Hello
Thank you for your time. I am ACCA qualified with 5 years industry experience and I need 30 months experience before I can get a practice certificate. I have a young family and the best option for me now is to set up in business. Because of ACCA restrictions I can only offer bookkeeping services but I can confidently produce a set of accounts.
I have met someone (Mr T) with a practice certificate but is still working in full time employment and has 4 clients of his own. We have had a brief discussion and he is quite happy to supervise my work and do the tax computations for clients I get for a fee.
What is the best way to make this partnership work? Should I advertise accountancy services under Mr T's company and help him grow his practice in exchange for experience and my practice record being signed off? Alternatively should I focus on looking for bookkeeping clients under my own company and if any of my clients need filing of accounts I do it under Mr T's supervision?
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Replies (5)
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Hold your Horses...
I would really advise against going into any business relationship like this at present.
Bookkeeping and management accounts should be the area of work you seek out first. As for getting your practice record signed off, don't just consider Mr T for this. Sorry to sound selfish on your behalf, but the only person's practice that should be helped to grow is your own.
You should try to keep your options as open as possible until you've experienced the exciting new world you're launching into.
Thank you
Hi Moonbeam,
Thank you for your reply. I suppose my biggest fear is if I will be able to get enough bookkeeping work to live on. My thoughts are it is easier to market accounting (which ACCA doesn't allow me to do). You are right I need to grow my practice
Not familiar
I don't know what the ACCA rules on practicing are but is there a possibility that you could form a company with shareholders who aren't you and be employed by the company? I suspect it isn't as easy as that but it might be.
Bookkeeping and Management Accounts
@Violet2005 - I specialised in bookkeeping and management accounts for many years and did hardly any tax work. Although I do more tax work now and am planning to do less bookkeeping in the future, I will still get involved in management accounts for the larger companies where I don't feel I am experienced enough in the corporation tax side of things.
The companies that will pay good money for this are the larger ones, and they will be glad of your experience outside the profession. I always marketed myself as an accountant who does bookkeeping, and/or is the offsite Financial Controller. Incidentally the service rarely involved appearing at their premises.
Different companies want different things and as you know yourself from your commercial experience, personality will get you a long way forward. If the MD can see you as their right hand person they will hand you all manner of interesting work and as long as you make sure the work you do is less book-keeping but more management accounts based you could make a good living on this.
I know your aim is to do more tax. In the course of your management accounts work you will bump into one or two good accountancy practices that may be prepared to help you with your practice record. I might add that many of the accountants I've had to liaise with over the years have been extremely snooty towards me. (It came as quite a shock to me to discover from being on Aweb that there are some very helpful accountants out there!)
I am sure you can use this business model with variations to get cracking.