Selecting an accountant

happypuppy

Thank you very much for all the advice
This is a small firm with about 3 accountants.
I prepare all the figures in an xl file, calculate the totals etc
the fee of £200 is for checking the file I prepare and for online submission.
I feel quite comfortable with him, but probably I would like to find someone cheaper if that is possible.
Just to complicate the matter some of the advice he gave me on hardware purchases was completely incorrect, and he probably has minimal knowledge about the business area I am in (selling online etc)
He made it quite clear that it is my responsibility if anything in inaccurate etc

pitkin2020 wrote: »

What a load of rubbish, each accountant will have his or her own set of expenditure and will vary greatly from each firm, a firm running 20 accountants will be charging more than the sole trader accountant who works from home, doesn't mean the small guy is any less qualified to do the job, and i bet you the small guy charging £200 for simple end of year returns for small businesses is earning profit more than the accountant who works in the big flashy office charging £500 for doing exactly the same work!!

For someone with a turnover of 4k most accountants could complete the return in a matter of a few hours so could do 2 or 3 similar sets of accounts in a day.

TO THE OP
Looking for an accountant is looking for a good mechanic, you will want someone you will feel comfortable with, who offers advice and gives you some input and you want to be dealing with one person every time.

And as for indemnity insurance its not worth the paper its written on, if your accountant screws up your books the buck stops at you and it will be you and only you that has to face the consequences

TM1976

On the face of it this seems relatively cheap. However as discussed here there are also factors regarding the quality of the advice you are getting.

One of the things you should consider is does your accountant have a professional designation eg is he a chartered accountant or an ACCA? Does he have a practicing certificate with one of these bodies? This will tell you if he is professionally qualified to do the job, if this is the case he will also be required to undertake ongoing training to ensure he is up do date with the current rules.

As Cook County rightly says anyone call themself an "accountant" regardless of qualification or compentance and only some are qualified. You should ensure they have the proper qualifications before you engage them because otherwise you may be employing someone who actually only knows a little bit more than yourself - not value for money.

Regarding PI insurance it gives you some protection if things go wrong but there aren't a lot of restrictions on who can get PI so you are better off going for someone with a professional designation IMO.

orangeslimes

happypuppy wrote: »

Just to complicate the matter some of the advice he gave me on hardware purchases was completely incorrect, and he probably has minimal knowledge about the business area I am in (selling online etc)
He made it quite clear that it is my responsibility if anything in inaccurate etc

You really ought to have someone who is going to make an effort to make sure what you have put is accurate and that everything is treated properly in the correct way- especially worrying if what he says about hardware purchases is inaccurate. I don't see what the point of hiring an accountant is otherwise?