Throwing a rock in the right direction in any city might see that rock bouncing off five certified public accountants before hitting the ground. The market for accountants is pretty heavily saturated in the larger cities of the United States. Most accountants work for accounting firms but, of course, there are freelance accountants. The pros and cons of freelance accountants versus accounting firms are detailed here.
Unless one is the next Simon Dolan, it might not be wise to invest in a freelance accountant because they might not have the backing, resources and experience one would find in larger accounting firms. This begs the question of “How do I know if he is as skilled as Dolan?” You might never know; this is a risk you would have to take. Large accounting firms, like the Big Four, are known for their wide range experience. Freelance accountants may not have that kind of knowledge.
However, what one might potentially lose from hiring a freelance accountant over any one of the many accounting firms is balanced by what one might gain. That is, a personal relationship with your accountant. Not like the Enron scandal where the accountant allegedly helped obstruct justice (and this belies a very personal relationship with Enron), but an accountant where you do not mind grabbing a beer and maybe some grub with.
Another positive to hiring a freelance accountant is that they might have a smaller client base, therefore giving you a lot more attention and time for your needs. Accounting firms might not be able to provide this, though this is a fine line to tread: some firms are too big to let every client know they are special, but some firms are just big enough to give the client comfort and get an excellent job done every time.
Where is your business going? Hong Kong? Australia? Maldives? This is another negative point for freelance accountants that accounting firms do not suffer from: a wider range of employees fluent in more languages. Of course, if you just want your business to stay in Las Angeles for the time being, it might be wiser to hire one of the bigger local accounting firms than a freelancer or one of the Big Four.
The main difference between a freelance accountant and accounting firms is that the firms are always going to be bigger, more resourceful and more experienced. Freelance accountants may be able to spend more time with one client and thusly be more attentive, but the lack of experience may not make up for that. For a starting business, it is possible that a freelance accountant would work better than a firm, but this is no sure thing. Also, and this you have already done, but different accountants are better at different areas of accounting (non profits, entertainment industry, family wealth) and while one freelance accountant may have experience in all of them, the best accounting firms have employees devoted to just one area. Specialized knowledge in many employees versus a wide range of knowledge, none of it specialized, in one person. The choice is yours.
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