A search for accountants in Leeds on Google or the Yellow Pages brings up numerous results for accountancy firms – but can they provide the professional service you are looking for? Are they appropriately qualified? Are they regulated by a professional accountancy body?

It’s imperative to get this decision right as not all accountants are the same. Indeed, there is no requirement that an accountant needs to be professionally qualified at all!

You may feel you can do this by yourself, but unless you have had the appropriate training it is advisable to appoint an accountancy firm in Leeds to act as your Accountants and Tax Agents. For the non-specialist, tax returns and accounts preparation is very complex so it’s best done by an expert. For example, if you are a sole trader you can prepare your own accounts and tax returns, but if you get this wrong you may be faced with significant liabilities for tax, interest and penalties.

They are:

Chartered Accountants, either the ICAEW (Institute of Chartered Accountants in England & Wales) or ICAS (Institute of Chartered Accountants in Scotland), or

Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA: Association of Chartered Certified Accountants)

These are professional accountancy bodies and they have the highest standards to admit new members. New members (Accountants) have to pass tough entrance exams.

Accountants Leeds.

• You are in business
• You are an employee with one or more employments and investment income (such as interest received and dividend income) which then takes you into the higher rate tax band;
• You receive rental income from property
• You have made capital disposals (for capital gains tax purposes) which need to be reported on the tax return
• You have received income from a trust, settlement or a deceased person’s estate

The above list is not exhaustive and if in doubt you must seek proper professional advice.

The answer will depend on your personal and business circumstances and perhaps on your aims and goals for your business.

It’s vital to get advice on this and other questions at the outset so that:

• The business is set up in the right trading format. Your accountant will advise you of the commercial pros and cons of each of the potential structures for your business. Also, there are differing tax implications for each of the business structures and your Accountant should be able to advise you on them. Also, they will advise you on any tax planning which may be appropriate.

• The business is registered as appropriate with the HMRC (you may be liable to interest and penalties if the registration is not within the right timescale). In particular you may need to register for Tax, PAYE, National Insurance and VAT.

• If you are going to set up a limited company then the company will need to be set up appropriately including of course with Companies House.

• You can receive advice on setting up a good bookkeeping/accounting system. You can of course do your own ‘books’ but if needed you can employ a bookkeeper to keep your accounting records up to date. Bookkeepers can be employed on a part-time or full-time basis. Or indeed your Accountant will probably be able to provide you with a bookkeeping service. You will appreciate that there are all sorts of requirements for keeping proper accounting records and falling foul of these requirements can be very expensive, not only because of the penalties you may incur, but also from not knowing how your business is performing financially. Without proper records you can lose track of how much your customers owe you and how much you owe your suppliers. Proper accounting records must be maintained from the time you start incurring business expenses.

• Your bookkeeping accounting systems can be manual (e.g. a handwritten cash book) or computerised. Again your Accountant can advise.

• Are you looking to raise any finance for your new business venture? If yes, seek the advice of an Accountant experienced in helping businesses raise funding, including in drawing up Business Plans. Your Accountant should also be able to advise you on The Enterprise Finance Guarantee Scheme, which a source of funding from banks.

1. You could go on a personal recommendation, but that’s no guarantee that the Accountant your friend recommends will do a good job for you. Make a list of services you require, for example and if appropriate, can they prepare a business plan for you and help with raising finance? Can they provide a bookkeeping service, etc? Also, go and meet them and see if the ‘chemistry’ is right. Are they friendly? You want your accountant to be someone you can get on with and trust.
2. Do they belong to a professional body, e.g. ICAEW, ICAS or the ACCA?
3. Are they the right size accountancy firm for your business? If your’s is in the start-up phase, or it’s a small business, then choose a smallish accountancy firm to act for you. Their fees are likely to be more competitive and they might empathise more with your small business. Also, generally, the larger the firm the higher the fees will be.
4. Most accountants offer a free initial meeting, so take them up on this and see if they offer the services you are looking for. Don’t be afraid to ask questions, including about their fees. Do they offer a fixed fee service? This is particularly important when your business is small, and cash flow is tight, and you don’t want any unexpected bills. But, as always, cost should not be the only factor when appointing an Accountant. It’s advisable to meet 3 firms and then make your decision.
5. Will they let you speak to one or two existing clients? If yes, this will give you a better idea of the level of service they provide.
6. You want to appoint a firm which is proactive (e.g. a monthly newsletter might be a good indication of this) with their advice and accessible when you wish to speak to them or to meet them.
7. If you are in a specialist business sector, e.g. a dentist, a doctor, a solicitor, construction industry, and so on, then ask if they have experience with clients in your sector. This is important as specialist knowledge may be required and you don’t really want them to learn on your job.

When you have made a decision to change, use the 7 tips outlined above to find your new accountants in Leeds. Then write to your current accountants and advise them of your decision to change accountants and advise them of the new firm who will be acting for you.

There is one professional procedure which still needs to be complied with, i.e. the firm you wish to appoint as your new accountants will write to the existing accountants to ask whether they know of any professional reason why they should not accept the appointment. This is called asking for professional clearance to act as the new accountants. This is normally just a formality.

Also, your new accountants will ask your old accountants for certain accounts and tax information (which they will require to prepare your next accounts and tax return) so that the change of accountants is a smooth one.

Finally, the new accountants will advise the HMRC that they are your new accountants and tax agents.