Why this matters
An intro call without a checklist becomes a sales pitch. All three candidates will seem competent and friendly, that's the job. Identical questions across candidates are the only way to compare, and answers about fees, staffing, and response time predict the relationship better than rapport does.
What "done" looks like
- All three candidates asked the same written question list
- Comparable notes on fees, software, response time, and staffing
- References requested from your top choice
- A clear first pick and a backup
How to do it
- Ask about clients like you: how many at your size, in your industry, with your entity type?
- Ask who does the work. Often the partner sells and a junior executes, learn who handles your file and who reviews it.
- Ask how fees work: fixed monthly, hourly, or per-return; what triggers out-of-scope billing; a typical annual bill.
- Ask about software. If they can't work in your QuickBooks or Xero setup, someone re-keys data, and you pay for it.
- Ask for response-time norms: turnaround on an email question, and what communication looks like in April.
Common mistakes
- Letting the candidate run the meeting with their pitch
- Not asking what's excluded from the quoted fee, that's where surprise bills live
- In the US, ignoring IRS-flagged red flags: fees based on refund size, or refusing to sign returns
Real-world examples
- In the US, IRS preparer-selection guidance warns against "ghost preparers", people who prepare returns but refuse to sign them.
- The IRS requires paid preparers to hold an active PTIN and sign the returns they prepare, hedging on either is disqualifying.
- Flat monthly fees for books plus returns are now common, while advisory is often hourly, ask which model applies.
From a founder's point of view
The interview isn't about accounting knowledge, a founder can't judge that anyway. It's about whether the firm's economics fit yours: who touches your file, what the meter charges for, and how fast a scary letter gets answered in their busiest month.
Rule of thumb
Same questions, same order, all three candidates. If you couldn't fill a comparison table afterward, it was a pitch, not an interview.
