Why Your Accountant Doesn’t Understand Your Business, And Why That’s Bad
This is a common financial problem I see with landscape firms of all sizes.
You’re making important decisions about staffing, equipment purchases, and pricing, and you hope your accountant can guide you through the financial implications.
But the advice you get often comes back to cost cutting and tax minimization. It’s frustrating.
What Great Financial Guidance From a CPA Could Look Like
Here’s what would actually help you grow your business:
- Someone who meets with you monthly or quarterly to review your numbers and plan ahead.
- Someone who helps you understand what your financial statements (including balance sheet and cash flow) are telling you about your business decisions.
- Someone who understands work-in-process (WIP) accounting and is willing to collaborate with your other advisors.
Most accountants aren’t set up to do this, or even thinking this way. That’s not criticism — it’s clarity about scope.
The Two Jobs Your Accountant Is Hired to Do
Like the Federal Reserve, your tax accountant has two primary mandates:
- Keep you legally compliant (keep you out of jail)
- Minimize your tax liability
They do this work with integrity, but these two mandates are not enough. You also need business strategy and financial growth planning.
Unintended Consequences
When you seek growth advice from someone paid to minimize taxable income, you create a strategic conflict that can lead to unintended consequences:
- Recommending cash basis accounting for “simplicity” when accrual would provide better decision-making data
- Suggesting year-end equipment purchases to reduce taxes, even when the equipment isn’t needed
- Advising payroll caps without understanding the impact on sales positions or owner leverage
- Recommending staff cuts without understanding your strategy
None of these is malicious. Most accountants simply don’t understand the operational side of the P&L.
How to Get What You Truly Need
Option 1: Find a Top-Tier Accountant
The top 1% of accountants can provide financial education and basic business guidance alongside compliance work. These are generally CPAs.
Option 2: Clarify Your Current Accountant’s Role
If your accountant focuses on tax work, that’s fine, as long as you have other trusted advisors handling business strategy.
The key is knowing which situation you’re in and what you want.
Four Helpful Questions to Ask
These questions will reveal what kind of partnership you have:
- “Can you help me ensure my balance sheet is accurate and ties to my P&L?”
- “Can you review my internal accounting processes and make suggestions?”
- “Will you meet with me quarterly to review my numbers and tax planning, and teach me what you’re seeing?”
- “Do you understand work-in-process accounting for the landscape industry?”
Pro Tip: If they set up your chart of accounts with a default alphabetical layout, you likely have a compliance-focused accountant.
Your Challenge
Surround yourself with the right financial advisors.
Schedule a 30–60 minute conversation with your accountant and ask the four questions above. Also inquire about their full suite of services. Get clarity on what they can and can’t do for you.
Keep in mind, your CPA will not take the place of a controller or CFO, but they may offer services you need like cash-flow budgeting.
If your business is growing and your accounting firm hasn’t evolved with it, it may be time to upgrade your advisory team. Landscape firms that scale intentionally do not treat financial leadership as optional.
Go get ’em,
– Jeffrey Scott
P.S. In our peer groups and coaching programs, we help landscape business owners understand what their numbers mean and how to set them up correctly and manage by them. Ready for that next level? Let’s talk.
