Most owners switching CPAs don’t leave over a bad tax return. They leave because they asked a simple question and nobody could answer it.
If you’re a general contractor or architecture firm owner in California, the questions you ask before switching CPAs matter more than the fee quote. A cheaper firm that can’t explain your numbers will cost you more than the one you’re leaving.
Here are the seven questions I’d want you to ask any firm, including mine.
Why owners end up switching CPAs
Take Maya. She’s a composite, not a client. She runs a 14-person architecture studio doing about $1.8 million a year.
Her accountant filed every return on time. That was the whole relationship.
When Maya asked about project margins, how owner distributions should work, or why the bank wanted different statements, she got no clear answer. While the studio was busy, that didn’t matter. When cash got tight, it did.
So she started looking for a new CPA. Most owners in her spot make the same mistake next: they pick whoever promises the biggest tax savings or the lowest fee. Six months later they have the same problem with a different firm.
The short answer: A bad handoff can leave a great company flying blind. The fix isn’t a promise of lower taxes. It’s a clear scope, real industry knowledge, a transition plan, and someone who follows up every month.
Before switching CPAs, get your numbers on one page
Before Maya interviewed anyone, her team pulled contracts, payroll, invoices, and project notes together and reconciled them to the books.
Three people had three different views of the business. The operations lead said the studio was fine because the pipeline was full. The office manager pointed to the bank balance. The year-to-date report matched neither.
Once unbilled time and subcontractor costs were assigned to the right projects, expected annual profit moved by about $64,000. That figure is illustrative, not a benchmark. Nobody was hiding anything. They were just looking at different pieces.
That exercise changed her question from “Who’s cheapest?” to “Who can explain this to me every month?”
Do the same before you interview anyone. You’ll ask better questions, and you’ll know quickly which firms understand what they’re looking at.
7 questions to ask a new CPA before you switch
1. Who does the work, and who reviews it?
The partner on the sales call may never touch your file. That’s normal. You should still know who prepares your monthly work and returns, who reviews it, and who you call when something looks wrong.
Good answer: names, roles, and a review step before anything reaches you.
Red flag: “Our team handles it.”
2. Have you worked with contractors and architecture firms that bill like we do?
Fixed fees, hourly billing, phased design contracts, retainage, and progress billing each change how revenue and profit are recorded. One cost on the wrong project distorts that project’s margin and can lead to a tax bill nobody planned for.
Good answer: they explain how they’d handle your billing without you walking them through it.
Red flag: “We work with all kinds of small businesses.”
3. What do the first 90 days look like after switching?
This is where most transitions fail. Ask what they need from your previous firm, what they’ll clean up first, and when you’ll get financials you can rely on.
Good answer: a written list with dates.
Red flag: “We’ll see what we find.”
4. How fast do you answer important questions?
You’ll need answers when you’re signing a lease, hiring a project manager, or bidding a large job. Ask for a response-time target and what they consider urgent. If they can’t define it, they won’t meet it.
5. How do you handle messy books and past mistakes?
Every new client comes with some cleanup. Ask whether they document what they find, explain it in plain English, and fix the cause. The alternative is a plug entry that hides the difference until a lender or auditor finds it.
6. What does the CPA fee include, and what costs extra?
Get the scope in writing: monthly close, tax planning meetings, notices, payroll questions. Then ask what triggers an extra bill. A low quote with a long list of add-ons isn’t a low quote.
7. How will you help us plan before year-end?
This separates a tax preparer from an advisor. Ask when they’d meet with you before December 31 and what they’d want to see. If the answer is “in March, when we do your return,” you know what you’re buying.
What to have ready when you switch CPAs
A new firm can only move as fast as your records. Have these ready before your first meeting:
- The last two to three years of business and owner tax returns
- Your current engagement letter, so you know what you’re actually leaving
- Login access to your accounting software, payroll provider, and bank feeds
- Year-to-date payroll reports and any notices from the IRS, FTB, or EDD
- Your project list with contract values, billings to date, and costs to date
- Entity documents: operating agreement or bylaws, ownership percentages, any recent changes
Missing a few of these is fine. Knowing which ones are missing is the point.
What a California construction CPA should already know
A CPA who works with construction and design firms should recognize unbilled work, retainage, and work-in-progress (WIP) without explanation. They should be able to tell you why project profit and your bank balance disagree, and which number to act on.
Ask for examples of how they’ve handled firms like yours, not a résumé.
California adds its own layer. The answer can change with your entity type, trade, worker classification, and contract terms. If your situation is unusual, have a qualified professional review your facts. A general article can’t do that.
Why the cheapest CPA can cost the most
Watching overhead is smart. Paying for reports nobody reads isn’t. But cheap and lean aren’t the same thing. If the lowest bid leaves you guessing every month, the cost hasn’t gone away. It’s moved somewhere you can’t see it.
Maya’s $64,000 never showed up on an accountant’s invoice. It was sitting in work nobody was paid to review.
Switching CPAs: quick answers
When is the best time to switch CPAs? Right after a filing deadline or a month-end close, not in the middle of one. Starting a new firm two weeks before a return is due puts everyone under pressure.
What should I review before switching? Your project reports and the last few months of financials. Make sure they’re accurate before you build anything on them.
Can software fix this instead of a new CPA? Only if someone enters reliable information and reviews it. A clean dashboard on bad data still leads to bad decisions.
When should I bring in a CPA instead of handling it internally? Before you change ownership, make a significant tax election, take on new payroll obligations, or make any decision that’s hard to reverse.
Before you sign with a new CPA
Take these seven questions to every interview and write down the answers. If a firm can’t answer them in a sales meeting, it won’t answer them in March.
If you want to hear how I’d answer them for your firm, book an introductory call with Basta & Company. We work with California builders, contractors, design firms, and real estate owners. I’ll tell you plainly whether we’re the right fit.
