What makes a good Accountant?

What makes a good Accountant?

Didn't find your answer?

I'm coming from the perspective of running small businesses and I'm interested to know what the profession thinks constitutes doing a good job for their client?

I've had a hunt around on the forum and the ACCA website and ICAEW website and it seems they just recommend choosing a fully qualified accountant. Fair enough but surely only half the story.

I'm sure nobody is going to list why they're bad (!) but a few bullet points on why people think they're good would be very welcome.

And I'm guessing anyone that replies in the next couple of hours is either suitably organised or at least has their clients well trained!

Replies (22)

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By cparker87
31st Jan 2014 22:02

I'd say the opposite

Anyone still working now (me included) is pretty disorganised and needs to learn a lesson from this January.

Self-deprecation aside, I like to think my good points are:

 

Personable and available at times convenient to the Client; it's been pretty key to allow for calls in an evening/weekend whilst I've been growing my business.Learning to say no; I've known many Accountants who can't say no, can't possibly deliver bad news etc. but I find it's often better received than you might expect - they pay you to stay on the right side of the law.Good general technical knowledge; knowing that if action A happens, then B might or will affect the client in the future.

You limited me to a few bullets so I won't go on :)

 

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By Jekyll and Hyde
01st Feb 2014 07:49

experience with small businesses
Someone that has a lot of experience helping small businesses, knowing the important issues and the not so important issues and communicating these across to clients.

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By Ken Howard
01st Feb 2014 09:33

Good customer service

Obviously, knowing your job and not making mistakes is at the top of the list.  It goes without saying that anyone buying your service expects you to do the basic job right.  No one would engage a client and expect mistakes to be made.

For me, gimmicks such as out of hours access is the bottom of the list.  Clients don't "need" it.  I used to offer to visit clients in the evenings and weekends and took calls at home at all hours, but it was roundly abused.  After a couple of particularly annoying incidents, I called a halt to it.  Funnily enough, every single client who "needed" me to visit them, or "needed" to see me in an evening or weekend suddenly found they could fit it a meeting at my office during the M-F daytime after all!  Funny that! 

No, I put my practice success (lots of referrals, virtually no losses to other firms, etc) down to being proactive, organised and efficient.  By proactive, I mean keeping on top of them for returns/accounts/tax being due long before deadlines,  Accounts jobs are turned around within days, rather than weeks or months, emails are replied to virtually immediately (during office hours).  I aim to ensure that no client is ever left in limbo, either waiting for their accounts, waiting for an email answer, wondering how much tax is due and when, wondering if their returns are all up to date.  

I hate it when I have to chase up professionals, such as solicitors, surveyors, etc., who can often leave you in the dark for weeks, with you thinking/hoping that they're working away in the background as deadlines loom, only to find out a month or two later, that they've not even started or are now waiting for someone else (that could have been asked for weeks ago if they'd looked at the file then!).  I make sure I never make my clients feel like that! 

 

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By gembrain
01st Feb 2014 12:19

Like it!

Thanks for the replies so far.

Interesting the different views on availability. I suppose a start up in its early stages may need urgent advice but as a user of the services I can't see that it should be important. The only time I've phoned my accountant out of hours is when he got the calculations wrong!

Experience is one of those lovely words that definitely means different things to different people. I used to have applicants for my trade that claimed 20 years experience as a major plus for their credentials. Unfortunately there were far too many that had maybe learned something in their first 5 years and then just repeated it for the next 15. We didn't have CPD though.

One example on your side that may give you all a painful laugh though is a single practice near me where he is still doing personal returns for people but flatly refuses to use a computer! He gets a friend to do his online work....! So a friend of mine who let out his flat and took some more money on the mortgage (still well below the equity value at start of letting) was told he couldn't claim the interest as tax deductible. Sent him the links to HMRC site but the accountant couldn't (wouldn't) look!

Great to see the word "proactive". I did a search on it before posting this question as it was uppermost in my mind and it hardly makes an appearance. I am a bit (a lot) of a last minute larry so although I send my accountant full TB, BS, and P&L so he only needs to really punch in the figures I do leave it far later than is necessary. My accountant's suggested solution this year? Move the end of my financial year so its not January! 

Would be most interesting to know how proactive people think an accountant should be and in what areas?

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Replying to Glennzy:
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By chatman
04th Feb 2014 11:14

Really?

gembrain wrote:
I send my accountant full TB, BS, and P&L so he only needs to really punch in the figures

If this is true, why do you need an accountant?

