienced and capable of providing a higher level of expertise and a wider range of services. For example, among the different CPA services we provide at O’Dell & Company include:

• Business Bookkeeping: A CPA can help you determine the best practices for your business bookkeeping process. From streamlining your payroll to generating financial reports to analyze your business as a whole, proper business bookkeeping cannot be overstated.
• Small Business Tax Planning: Taxes can be difficult enough when filing them for yourself. When it comes to filing taxes for your small business, things can get significantly more complicated. A CPA can sit with you to make the tax planning process easier and more understandable while helping you to minimize your tax impact.
• Business Consulting: CPA firms employ experts who deal with the finances of individuals and businesses on a daily basis. That makes them uniquely qualified to provide solutions and advice with regard to business plan development, annual fiscal analysis, business acquisitions, and more. Business consulting can be extremely beneficial when attempting to get a start-up business off the ground.
• Business Budgeting: Budgeting can make or break your business. A CPA has the capability to look at your cash flow, expenses, and work with you to develop a feasible budgeting plan that will not only help you keep the business afloat, but help it thrive.

Finding a CPA You Can Trust

It’s important to note that even though all CPAs may have the proper certifications in order to practice accounting, not all CPAs are the same.

When you’re searching for a CPA to help with your personal tax preparation or business accounting services, it’s important to find one that is trustworthy and reputable within the community.

O’Dell & Company has been serving the Fort Collins community with top-notch CPA services for more than 30 years, building a reputation as the home for friendly service, transparent communication, and hand-delivered results.

At O’Dell, we listen, develop, prepare, communicate, and deliver — working with you through every step of the process to ensure that you have, and completely understand, the solutions you need in order to minimize your tax and be successful both now and in the future.

While our Fort Collins CPA firm is proud to serve our local businesses, we also have experience in serving clients from all around the United States. If you need small business tax planning, business consulting, budgeting, or bookkeeping, we are your go-to CPA firm.

Contact O’Dell & Company today to get started. We can’t wait to help you.