Experience of "Bernard Rogers" accountants?

[BrowneIssue]

I am seeking a new accountancy. Been burned by one of the PCG recommended ones so I'm now seeking REAL first hand experience, not pointless certificates they can buy.

I colleague has recommended "Bernard Rogers" http://www.bernard-rogers.co.uk/

Has anyone any bad experience of this accountancy and can warn me off? (Just PM me if you you want to remain anon.)

Have you been using for them over a year and been happy with the service and advice you have had?

The sort of setup I'm looking for:
- I do monthly expenses & income+outgoings sheets and send them on
- I'm happy to do my own VAT
- I want paperwork to come to me, not them
- I want them to do the year end stuff & personal tax
- I want someone who understands IR35 and expenses
- I want someone who will chase me if I haven't provided something

[Crossroads]

I use Quay, and they tick all those boxes.

The only grey area is around IR35 - not that they don't know their stuff - but there is an argument that getting a recognised specialist to give you the all clear is a good thing should you need to defend your IR35 position.

IMHO no accountant can claim to be an IR35 specialist, because they are accountants, not IR35 specialists

[sidknows]

who have you been burned by ?

never hear of bernard rogers but i guess they are mainstream accountants and don't specialise in contractor accounts and I'm not sure if thats a good thing

[malvolio]

I am seeking a new accountancy. Been burned by one of the PCG recommended ones so I'm now seeking REAL first hand experience, not pointless certificates they can buy.

Don't piss about, tell the PCG Office what went wrong and why. The QA certification can't be bought and the PCG will want to know why one of their QA companies has failed to deliver as promised.

As has been said already, any accountant can do the books and the paperwork, what you need is someone who can track all the legislative changes and use them to your best advantage. Someone who hasn't got a good handle on that level of detail themselves may well recommend what they see as a good accountant. That doesn't mean they are the best solution for a contractor's particular business needs, which is why the QA scheme was brought in.

[Fred Bloggs]

what you need is someone who can track all the legislative changes and use them to your best advantage.

Is there an accounting practise that can do that? I know there those who say they can/do but actually doing it is a different thing entirely. In my opinion you need to do your own research/legwork regarding such issues.

[malvolio]

Is there an accounting practise that can do that? I know there those who say they can/do but actually doing it is a different thing entirely. In my opinion you need to do your own research/legwork regarding such issues.

Clearly you do, since you are ultimately responsible for your own actions and you are required to operate YourCo both legally and solvently (is there such a word?).

But who do you ask about the detail implications of what you discover? Us amateurs, an accountant with good all-round expertise, an accountant - QA certified or not - who's done detailed research on all the relevant fields such as IR35, S660a, FBT and the rest, or a trade body full of experts like the PCG or the CIoT? I know which I'd choose...

[Fred Bloggs]

Yes, you're right. The problem is that when I ask 3 different accountants the same question, I get 3 different answers. It's always the same with "experts" though. That's the way things are.

All I am really questioning is that does this firm a highly pro-active contractor expert accountants actually really exist? Or is it (as I suspect) just more marketing hype?

[malvolio]

Ask Simon Dolan of SJD or Alan at Nixon Williams or Darren at Upton. All three post on here and all three have a deep understanding of the small contractor business model. You could argue that they demonstrate such specialists do exist and are not merely marketing vapourware.

Proactive though - that's the tricky bit. All three have said they will answer direct questions, but pushing information out on spec is notoriously difficult to get right.

[Fred Bloggs]

Yes, they exist, just what tangible benefit do they bring to the day to day running of my Ltd co?

[malvolio]

Yes, they exist, just what tangible benefit do they bring to the day to day running of my Ltd co?

Didn't I answer that about three posts earlier? OK, try again - you discover some new/interesting/novel/apparently advantageous accounting option that appears to save you money, like an offshore scheme based out of Lundy or becoming a serial divorcee to get around FBT. Who do you ask if the idea is legal, really workable and financially advantageous?