How to switch

Your accountant plays a key role in the functioning and profitability of your limited company. In addition to managing your accounts, they are responsible for ensuring compliance with tax legislation and helping you to operate as tax efficiently as possible.

If you don’t believe you are getting value for money from your accountant, it may be time to find a new one. Fortunately, changing your contractor accountant can be a seamless process, providing you follow the correct protocol.

Here we look at the steps involved in the changeover process:

1. Write to your existing accountant

You first need to write to your current accountant – an email should suffice unless they request a handwritten letter. You need to advise them that you are changing accountants and ask them to furnish Farda Accountants with any requested information.

You should also indicate if there is an expectation of work to be finalised, for example; “I will require you to complete the financial year-end accounts ending 31/8/2017”.

We can help you with this step to write the email or letter to your existing accountant.

2. Registering with us

As your new accountant and tax adviser we will invite you to meet us face to face in our office. During the meeting we will fill a registration form to capture your personal and business information.

In the same time we will carry out an anti-money laundering check on you by law, so you will typically be required to provide a scan of your passport or drivers’ licence, together with a recent utility bill.

3. Letter of Engagement

As member of professional body we are obliged to send you a ‘Letter of Engagement’ which sets out the expectations and requirements between the two parties.

4. Authorising us to deal with HMRC

You will need to sign a new 64-8 form to authorise us to deal with HMRC on your behalf, for both personal and company tax affairs, or by using HMRC’s online authorisation service.

5. Professional Clearance

We will write to your previous accountants requesting professional clearance. And copies of accounts and tax records, tax returns and any other information we may need.

6. A fresh start

After a few weeks, assuming that there are no hold-ups, all your accounting information should have been transferred and you will be safely on board with us.