Running a business already requires wearing too many hats. That is why most owners outsource the financial and tax side to a CPA. But here is the issue. Not every CPA relationship evolves as your business evolves.
On an episode of SRA’s Unmitigated podcast, Van Carlson, Founder and CEO of SRA 831(b) Admin, sat down with Brian Van Camp, CPA and founder of Linked Accounting, to talk about what business owners actually need from an accounting partner as they grow, especially in a world where AI is automating basic compliance work.
If you have ever felt like your accountant is only showing up at tax time, this guide will help you spot the warning signs and understand what next level tax planning looks like.
Why Business Owners Outgrow Their CPA
A CPA can be excellent at filing returns and still be the wrong fit for where your business is headed.
Brian Van Camp put it bluntly. Many owners describe their accountants as historians, recording what already happened rather than helping shape what comes next. That gap is exactly why he left banking, where proactive relationship management is standard, to become a CPA focused on advisory and planning.
As your business scales, your CPA should scale with you, moving from compliance only to planning, strategy, risk management, and decision support.
8 Signs You’ve Outgrown Your CPA
1) Your CPA is not a tax planner, just a tax preparer
If your CPA only meets with you to prepare and file returns, you are missing the biggest opportunity, year round planning. A strategic CPA helps you make decisions that affect taxes before the year ends, not after it is too late.
What to look for instead: quarterly check ins, scenario modeling, entity strategy, and long term planning.
2) They do not call you with ideas
A great CPA does not wait for you to bring the good ideas. They actively look for deductions, credits, and planning opportunities, and they can explain them in plain English.
If most suggestions come from you and they are met with skepticism, you may be dealing with a compliance only mindset.
3) They enforce their risk tolerance on your business
Business owners are often calculated risk takers. Many accountants are trained to be conservative, and that is not always wrong. It becomes a problem when your CPA’s comfort zone becomes your ceiling.
Van highlighted a common frustration. Owners hear no immediately, without education, analysis, or a clear explanation of pros and cons.
4) There is no deep planning or research
Some CPAs automatically dismiss what they do not understand, including advanced strategies, niche tax code provisions, or risk mitigation planning.
Brian suggested one of the best interview questions a business owner can ask.
What was the last tax position you researched?
If the CPA cannot walk through a real example, how they researched it, what they concluded, and why, that is often a sign they are not built for higher level advisory work.
5) They never deal with audits
If your CPA brags that their clients never get audited, that might mean they are optimizing their work for the IRS, not for you.
A strong firm does not fear audits. They focus on documentation, due diligence, and defensible positions, so if a review happens, you are prepared.
6) Errors show up in your filings
Mistakes happen. Repeated errors are different. Consistent inaccuracies can signal a lack of review, rushed processes, or too many clients per staff member.
That is not just annoying. It can become expensive.
7) Your business has expanded and your CPA has not
Growth changes everything, including more employees, multiple entities, new states, new revenue types, acquisitions, and international operations.
A CPA who was perfect when you were smaller may not have the bandwidth or the expertise to handle what comes next.
8) There is no disaster prep for tax and cash flow
Economic shocks exposed a huge gap. Some CPAs could not keep up with rapidly changing rules or help clients create systems to withstand disruption.
At a minimum, your CPA should help you understand tax law changes and how they impact you, your cash cycle and resilience, what happens if revenue drops suddenly, and how risk mitigation tools fit into the bigger picture.
The CPA Industry Is Changing and Compliance Is Becoming a Commodity
Brian shared that the CPA world is highly fragmented, and many firms are still compliance driven. But that will not last.
AI is already transforming tax work. Brian serves on a customer advisory board for a tax focused AI platform and uses it daily. He made a key point. AI is powerful only if you know what to ask.
Tax strategy is still about judgment, experience, and asking the right questions, because tax returns are not just numbers. They are the output of dozens or hundreds of decisions.
Bottom line. Over the next few years, basic compliance becomes easier. Strategy becomes the differentiator.
Do Not Let the Tax Tail Wag the Dog
One of the most educational moments in the conversation was Brian’s take on tax driven investments.
He is seeing more pitches that use tax benefits like depreciation to justify risky investments, including mobile home parks, tiny homes, and other structures where the tax strategy becomes the reason to invest.
Brian’s framework is simple.
Is it a good investment even without the tax benefit?
If not, it may be a bad investment disguised as a tax strategy.
Van echoed this concern using a classic example. Buying equipment or a building purely to avoid taxes, often financed with debt, can create a hamster wheel of lower margins and higher risk.
A strategic CPA helps you balance growth, tax strategy, and risk, rather than optimizing one at the expense of the others.
The Number One Reason Businesses Fail Is Not Revenue, It Is Cash Flow
Brian shared an insight from his banking background.
The number one reason small businesses fail is not lack of revenue. It is poor cash flow management.
Many owners are great operators but do not enjoy digging into cash cycle timing, working capital needs, where cash comes from and where it goes, and decisions that quietly drain liquidity.
His advice. Become part of the minority of owners who truly understand cash flow, and work with a CPA or fractional CFO who can help you build that capability.
How to Switch CPAs Without the Headache
Switching accountants feels like a pain, which is why many owners delay it. But Brian’s process is straightforward.
To get started, a new CPA typically needs:
- Most recently filed business and personal tax returns, including depreciation schedules
- Year to date Profit and Loss and balance sheet
From there, the best firms schedule a planning focused conversation to map out your entities and goals, identify what is missing or under optimized, and compare your current state versus where you want to go.
That planning conversation is often where owners realize this is a very different kind of CPA relationship.
A Simple Checklist for Your Next CPA
If you are evaluating a new CPA, look for signs of a strategic, advisory based model:
- They ask about your goals, not just your documents
- They can explain recent tax research they have done
- They talk about planning year round
- They help you understand cash flow and risk
- They do not dismiss ideas, they analyze them
- They can support you in audits with documentation
- Their client model is built for quality, not just volume
Final Thoughts
If your business has grown and your CPA relationship has not, your frustration may be valid. The goal is not to fire your accountant. It is to make sure you have the right team for the complexity you are managing now.
When your CPA becomes a true strategic partner, you do not just get a tax return. You get clarity, options, planning, and confidence.
Connect with us to explore how proactive planning and risk management tools can support your long-term business strategy.