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Replying to Peter Cane:
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By gembrain
04th Feb 2014 12:21

Really?

chatman wrote:

If this is true, why do you need an accountant?

Good question - and one of the reasons for the post initially. I have no knowledge of all the rules for presentation (we've got a couple of closely associated companies) and have never really gone into trying to work out the CT other than make sure it looks reasonable. If you like I'm basically relying on my accountant to take my figures and make them correctly presentable for the taxman.

This year the tax just didn't look right and it turned out his tax software (or his method of input) had not allowed for wear and tear allowance. The figures were in there but no effective allowance in the final calc. Needless to say I wasn't overly impressed.

Couple that with the fact that I've been extremely dumb the last couple of years on income extraction and I'm thinking it may be time to move to someone more suitable.

The question was really to get views from the other side of the equation to see what I should expect so that I have a better mental checklist and therefore get a better match.

I have to say all of the answers have been useful so far - including the ones that maybe answered a different question :) 

 

 

 

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Replying to Glennzy:
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By I'msorryIhaven'taclue
04th Feb 2014 12:16

Proactivity

gembrain wrote:

Would be most interesting to know how proactive people think an accountant should be and in what areas?

Hmmm, proactive to me is synonomous with racking up expense. I had a proactive waiter recently who buzzed round me like Basil Fawlty; he bugged me by hovering nearby and topping up my glass every time I took a sip. I guess in his mind he was earning himself extra payment in the form of a juicy tip; for my part, I reduced his tip to zero. Clearly "proactive" did neither of us much good.

How proactive would you like your accountant to be? Would you like him to toothcomb vigorously through everything, or take the pragmatic view to let certain sleeping dogs lie? Don't forget, the ultimate in proactivity is to secretly and covertly report your employer to the authorities, something we are all bound to do under penalty of imprisonment otherwise, for minor misdemeanours such as for example you or your other employees over-claiming expenses by £1. Or he might feel compelled to monitor closely everyone's private use of the internet.

Besides, proactivity to me is synonomous with expense, and isn't always worthwhile:

Once upon a time there was a shepherd looking after his sheep on the edge of a deserted road. Suddenly a brand new BMW screeches to a halt next to him. The driver, a young man dressed in a pin-striped suit and tie gets out and asks the shepherd "If I guess how many sheep you do have, you give me one of them?"

The shepherd looks at the young man, then looks at the grazing sheep and says "Alright"

The young man parks the car, connects the notebook and the mobile, scans the ground using his GPS, opens a database and 60 excel tables filled with algorithms, then prints a 150-pages report on his high-tech mini printer. He then turns to the shepherd and says "You have exactly 1586 sheep here."

The shepherd answers "That's correct, you can have your sheep." The young man takes the sheep and puts it in the boot of his car. The shepherd looks at him and asks "If I guess your profession, will you return my sheep to me?" The young man replies "Yes, why not."

The shepherd says "You are an Accountant!"

"How did you know?" asks the young man.

"Very simple," answers the shepherd: "First you come here without being called. Second, you charge me to tell me something I already knew. Third, you do not understand anything about what I do, because you took my dog!"

 

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By zebaa
01st Feb 2014 13:30

When I buy.

I am in the position where I do several things. One of them is as a director of a company which has the accounts audited.

The things I hate are waffle & overcharging. Waffle is where the presenting accountants speak for an hour and assume we are all idiots who know nothing. Overcharging is where, for example, the accountant charges an extra £500 for presenting the aforementioned waffle.

Things I value: Problems presented in a clear & concise manner - the possible choices for rectification - and a recommendation of choice & why. 

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Glenn Martin
By Glenn Martin
01st Feb 2014 15:48

Honesty and reliability
You need to be trusted and get the basic things right to give comfort to your clients that once things are passed to you they are in safe hands. You also need to understand how your client business operates and not just present him with a set of accounts and a bill, but offer a few extras as to how they can save/make extra money by some added advice which comes with experience. I also have to like people to do business with them so that's works both ways so I guess people like me also. I look after a few contractors who like the out of ours meetings which I don't mind as they would lose money seeing me during day time I just balance my hours over the week to compensate.

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Image is of a pin up style woman in a red dress with some of her skirt caught in the filing cabinet. She looks surprised.
By Monsoon
02nd Feb 2014 12:45

Someone you find easy to talk to.

