Think of Wilson Telford as the newfound ringer who drops in on your beer league hockey team for the most pivotal contest of the season.
He can adjust to whatever situation arises, prevent the opposition from scoring or get your club the crucial go-ahead goal that lands you a playoff spot.
Now, apply those same analogies to finance and accounting.
A chartered professional accountant (CPA) with 24 years of experience, Telford has worked with thousands of clients over his career across many sectors, business types and business sizes.
A partner with Baker Tilly based in Squamish, Telford’s role is akin to a chief financial officer (CFO) for hire who helps businesses set up, and eventually expand beyond, Sea to Sky country.
And here’s how he does it.
Start with the basics
Telford helps establish guidelines around what accounting systems are necessary, what types of taxes need to be collected, or if tax returns are required in specific jurisdictions, and sets up game plans based on whether a client is selling products or services.
If the client prefers, Telford and the Baker Tilly team can do all their bookkeeping and touch base monthly to review the financials.
“I try to give the client a clear roadmap at the end of that first meeting to establish what needs to be actioned,” Telford explains. “I show them exactly what I’ll help with, and then we’ll go through everything again to ensure all these points are set up correctly.”
Know when to grow
Telford’s process begins with asking big-picture questions: what are you selling, how are you marketing it, what differentiates you from others in the marketplace and how do you get your product to markets abroad?
For Squamish business owners wanting to break into the U.S., further topics need exploring: are your products small and easy to ship? If so, you could simply find a manufacturer stateside and rebrand it.
If not, perhaps it’s time to consider setting up a manufacturing facility in a tax-friendly state that allows production and shipping across the U.S. and even into Mexico.
“The key here is vision, and then comes planning and execution,” Telford says. “You have to ask yourself, ‘Where do you want to be and at what point in time?’”
Streamline to save time
This area is arguably Telford and his team's most significant advantage: saving time, buying time and freeing up time.
Baker Tilly Advantage is a fully optimized system that streamlines bookkeeping, financial goal planning, budgeting, forecasting, and more.
Telford points to Baker Tilly’s work with a local municipality struggling to find staff to accomplish financial affairs of all sorts on a large scale and in a timely manner.
Whether populating month-end or expense reports, the Baker Tilly Advantage uses artificial intelligence, accounting software and third-party applications that reduce turnaround times.
“Monthly reporting can be painful for the client, so we’re trying to integrate time saving applications into their systems to reduce the turnaround time of key financial information,” Telford explains. “We’re trying to make it so seamless that the business owner doesn’t have to ask for anything.”
For more information on how Wilson Telford and the rest of the team at Baker Tilly can help your business transition and succeed in Sea to Sky country and beyond, visit bakertilly.ca.
