Accountant recommendation please (London)

[czar1]

I'm a newbie and am also looking for an accountant. I was previously using an umbrella company (Parasol) and am looking to set up a limited company for this new role. From what I've seen in the forums, it looks like SJD and Nixon Williams seem to be the ones people go to, though there was a post here about InTouch.

Any recommendations? I am looking to minismise the amount of paperwork that I need to do so I'm willing to pay more for that convenience. Just not sure about ClearSky having read about the price hike in another thread.

[ratewhore]

My recommendation would be to get on top of this yourself as much as possible because you are ultimately responsible for the figures your accountant gives you.

Don't get sucked in to using a 'contractor specialist' accountant because I have been through 3 over the years and they have all been crap in their own way, including delivering incorrect figures.

I do my own accounts now, however, if I was to engage an accountant, it would be a local one who I could go and sit down with.

Just my humble opinion based on my experiences...

[Nixon Williams]

Don't get sucked in to using a 'contractor specialist' accountant because I have been through 3 over the years and they have all been crap in their own way, including delivering incorrect figures.

From our experience of taking over accounts from other accountants I can understand your comments, but it unfair to assume that they are all the same.

We are aware of "specialists" and local accountants who appear to have no idea what they are doing but we manage to get the client back on track.

Examples of errors we have seen (from both types of "accountant") are treating dividends as an expense, reporting company gross turnover as salary income on the tax return, not claiming the VAT Flat Rate saving. None of the clients were are aware of this until be pointed it out.

In what way were your past accountants "crap" it would be interesting to hear your views.

Alan

[ratewhore]

In what way were your past accountants "crap" it would be interesting to hear your views.

Alan

1st accountants - service level and communication rapidly went through the floor until I ended up doing most of the work myself in order to hit payment deadlines.
2nd accountants - basic costs and extra charges kept going up and up. Became arrogant to the point of rudeness. Brought in more junior staff, including Eastern Europeans which brought translation difficulties, which all led to increased innacuracies.
3rd accountants - service level rapidly dropped off until I did most of the work myself. Missed payment deadlines leading to fines. After a rudimentary check of all the figures they have delivered over the last 3 years, it would seem they are not correct by up to tens of thousands of pounds. Now no longer communicate and I doubt I will see last years figures on time to pay my CT bill.

All 3 were not proactive in terms of tax planning (low salary, high divvy does not constitute tax planning to me). All 3 are popular 'contractor specialists' found on this website (or were. I think the 1st is out of business now).

So, I now do my own accounts. If I need assistance, like I said, I will find a local accountant who I can develop a relationship with.

[Wanderer]

Examples of errors we have seen (from both types of "accountant") are treating dividends as an expense, reporting company gross turnover as salary income on the tax return, not claiming the VAT Flat Rate saving. None of the clients were are aware of this until be pointed it out.

That's pretty shoddy. I presume there is little or no comeback against accountants who make dumb mistakes like this?

In what way were your past accountants "crap" it would be interesting to hear your views.

My impression of one of the "contractor specialist" accountants is that they seem to want to want to put everyone one a conveyor belt, one size fits all etc. Different people deal with company formation, PAYE, VAT, self assessment, P11d, year end etc. They also seem to be very reluctant to recommend that contractors follow what appear to be standard practices (pay minimum salary and dividend split with your spouse).

I don't know why this is, perhaps they want to keep their head below the parapet and to not upset HMRC too much.

[Andrew@Wisteria]

My recommendation would be to get on top of this yourself as much as possible because you are ultimately responsible for the figures your accountant gives you.

Don't get sucked in to using a 'contractor specialist' accountant because I have been through 3 over the years and they have all been crap in their own way, including delivering incorrect figures.

I do my own accounts now, however, if I was to engage an accountant, it would be a local one who I could go and sit down with.

Just my humble opinion based on my experiences...

The main advantage of going with a contractor accountant is that they can advise on IR35 status (or indeed some carry out a contract review - personally I think this should be left for the Lawyers!) They will hopefully be aware of recent case law developments either via PCG courses or otherwise.

Furthermore, contractor accountants typically may have relationships with other contractor service providers (e.g. mortgage brokers) who they can refer on should the client need this specialist advice. This is something we do for all our clients, and they appreciate it.

[Jessica@WhiteFieldTax]

There's good and bad with everything, and one or two shoddy accountants don't mean all are - otherwise we wouldn't survive long!

It's a brave person who says things never go wrong or they never make a mistake; the real measure is sorting things out promptly and communicating if things do go wrong/ client isn't happy. Sometimes it's an expectation gap between what client wants as a service v what accountants want to deliver, and the best option can be to part on good terms.

Good luck in your search.

[stevep2342]

Canary Wharf/City Accountant

I've started contracting thru my own limited company.

Got the basics started - bank account, VAT registration, invoicing, etc.

I now need an accountant to sort tax, NI, VAT payments, expenses, company accounts and putting my wife's small education business into the mix.

Talking to more experienced contractors they recommend face to face meetings at the start and then doing your own booking keeping with support from the Accountant on the more complex work later on.

Anyone able to share recommendations for that kind of accountancy support based either in the City (where I work) or Canary Wharf (where I live).

Thanks for any help

Stephen

[northernladuk]

I've started contracting thru my own limited company.

Got the basics started - bank account, VAT registration, invoicing, etc.

I now need an accountant to sort tax, NI, VAT payments, expenses, company accounts and putting my wife's small education business into the mix.

Talking to more experienced contractors they recommend face to face meetings at the start and then doing your own booking keeping with support from the Accountant on the more complex work later on.

Anyone able to share recommendations for that kind of accountancy support based either in the City (where I work) or Canary Wharf (where I live).

Thanks for any help

Stephen

You have had a scan of the accountant recommendation sticky haven't you?

[amcdonald]

Just be careful who you choose and don't end up with someone like this, do some due dilgence and shop around for accountants...