Friendly

Responds promptly

Communicates well

Speaks in plain English, not jargon

Cares about all clients no matter how small

All the other stuff like professionalism, reliability Etc should come as standard.

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By bernard michael
03rd Feb 2014 12:39

Endless patience at all times

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By Catherine.Pips
03rd Feb 2014 19:56

Speciality & communication
1) accountancy is such a big subject now. Does the prospective accountant offer the services or specialities you need? Online accounting, vat, CIS, audit, trusts, farms etc etc
2) can you communicate with them - on line or in person its your choice. Language, opening hours, etc etc - two way communication!

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By I'msorryIhaven'taclue
04th Feb 2014 11:07

Good for You?

What makes a good accountant? That depends upon your perspective:

A cheapskate client might regard an accountant who is too timid, repressed, or unconfrontational to charge for their services (and so ends up offering 'Free Unlimited Access') as "good";

A twister of a client might regard an accountant who is too passive to stand up for himself, his ethics, or his morals (and so can easily be pushed into complicity) as rather ideal;

A meglomaniac empire-building client might regard an accountant who is a creep and a yes-man as being just the ticket;

A large corporation might regard a wet-behind-the-years accountant who can be moulded into the company's thinking and methodology as desirable; whereas for a small business a good accountant is one with a few miles on the clock who knows the ropes.

Get the idea? Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. From where I'm sat, a good accountant is one who makes money, drives a Porsche, and holidays three times a year. Oh, and assertive too - essential if one wishes to avoid being prey to cheapskates, twisters, meglomaniacs, or large corporates. 

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By andy.partridge
04th Feb 2014 12:26

Emotional intelligence

I have more than I used to but you can never have enough. I know if I had more I would be a better accountant.

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By andy.partridge
04th Feb 2014 12:28

Proactivity

That's the one thing that all clients say they want, but few seem to want to pay for.

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By pauljohnston
04th Feb 2014 12:30

Having considered the above

I believe you are looking for a more procative accountant. One that brings to you attention when items (say year end planning) need to be considered.

But if you are looking at the cost, he or she wont be the chaepest

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By mydoghasfleas
04th Feb 2014 12:35

Proactive

Avoid any accountant who says, "I am proactive", or "I meet with clients".  I have never understood how adding pro to active develops the latter and you meet clients.  So taking Monsoon's well made pointers, such accountants fail by making the simplest langauge more complicated.

Look for someone who answers the question and offers the reasons why rather than offers the reason why then suggests an answer.  As the client you are busy if you do not like the recommendation you are unlikely to go through with it, so may not want to wade through what you see as guff to find the recommendation.  If you see and like the recommendation straight, you can decide if you like the suggestion; the reasons why offer support.  In any event you recognise the accountant as being able to set out your options clearly.

I would add one more to Monsoon's list -

Someone who listens to you; otherwise how will they ever understand your business and your concerns?

 

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By pauljohnston
04th Feb 2014 12:55

Proactive accountant

in my book is one who looks ahead.  Thus say 3 months before the year end he brings to his clients attention items that he should be considering before the year end that may be could save tax eg Pension PLanning and if a Ltd Co the declaration of a dividend to mop up "director's loan balances..

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Red Leader
By Red Leader
04th Feb 2014 13:09

my view

1) One who listens to the client, and

2) who recognises when the prospect is a good match - or not - and accepts or declines on that basis.

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By Mark Three
04th Feb 2014 14:22

Proactive

I have always hated the word - and like Andy Partridge, I tell my clients that we are not 'pro-active' but we are happy to have an ongoing dialogue.  That way they choose if they want to pay for the extra input.  I wouldn't equate being organised with being pro-active - although I would rate being organised/efficient far higher.

No accountant should drive a Porsche unless it's a 1950s classic.

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By macaulay147
04th Feb 2014 16:12

Looking ahead

If your accountant has not discussed income extraction with you then he is not a good accountant. A good accountant should be looking at where you are, where you want to go and then help you get there in the most efficient manner considering both tax and practicality.

Unfortunately this will not be the cheapest accountant but the money saved will more than make up for this.

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Replying to DJKL:
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By gembrain
04th Feb 2014 19:06

Brilliant

macaulay147 wrote:

A good accountant should be looking at where you are, where you want to go and then help you get there in the most efficient manner considering both tax and practicality.

What a perfect one sentence summary. Thank you, and thanks to all those who have commented.

Combine the comments together in whatever proportions suit the customer and there IS an answer!

 

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