6 Questions to Ask a CPA Before Your First Funding Round
Sam's List Editorial | 2026-06-27
6 Questions to Ask a CPA Before Your First Funding Round A first funding round exposes everything about how you have run your books. Investors and their diligence teams ask questions a generalist accountant may never have fielded, and the wrong answers, or missing records, can slow a deal or shave your valuation. Before you raise, your CPA should be ready for all of it. Here are six questions to ask a CPA before your first funding round, and why each one matters. The goal is to find out, before an investor does, whether your accountant can carry you through diligence without a fire drill. 1. Have You Supported Startups Through a Priced Round? Diligence is its own skill. A CPA who has been through funding rounds knows what a data room needs and how to present financials to investors. What you are testing: experience with the exact situation you are about to enter. 2. How Will You Keep Our Books Diligence-Ready? Investors expect clean, organized financials they can verify quickly. Ask how the CPA structures your books so diligence is a review, not a reconstruction. What you are testing: whether your records will hold up under scrutiny. 3. Do You Understand QSBS and How to Protect It? Qualified small business stock can offer a significant tax benefit to founders and investors, but eligibility hinges on technical details around entity type and timing. A CPA who understands QSBS can help you avoid blowing it early. What you are testing: tax sophistication that compounds over years. 4. How Do You Handle Our Cap Table and Equity Accounting? Equity, options, and SAFEs all have accounting implications that get complicated fast. Ask how the CPA coordinates with your cap table and handles equity compensation. What you are testing: whether the messiest part of startup accounting is in good hands. 5. Can You Produce Investor-Grade Financial Statements? There is a difference between books that satisfy the IRS and statements an investor will trust. Ask to see the kind of reporting package they would prepare. What you are testing: whether their output is fundraising-ready. 6. How Will You Work With Our Other Advisors? Your CPA, your startup attorney, and eventually your fractional CFO need to coordinate. Ask how they collaborate so nothing falls through the cracks during a raise. What you are testing: whether they play well in the wider team a round requires. Where a Startup-Focused CPA Fits These questions favor a CPA who lives in the startup world rather than a generalist. Ursa Consultants is a New York City Sam's List firm with a focus on VC-backed startups, the...
