Ask how your accountant is paid for referrals

When an accountant recommends software, financing, insurance, or another professional, ask how the recommendation affects the accountant's compensation. The answer may be no payment, a referral fee, a reseller margin, a discount, or some other commercial benefit. Knowing the arrangement helps you evaluate the advice and compare alternatives.

Keep the conversation factual. A commercial relationship does not by itself prove that the recommended service is unsuitable, and disclosure does not automatically make every arrangement permissible. Start with the service you need, the alternatives considered, and the basis for the recommendation. Then ask about the relationship between the parties and the rules applying to the professional.

The AICPA Code has specific restrictions on commissions for members serving certain attest clients and requires disclosure of permitted commissions and specified referral fees. The relevant disclosure should be written. Ask the CPA which provisions apply to your engagement rather than treating a general statement about transparency as the entire analysis.

State rules can differ. California's Board of Accountancy says its licensees may accept commissions only in limited circumstances and prohibits payment solely for referring a client to a third party. Its disclosure requirements include information about the amount or calculation and payment source. These are California rules; have the provider identify the applicable jurisdiction before drawing a conclusion about another arrangement.

Your company can also adopt a commercial policy for recommendations even where the provider is not a CPA or a particular professional rule does not apply. For example, you can request written disclosure of financial interests and an explanation of suitable alternatives. Describe that as your procurement requirement, not a claim about universal law.

A statement that the accountant is a partner of a vendor is too broad to explain the economics. Ask whether the benefit depends on signup, spending, renewal, volume, or continued use. Find out who contracts with the vendor and whether your access or price changes if the accounting engagement ends.

Where a fee is included in a bundle, ask what service the accountant performs for that amount. Implementation, support, and bookkeeping work are different from an introduction. You do not need to accuse the provider of mislabeling anything; you need an understandable invoice and responsibility map.

Return to the business problem after understanding the incentive. If the accountant recommends a receipt tool, compare the workflow for collecting evidence, correcting errors, approving access, and retrieving records. If the recommendation is a specialist, compare the proposed question, competence, availability, and deliverable. A discount cannot answer those operating questions.

Use an explicitly hypothetical example: one software option costs the company less, but requires employees to maintain a second approval register. Another costs more and fits the existing approval process. The decision should include that internal work. A disclosed incentive becomes one item in the evaluation, while the ability to run the process remains central.

Ask for at least one explanation of why an alternative was rejected. A provider may reasonably standardize on software its team knows well. It should still explain the consequence for your company and identify a material limitation. Avoid demanding a claim of market-wide impartiality where the engagement only promises advice within a supported set of tools.

If the recommendation and disclosure appear inconsistent, pause the purchase decision and ask for a written clarification from the responsible professional. Preserve the relevant proposal, message, and terms. Separate an unanswered commercial question from an established professional violation. A regulator or qualified adviser may be needed to interpret a particular rule.

Ask whether another service in the relationship changes the analysis. A firm that also audits financial statements may face restrictions that do not apply to a standalone bookkeeping arrangement. Do not assume that the use of a separate affiliate or salesperson resolves that issue; the responsible professionals need to assess the actual structure.

Record the recommendation, financial relationship, alternatives considered, your reason for choosing, and any conditions on approval. Identify who may approve future changes. A small team can do this in a short purchase note rather than an elaborate compliance system.

Review again if the product, compensation, provider ownership, or engagement scope changes. The useful outcome is a recommendation you can explain on its merits with the incentive visible. Keep the disclosure available to a successor so a future renewal does not begin with the mistaken assumption that the original choice carried no commercial relationship.