To 'Accountant' or not to 'Accountant' - tis the question?

[Ardesco]

I see lots of people are making it sound very easy, the big catch is if they change the rules....

Your accountant will constantly keep updated on all the latest changes to rules, how they affect you and what they need to do to ensure you make as much profit as possible one the new rules come in. They can advise changes in the way you extract money from the company and they can also double check everything you do to make sure you haven't screwed up letting the taxman get his foot in the door for a substantial fine.

Do you have enough time to read every snippet of information that comes out of HMRC as well as gigging full time? Are you sure you are always doing everything in the most tax efficient way possible? Is it worth the risk that you could be doing it wrong?

I would suggest an accountant is the smart option, watch all the people without one come on here and ask stupid questions, who knows if they get the right advice given to them, after all we are not accountants....

[hgllgh]

but surely there is a case to be made for a simple one man band ltd co.
Get on the flat rate VAT, calculate PAYE from the HMRC employers CD. To do this there isn't much that changes so there's not that much monitoring needed for HMRC rule changes?

I always found that I got more advice out of these forums than from my accountant and that the advice needed was few and far between in any case.
Also, I had late payments due to my accountant being too slow, or things going missing in the post and on occasion they made mistakes which I had to correct them on! (so if you are checking, may aswell DIY)

[spoons]

'You pays your money, you takes your choice'

IMHO - It all depends on you attitude to risk.

I personally feel more comfortable knowing that the accountant is there double checking things.