SELECTING A BOOKKEEPER

A company needs its own bookkeeper to keep track of the day-to-day transactions of the business, complete monthly, quarterly and annual reconciliation procedures and assemble the financial package for the CPA. Competent bookkeepers can be hard to find. According to Stephen Sahlein, co-president of the American Institute of Professional Bookkeepers (AIPB), most bookkeepers lack the knowledge needed to fulfill their function. Consequently, your business may be at risk.

You cannot always ascertain a bookkeeper’s ability and skill level from a resume or interview. There is a way to make sure that the prospective bookkeeper knows basic bookkeeping – Administer the FREE hiring test available from the AIPB. The test consists of 10 questions on key everyday bookkeeping skills. Applicants cannot obtain the test beforehand, because each 10-question test is drawn from a databank of 250 items.

If your prospective bookkeeper is competent or holds a Certified Bookkeeper (CB) designation from the AIBP, she/he will have little trouble successfully completing the test.

For more information about the AIPB, visit: http://www.aipb.org/index.php

For more information about the FREE hiring test, visit: http://www.aipb.org/testrequest.php

You may also want to consider having your CPA include the following line in your annual FPA:
“Unlimited assistance in hiring bookkeepers and consultants.”