Why I don't use an accountant....

[GB9]

Bugger the accountants.

Thanks! There's a film in there I think

[ASB]

I think too many people on here take their accounts advice as law, rather than what it is advice, ultimately you will always be responsible for yours and your LtdCo's tax affairs.

A friend of mine works for a practice which has a lot of individual SA clients. She spends her time doing tax returns and filing them. So she slowly but surely drags the info out of them, collates, and eventually files. She send it to the client for review. Most of them say "I don't understand it". She spends days trying to expain, but in general they really aren't interested.

In my case I took the shoebox approach. Whenever he said "sign this" I did. Pay this "I did". At the time I couldn't read a set accounts or similar, also dividends attracted ACT. (Prior to divis it was all salary due to the investment income surcharge)

He was so good that I never had to pay anything beyond the ACT. Result.

It was a formal audit that was required in those days too.

Anyway I got a letter. He'd neglected to mention that there was CT due, just kind of assumed I knew. It was in the books racking up year on year

The letter arrived from a nice HMIT, just before the then 6 year deadline, enquiring if I would mind awfully sending them a cheque for the accumulated liabilities of something in the order of 50k......

That was when I resolved to get a bit more up to speed.

[Brussels Slumdog]

In Belgium I use a Belgian branch of an international Tax consultancy to complete my tax return and privide advice on double taxation agreements as I always contact in more than one country per year. All an accountant can do is prepare financial statements so you need a tax expert.

[vwdan]

I married a management accountant, but I'll still be using a contractor specialist. If there's one thing I've learned from hanging around here and reading (what feels like) half the Internet it's that I'm going to need all the help I can get to both make my company tax efficient and stay whiter than white.

[d000hg]

I married a management accountant, but I'll still be using a contractor specialist. If there's one thing I've learned from hanging around here and reading (what feels like) half the Internet it's that I'm going to need all the help I can get to both make my company tax efficient and stay whiter than white.

Not really, it's very simple.

[NickNick]

Two Montpelier users hit with £23,000 in tax fines :: Contractor UK

"Bernard Litman and Ann Newall, who were husband and wife when they used the Isle of Man firm’s scheme..."

Got to wonder if the reason that their marital status is written in the past tense is down to this investigation, and also to feel sorry for them over what they went through.

[Jessica@WhiteFieldTax]

Agree in part.

The number of people who don't have a basic grasp on the mechanics of their own business from a legal and tax point of view often concerns me. I have email thread going with someone at present, retired professional, runs a B&S, set up a consultancy company on side, won't pay an accounting fee for it, "Too small" and clearly is in a pickle over dividends / salary - the basics - but resents being told, in the context of his personal tax return which we do, that he needs to sort things out. Its a disaster waiting to happen.

However, knowing it all isn't always efficient. I hire IT and telecoms professionals to make things work in my office, its not my skill, and I don't want to learn it. I know roughly what everything in the server room does, I know the difference between a router and a DP, and know enough to recognise BS (eg BT engineer this week: your ADSL isn't working because there is an alarm line on the circuit. Me: try again its been there 12 years and worked till last week).

I'd rather pay someone who knows what they are doing with IT/telecoms to do their bt, so I can do my job with relative e3ase, rather than being mistress of everything.

I'd respectfully suggest it works the other way. Yes, understand the detail of tax and legalities, but the niceties of the format of full accounts v abbreviated accounts, and the content of an iBrxl submission: leave it with people who do it day in day out.

[Jessica@WhiteFieldTax]

Bugger the accountants.

Thanks! There's a film in there I think

I dread to think of the BBFC classification for it. Straight to adult channel I suspect. That or terminal boredom.

[GazCol]

Agree in part.

The number of people who don't have a basic grasp on the mechanics of their own business from a legal and tax point of view often concerns me. I have email thread going with someone at present, retired professional, runs a B&S, set up a consultancy company on side, won't pay an accounting fee for it, "Too small" and clearly is in a pickle over dividends / salary - the basics - but resents being told, in the context of his personal tax return which we do, that he needs to sort things out. Its a disaster waiting to happen.

However, knowing it all isn't always efficient. I hire IT and telecoms professionals to make things work in my office, its not my skill, and I don't want to learn it. I know roughly what everything in the server room does, I know the difference between a router and a DP, and know enough to recognise BS (eg BT engineer this week: your ADSL isn't working because there is an alarm line on the circuit. Me: try again its been there 12 years and worked till last week).

I'd rather pay someone who knows what they are doing with IT/telecoms to do their bt, so I can do my job with relative e3ase, rather than being mistress of everything.

I'd respectfully suggest it works the other way. Yes, understand the detail of tax and legalities, but the niceties of the format of full accounts v abbreviated accounts, and the content of an iBrxl submission: leave it with people who do it day in day out.

iXBRL?

[Jessica@WhiteFieldTax]

iXBRL?

Yes, something like that. I had a 50:50 chance of getting it wrong **ashamed face**