Guidance when looking for a new accountant

Change can be scary but can also be refreshing. If you are looking to change accountant or are looking to appoint one these are things you need to consider in your search.

A good accountant is invaluable to any business. Not only can they keep you wholly compliant with the ever changing rules and regulations but they can help you make informed decisions and help your business succeed.

1. Recommendations

It can be a comfort when you have been recommended someone personally. However don't just take one persons word for it, do some research, check their reviews online. Speak to other clients of the accountant if this is possible. Remember its a personal decision and what you need will be different to other people.

2. Qualifications

If an accountant is claiming to be Chartered or Certified make sure you check. This can be found easily online and every accountant claiming to be qualified and a member of a professional organisation can be confirmed using their name and location.

Chartered: Find an accountant | Find a chartered accountant | ICAEW

Certified: Find an ACCA member | ACCA Global

3. Personality fit

Don't be afraid to set up meetings with prospective accountants. It is important that you can build a relationship with them so helps if you find out if you can communicate with them. If they speak in a language you don't understand and it doesn't quite feel that they are a good fit for your business or you, don't be afraid to carry on your search. Ultimately this is going to be a person who will be accessing your confidential and private information.

Meeting a prospective accountant for a coffee can be a good way to for you to be able to benchmark if you can see them working well with you. It is effectively a job interview with you responsible for the hiring.

4. Value added

You need to access the value that you are looking for from an accountant. If you are just looking for someone to just do your year end statutory reporting once a year then the time and effort you put into your search is less critical. However if this is someone that you are going to be relying on for more frequent work then it's important to appoint someone who is pro-active who can offer you a skillset that you need. Find out from them how they have helped other clients in a value added way and see if this will be a benefit to you.

5. Cost

Cost is of course an important consideration but it shouldn't be the first one. A good accountant should be able to pay for themselves with the added value activities and their knowledge and expertise which they can apply to your business. Hiring a professional accountant won't be considered cheap (fees are usually dependant on qualification levels and experience) but it should be value for money if you appoint the right person. Many firms will offer monthly or quarterly invoicing to help spread the cost and make it more manageable.

The key thing to bear in mind that it is not one size fits all. The accountant that works well for one business may not work for your business. Do your research, meet your prospective accountant and work out what value they can give you.