If this is your first time using the services of an accountant I suspect you have a number of questions and concerns

• How can I tell if they are any good?
• I'm worried I won't understand them and they'll just baffle me with jargon
• Aren't accountants really expensive?
• Should I go with the cheapest quote I can get?

How can I tell if they are any good?

Good accountants should be qualified by either the Institute of Chartered Accountants (ICAEW) or Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA) to ensure that high standards are maintained and (actually even more importantly when it comes down to it) ethical behaviour is adhered to (a qualified accountant who cannot maintain the high standards required of them should refuse to undertake work that they do not feel comfortable performing – this is one of the reasons why ethics is paramount)

You may get this level of service with an unqualified accountant and you may get the same level of expertise, however, you do not have the reassurance of the regulating bodies to maintain standards

The minimum requirements for qualification are to pass the rigorous exams, follow a training contract for three years, undertaking specific levels of work. It is a grueling three years; however on qualification most accountants are equipped with a strong level of both technical knowledge and experience.

In order to engage in public practice a minimum of two further years experience post qualification is required.

So ensuring your accountant is qualified guarantees you a minimum of 5 years experience and is fully regulated (and insured as a condition of obtaining a practice certificate) and this should be a minimum requirement

You also need to establish whether the accountant has relevant experience providing the services you may require to the size of business you have, and if relevant, in the sector you are in – an accountant who has worked in the audit department of one of the largest accountancy firms may not be well placed to advise clients on tax in small businesses.

Be wary of anyone trying to sell you their services on the basis of either fear or greed – be extremely wary of complicated tax schemes whereby you end up paying little or no tax (see Mark Lee’s analysis of this (ex-head of the ICAEW’s tax faculty) – the government has pretty much closed all these sorts of schemes and you will more than likely end up paying large fees and saving virtually no tax. Many firms, including some of the largest and most respected firms have been sued for following such practices. This does not mean there are no longer any genuine tax planning and tax saving opportunities, only, if it sounds too good to be true or schemes whereby the conversation goes something along the lines of “we have some very clever chaps here who have found a loop-hole that no-one else knows about…”, you may want to be cautious.

Your accountant’s integrity is paramount. You often don’t know what you don’t know, such is the complicated nature of many of your accounting and tax requirements you must be able to trust that the work being done is required, effective and justifiable and not just an excuse for charging additional fees. This is similar to having a car mechanic you can trust.

Find an accountancy firm where you are, if not one of the larger clients they have, at least a firm where you feel your business is important to them. Do you have a dedicated point of contact? Do they return your calls? Do they appear interested in helping, or interested in getting paid (getting paid is a by-product of providing a good service). Good service is not rocket science – you simply have to care enough.

You really need to meet your accountant face-to-face to see the whites-of-their-eyes. We will make home visits, out of hours if necessary, in order to achieve this

Finally, personality – do you get on with these people. Only you can decide on that and so there is no need to expand.

I'm worried I won't understand them and they'll just baffle me with jargon

As a general rule of thumb, if someone is talking in jargon there are one of three disagreeable for it:

• They do not know what they are talking about (integrity problem)
• They do not want you to understand what they are talking about (trust problem)
• They are insensitive to the needs of their listener (service problem)

Any of the three problems mentioned above is a real concern.

We will never speak to you in jargon without explaining it. No question, no mater how stupid you may feel for asking will be judged anything other than an opportunity to educate.

Part of an accountant’s duty is to educate their clients. We can’t promise to turn you into a Chartered Accountant, however, you should come away with more information than you started with. Real and useful information to help you run your business more effectively.

Aren't accountants really expensive?

Some are yes. I used to work for a large accountancy firm and my hourly charge-out rate was over £200 ph. But of course, they had massive overheads to cover, not to mention the very large salaries the partners needed to receive to pay for their massive mortgages and expensive school fees.

We are different.

We are interested in making enough profit to pay for a comfortable living and minimise unnecessary costs in order to provide our services a cheaply as possible (see if you can find another accountancy firm who is that honest with their intentions!). Should you ever find me pull up in a Porshe, you should start questioning the fees you are being charged.

In short, at Atkinson Accountancy you get the level of service and expertise that you would expect from a larger firm, but at a fraction of the cost (in larger firms the partners are essentially salesmen, with the managers and senior managers providing the bulk of the work and expertise).

Further, we can quote almost all our jobs on a fixed cost basis (there may be occasion where there is open ended work that you may feel more comfortable running at an hourly rate) so there should never be any unpleasant surprises for you

I don't know that much about accounting - I'm worried I'll get ripped off?

Going back to how do I know if my accountant is any good – make sure you get yourself an accountant that you trust!

Integrity is key!!

Here are further steps to ensure you do not get ripped off:

• Obtain several quotes (ask for them broken down so you can see the assumptions on which they are based – including charge-out rate and hours split between the various levels of accountants for the job)
• Ask for a quote, not an estimate. The difference here is that the fees should be fixed and any variation needs to be communicated, explained and authorised before proceeding (this mechanism should, where possible be written into the engagement letter).
• Make sure your accountant knows you EXPECT them to stick to their quote
• Make sure your books are in good order – if you hand your accountant a carrier bag full of receipts etc your fees will be very high indeed!
• If your books are not in good order, seek the services of a good bookkeeper – don’t get you accountant to do it – its too expensive and they are unlikely to be a good at it as a good bookkeeper
• If you use a good book-keeper then you should be able to negotiate your fees downward with your accountant
• Don’t keep changing your accountant every year simply to save yourself an additional £50 here and there. Stay with your accountant for at least a few years if you are happy with them – taking on a new client can be time-consuming and until the accountant gets up-to-speed with how you do things you may find your fees actually going up, not down.

Should I go with the cheapest quote I can get?

This is difficult to answer. What I would say is don’t make your decision based on price alone. Don’t however make the assumption so often made that expensive = good. Expensive can, and often does simply = expensive.

If the accountant fits all the above criteria, and is still the cheapest, you know you’re on to a winner!

Atkinson Accountancy aim to provide you with the quality and service of a larger accountancy firm, but for a fraction of the price