Do You Have a Good Accountant?

“An accountant is someone who solves a problem you didn’t know you had, in a way you don’t understand.”

Sound familiar? Let’s hope not…

So how do you know you’ve bagged a good accountant?

They’re helping you to manage your business’s finances at the end of the day – your finances.

Be it tax advice or returns, bookkeeping, VAT returns, the company’s year-end accounts, management accounts or general advice and assistance in your world of business, your accountant is your appointed professional. They’re there to make sure when it comes to the bottom line all your ‘i’s are dotted and your ‘t’s are crossed, so it’s imperative that you have a ‘good’ one.

What constitutes a ‘good’ accountant?

Firstly in the UK the term ‘accountant’ is not protected by law; this means that any Tom, Dick or Harry can call themselves an accountant, without actually being qualified or regulated as such.

Professionally qualified accountants achieve their qualification through work experience, knowhow and ethics. Once qualified they also have to do continual professional development (CPD) to ensure their knowledge and skills are kept up to scratch.

That’s not it though; in order to act on behalf of clients these qualified accountants will also have obtained a practicing licence from their awarding accounting body, this says they have all the necessary expertise to act on their clients’ behalf. They are required to have professional indemnity insurance as well.

There are a handful of professional accounting qualifying bodies in the UK – the CCAB (Consultative Committee of Accounting Bodies) gives information about those bodies, which includes the ACCA – which I’m a member of. (https://www.ccab.org.uk)

Alas, being qualified, regulated, licenced and insured are not the only considerations when ensuring you have chosen, or will chose, the right accountant for you.

Other things to think about are…

The right fit

• Shop around; there are lots of accountants and, inevitably, they don’t all work in the same way – meet them, speak to them, get a feel for their approach and services and if they’re right for you.
• You should be provided a first-rate service, not just contend with someone hungry for their fee; if the accountant is too busy to be responsive when you have queries or need assistance, your business could be affected.
• Similarly, it shouldn’t just be a once a year relationship; your accountant should know you and your business and touch base with you periodically throughout the year. Likewise, give them a shout if anything crops up at your end too.

Fees

• How much is the right amount? Hourly rates, monthly rates, fixed fees? Most accountants offer fixed fees, so there are no surprises, which is always better for you, the client.
• Monthly rates should only apply in two instances; 1. You have work done on a monthly basis, e.g. bookkeeping, management accounts or 2. Your accountant offers a deal that sees your annual bill spread across each month.

Services

• What should you be doing, and what should you accountant be doing? Accountant services can work however you want;
• you can do your own bookkeeping and record keeping to keep accountants costs down
• Or, if you find you’re too busy with the actual business, not comfortable with numbers, or just plain bored by them, your accountant can do these for you.
• Not sure what records etc you need to keep? Ask your accountant! They’re there to help.

Other bits and bobs

• Don’t leave things until the eleventh hour when there’s a deadline approaching, both you and your accountant don’t want to be taken by surprise by last minute self-assessments to churn through, or a larger tax bill than anticipated.
• If you’re ever not sure of something, speak to your accountant – infrequent basic advice shouldn’t come at a cost. A half hour conversation could save your business money. Anything more than that might come at a cost, but if it’s more complicated it’s probably worth it so you have peace of mind everything’s been done in the best/most cost-effective way for you.
• Shopping for an accountant? Thinking of switching accountant? Make a shopping list, a ‘my accountant should’ list, so you know what to hit potential new accountants up with

So how you do find such wonderful accountants? The CCAB can help direct you to the awarding bodies’ websites’ where a directory of their accounting firms are held;  CCAB Links.

Elite Accounting Services (Leicester) Limited are proud to say we’re in the ACCA’s accountancy firm register, here.

We hope this was helpful. Please give us a call if you have any questions!