Does your existing accountant give you the business advice you need?

xeinadin

Date:

Category:

Share this article:

We explain here how easy it is to switch from an accountant to an accountant that offers business advice, and why you probably will be better off with the latter.

What do you need to consider before switching?

Before you make any decisions, it’s good to think about what it is you need, or take the other way around and think about what you don’t like about your current accountant. These questions will help you in your considerations and with making the right choice:

  • If you speak with your accountant, does he or she ask the right questions?
  • Is there flexibility for regular contact with your accountant via phone or email when you need it? And do they have regular meetings and calls booked in throughout the year?
  • Is your accountant helping you realise your goals and dreams, even if they’re not directly business-related?
  • Do you want an accountant that is mainly focusing on your past or on your future?
  • How well does your accountant know you and your business?
  • Does your accountant know what you want to achieve in life? Or when and how you want to retire?
  • Does your accountant offer value-added services such as Business growth advice, Strategic tax planning, KPI setting and retirement planning, etcetera?
  • Who most often notices business opportunities: you or your accountant?

Compile a top 3
When you know what it is you need from an accountant, we suggest you ask around for a recommendation first. If that doesn’t yield any suggestions, we suggest you do your own online research by looking at client reviews. Compile a top 3 and interview the accountants online by asking them how they are going to meet your needs and support your business. You can then make your choice based on the interviews, followed by making an appointment with your number 1 accountant to meet each other (online) and discover if there’s a mutual click.

Tip
Consider the timing of the switch to ensure a swift changeover. Ideally, you will want to choose a date when there is little active business between you and your existing accountant.

Why choosing a business advisor over an accountant can help you grow

First, let’s illustrate the general difference between the two: where a traditional accountant would calculate year-end figures and show them to you, a business advisor would set KPI’s (Key Performance Indicators) for the forthcoming year and review them regularly to keep you, the business owner, on track. Regularly reviewing those KPI’s means you can take action to improve anything that is not performing well before waiting until the year-end to find out.

Furthermore, a business advisor can help your business grow and inspire you to get from where you are now, to where you want to be. For instance, by developing a growth strategy to achieve your goals and/or by helping you access the right funding to turn your ideas into reality.

Particularly SMEs who are under more economic, political, and regulatory pressure than ever, are looking for firms that go beyond traditional accountancy services

As business advisors, we have noticed that particularly SMEs who are under more economic, political, and regulatory pressure than ever, are looking for firms that go beyond traditional accountancy services. To help you find that (local) firm, we’ve made a so-called Firm Finder. Click the button below to access and use it to locate a suitable business advisor near you.

3 simple steps to changing accountant

Switching to a Xeinadin firm as your (local) business advisor, we will make sure that it takes you as little time and effort as possible to get the change done. This is what we arrange for you:

Step 1: termination letter
We’ll send your current accountant a termination letter, informing him that you’re switching to another firm and for asking him to provide us with the information we need.

Step 2: registration
Providing the outgoing accountant has cooperated with your requests, it’s time to authorise us to manage your tax affairs and deal with HMRC on your behalf. This requires signing a new 64-8 form, or using HMRC’s online authorisation service.

We are legally obliged to carry out an anti-money laundering inspection on you

Furthermore, you’ll receive a registration form from us, with the intention of obtaining your personal and company information. This is in addition to a ‘letter of engagement’, which we will issue to set out mutual expectations and requirements. We are also legally obliged to carry out an anti-money laundering inspection on you.

Step 3: professional clearance
We will write to your previous accountant requesting a professional clearance, explaining to him that you have contacted a new accountant to represent you and if there are any professional reasons as to why they should not accept the appointment. The letter requesting documents from the previous accountant will include a request for any copies of accounts, tax records, tax returns and any other info we may need.

Just a few weeks later, all your accounting information should have been transferred to us, meaning that we’re good to go.

Contact us if you need advice or support changing from an accountant to a business advisor. We’re always happy to help.

This website uses cookies

With these cookies, we and third parties can collect information about you and your internet behaviour, both within and outside our website. Based on this, we and third parties adjust the website, our communication, and advertisements to your interests and profile. You can read more information in our cookie statement.

If you opt for acceptance, we will place all cookies. If you opt for rejection, we will only place functional and analytical cookies. You can adjust your preferences at a later time.

Accept Reject More options

This website uses cookies

With these cookies, we and third parties can collect information about you and your internet behaviour, both within and outside our website. Based on this, we and third parties adjust the website, our communication, and advertisements to your interests and profile. You can read more information in our cookie statement.

Functional cookies
Arrow down

Functional cookies are essential for the proper functioning of our website. They allow us to enable basic functions such as page navigation and access to secure areas. These cookies do not collect personal information and cannot be disabled.

Analytical cookies
Arrow down

Analytical cookies help us gain insight into how visitors use our website. We collect anonymised data about page interactions and navigation, enabling us to continuously improve our site.

Marketing cookies
Arrow down

Marketing cookies are used to track visitors when they visit different websites. The goal is to display relevant advertisements to the individual user. By allowing these cookies, you help us show you relevant content and offers.

Accept all Save

Name

Subtitle
Developer
Location
They are focussed on creating a future-focused and relationship-driven culture, that keeps its promises to you, our team members, and partners.
Xeinadin