How easy produce accounts for a Limited Company

stphnstevey

My current accountant is retiring and I am looking into others

I was wondering how easy it would be to do these myself. I keep basic bookeeping, manage PAYE, VAT, Pension payments and administration, Dividends etc. Basically everything but the CT600 and Company Accounts

How much time would it take, we talking days or hours?

The accountants I have looked at all have different qualifications. Is there a link that easily explains the difference? Is there a minimum level of qualifications I should be looking for? Previously I found that only higher level qualifications were accepted for mortgage companies to take my Ltd income into account

00ec25

it depends if you have a means of remaining up to date with any accountancy and tax law changes. Obviously if you do your own bookkeeping up to TB level you should be able to reproduce the previous years accounts by trial and error., however, it is "somewhat" better to know what you are doing in the first place....

a competent, qualified (proper) accountant would do a basic small company in less than a day if the ledger is presented fully bookkept to start with. For them it really is just a case of slotting numbers into boxes and making sense of the overall picture. But it is that speed and experienced eye you are paying for.

accountancy qualifications 101
"accountant" is not a protected title, (unlike solicitor which is) so anyone can call themselves an accountant without any qualifications at all

"qualified" accountant can mean someone with qualifications that "proper" accountants regard as (inferior) glorified bookkeepers (Association of Accounting Technicians for example). Although an AAT person would be competent to do sole traders, they may lack experience and/or background support to do Ltd

"proper" accountants have the word Chartered in their title. However, you then need to examine the practical background as a qualification is not much use if they don't do Ltd Co accounts as a day job. So be wary of "CIMA" Chartered Management Accountants (hint: they do management accounts not statutory accounts ) and "CIPFA" Chartered Institute Public Finance and Accountancy (hint they are great at local council accounts)
that leaves the 2 big boys:
ACCA: Association of Chartered Certified Accountants
and
ACA Association of Chartered Accountants - they see themselves as top dogs and look down on all others

either ACCA or ACA should be the most common type of creature lurking in a jobbing accountancy practice operating in the small company accounts section of the market. Either will be perfectly competent, but price may vary!

There are some non chartered "accountants" who also may be perfectly competent and have relevant experience, but few understand why they bothered with the qualifications they hold unless it was because they were not bright enough to do ACCA or ACA, for example: Institute of Financial Accountants


Appreciate that the key issue for you employing a qualified accountant is you want one with professional indemnity insurance, so if they turn out to be rubbish you will at least get some money back

Aquamania

stphnstevey wrote: »

My current accountant is retiring and I am looking into others

I was wondering how easy it would be to do these myself. I keep basic bookeeping, manage PAYE, VAT, Pension payments and administration, Dividends etc. Basically everything but the CT600 and Company Accounts

How much time would it take, we talking days or hours?

The accountants I have looked at all have different qualifications. Is there a link that easily explains the difference? Is there a minimum level of qualifications I should be looking for? Previously I found that only higher level qualifications were accepted for mortgage companies to take my Ltd income into account

These are all qusetions you should ask of your current accountant before he retires.

In fact, I'm amazed your current accountant hasn't arranged for someone else to take over the work he does for you (with your approval, of course)

It's actually every simple to complete a CT600 and file accounts - shouldn't take an hour if you have all the figures to hand.

The above poster has given you a description of different accountant qualifications, so I won't repeat them.

But you don't need any qualifications to compile company accounts (unless there is a requirement for them to be audited accounts, where an audit certificate would also need to be included)
But obviously it is better to use someone who knows what they are doing. A good accountant will save you more than his fees.

scoly

Aquamania wrote: »

...
In fact, I'm amazed your current accountant hasn't arranged for someone else to take over the work he does for you (with your approval, of course)...

This does indeed seem remarkable.

I know when a lady we used to use said she was retiring, she arranged for another local business to take over her client book, as you say, subject to our agreement.

stphnstevey

scoly wrote: »

This does indeed seem remarkable.

I know when a lady we used to use said she was retiring, she arranged for another local business to take over her client book, as you say, subject to our agreement.

He has. The trouble is, he closed his office in our local town some years ago, so I have been travelling some distance to see him. So his blanket recommendation for all his clients (I suspect he is selling his client list too) is also quite some distance

I am investigating accountants in my local town. Hence the question on qualifications, as there appears to be several levels of accountancy qualifications who all claim they can complete and submit my accounts

I did ask my current accountant some years ago if I could have a meeting to discuss any ways to save tax. He thought it not worth the cost for me as I already was aware of most ways. He has helped clarify some areas in the past, but do wonder if the money I pay is actually saved each year in tax as there are very few additional tax savings each year.

Pennywise

stphnstevey wrote: »

He has helped clarify some areas in the past, but do wonder if the money I pay is actually saved each year in tax as there are very few additional tax savings each year.

It's not a direct payback/investment calculation. Of course, some years their fee will be more than any savings (if any). That's not the point. You have to look long term. A couple of hours advice in the first year may mean hundreds/thousands of pounds saving for the next 10 years. Likewise, when a tax law/rule changes (which you may not have known about), your accountant telling you about it may save you hundreds/thousands in tax savings, or avoid you incurring hundreds/thousands in penalties. Or when it comes to loans/mortgages, having an accountant sign off the accounts/income confirmation may mean you get a mainstream product with relatively average/low interest, whereas if you didn't have an accountant signing off, you may end up with much higher interest/charges due to not being eligible for mainstream products.

I am more than happy that the vast majority of my clients have paid me far less than tax or costs they have avoided far less than my fees, over the lifetime of the client relationship. Of course, sometimes that isn't the case - but for the vast majority, it certainly is. In fact, I've often thought I'd be better charging on a percentage of tax saved/costs saved basis rather than a time basis, but it's just not acceptable to most people, never mind!

stphnstevey wrote: »

I did ask my current accountant some years ago if I could have a meeting to discuss any ways to save tax. He thought it not worth the cost for me as I already was aware of most ways.

Sounds like a very honest/trustworthy accountant if he said that. Shame he's retiring. I have a few clients who want meetings every year and it has got a bit embarrassing in the past when nothing has really changed for them, but that said, things are changing so fast over the past 2/3 years that we have plenty to talk about these days.