Are you fed up with your accountant?
-
Your accountant should be an investment that provides you with value for money;
-
Your requirements change as your business develops and grows, and your accountant should keep up;
-
An accountant should be approachable, friendly and proactive – but also firm when it’s needed;
-
Some accountants are just very boring and set in their ways – you’ll never change that but you can change them!
Research by Xero found that 70% of businesses surveyed would not recommend their accountant and 34% went as far as to tell people to avoid their accountant.
The top mistakes identified included:
-
Rarely providing support
-
Limited industry knowledge
-
Making them feel like a low priority
-
Being behind on technology
-
Being unresponsive
-
Not providing enough value
All too often, businesses stay with an accountant that they have outgrown in the mistaken belief that changing to a new accountant will be difficult, disruptive and potentially costly. This is a myth perpetuated by accountants that don’t want you to go.
If you’re not happy then it’s time for you to escape!
Changing accountants is easy!
- Find a new accountant
- Tell your old accountant
- Leave your new accountant so sort everything out for you.
Switching accountants can be done with no effort or fuss
All you need to do is find a new accountant that you feel happy with and tell the old accountant. Your new accountant will take care of everything else for you.
Things that your new accountant will need to do
Your new accountant, if they are licensed*, will:
1. Check your identity – this is an anti-money laundering requirement.
2. Provide you with a letter of engagement outlining expectations and requirements
3. Provide you with a copy of their terms and conditions and an outline of the fees.
4. Apply for authorisation to deal with HMRC on your behalf
5. Ask your old accountant for information, like last year’s accounts and computations**
Once this is done your new accountant can start work and you can relax.
*highly recommended as unlicensed accountants are not regulated and therefore may not hold a qualification, insurance or keep their skills up to date.
**if your old accountant is Chartered, Certified or Accredited under a professional qualification, they are required by their regulatory body to cooperate with these requests within a reasonable time-frame unless there are exceptional circumstances.
The professional bodies also oblige the documents to be provided without charge. However, in some instances you might find that your old accountant will charge a small fee for compiling the paperwork. This fee should be minimal to reflect the small effort involved.