Accountant proposes to change company address to its own

[Clare@InTouch]

I would echo what Bagpuss says - sign up to HMRC online and keep an eye on things yourself. The PAYE system is currently pretty worthless, but the ones for CT and SATR are great. You'll be able to see what's due, what's paid, what's refunded etc as well as when documents are filed.

Having the registered office with your accountant shouldn't matter - HMRC should write to the trading address (you) anyway, so all you'll miss out on are the annual return & accounts reminders. You can view these online at Companies House anyway.

[Bagpuss]

I paid the HMRC and the electronic filing system let him carry out the fraud, previously I would have had to sign some paperwork. This is why I would urge anyone to sign up to the online services so they can check their accounts.

Anyway, I would not have the accountant as the registered office, it is YOUR responsibility if returns are not made on time Aside from fraud how many times have we heard "my accountant didnt do this on time, my accountant neglected to do this"? It's much easier if YOU can see what is due and when. It's not like you will get much mail anyway. Your choice at the end of the day.

Oh and googling accountant and fraud bring up many, many hits, now PAYE is moving over to electronic, I (and accounting web) expect there will be more cases.

[eek]

Rubbish. You can't judge an entire industry by the actions of one man. Also having the address registered at Uptons wasn't the problem, it was the fact people were paying him, not HMRC direct.
Completely different.

The risk you mess up your own accounts by not understanding or getting the mailings is much much greater than Uptons happening to you again.

I don't think this a the most reponsible approach you can take to your business affairs.

+1 I do however think we need to look at what happened to Bagpuss and see what we need to do to ensure that we (as directors with final responsibility) everything is done correctly and what is reported is what we expected to be reported.

[Pondlife]

Although it is common and is many contractor's preference I don't do this personally.

The reason being is that as the Director YOU and no one else is responsible for making sure everything is filed on time.

I have a good relationship with my accountant and everything is running smoothly BUT if he did start to get overloaded etc and missed deadlines I wouldn't find out until it was to late as I wouldn't be getting the HMRC/Co Hse reminders that they send.


YMMV

Edit: Oh yeah, and what Cojak said.

[cojak]

Rubbish. You can't judge an entire industry by the actions of one man. Also having the address registered at Uptons wasn't the problem, it was the fact people were paying him, not HMRC direct.
Completely different.

The risk you mess up your own accounts by not understanding or getting the mailings is much much greater than Uptons happening to you again.

I don't think this a the most reponsible approach you can take to your business affairs.

Not true I'm afraid NLUK.

People were paying HMRC directly, Upton was subsequently contacting HMRC and claiming refunds without their knowledge and this was possible in part because relevant documentation wasn't going to the customer.

NW stated that they don't recommend having the accountant as the registered address so I'm with Bumfluff on this.

[northernladuk]

See thread on Uptons accountants, personally I would never have my accountants as the company address, at least if I use my own business address I see everything. In no way I'm I saying all accountants are dodgy but the whole Uptons affair just goes to show trust no one not even you accountant !

Rubbish. You can't judge an entire industry by the actions of one man. Also having the address registered at Uptons wasn't the problem, it was the fact people were paying him, not HMRC direct.
Completely different.

The risk you mess up your own accounts by not understanding or getting the mailings is much much greater than Uptons happening to you again.

I don't think this a the most reponsible approach you can take to your business affairs.

[Bumfluff]

Thanks!

See thread on Uptons accountants, personally I would never have my accountants as the company address, at least if I use my own business address I see everything. In no way I'm I saying all accountants are dodgy but the whole Uptons affair just goes to show trust no one not even you accountant !

[anddrew]

Thanks!

[Craig@Clarity]

Thanks!
Yes, they sent me form AD01 - Change of registered office address.

This means I will not receive any more letters from the Companies House. Actually I just wanted to know if this is normal, i.e. if this is how things are usually done?

Yes, it's very common for people to use their accountants address as the registered office and service address. Some charge for the service, others don't. The change of address can be done on line via web filing.

Hope this helps !

[anddrew]

It's entirely up to you assuming you're the director of the company. I'm guessing that they are suggesting having the registered office address as their address rather than your home address. The registered office address is the address which appears in the public domain and associated to the company. It's also where Companies House send their correspondence. The service address is a similar thing but is the address of the director.

The trading address is would most likely be your home address unless you have a rented office or building somewhere which you trade from. It's not going to be your accountants address.

Thanks!
Yes, they sent me form AD01 - Change of registered office address.

This means I will not receive any more letters from the Companies House. Actually I just wanted to know if this is normal, i.e. if this is how things are usually done?

[Vallah]

Hello!

I am a new contractor, so please forgive my ignorance. I just opened my limited company and then started working with accountant. I set my company address to my home address, but the accountant now proposes to change it to their office address, so they will receive all the documentation directly and "it will be easier".

Please advice: Is this the right thing to do?

Thanks in advance...

It's standard practice really, and ensures that you don't miss important notifications. As long as you're happy with the accountant and the service they provide, there should be no problems.

[Craig@Clarity]

It's entirely up to you assuming you're the director of the company. I'm guessing that they are suggesting having the registered office address as their address rather than your home address. The registered office address is the address which appears in the public domain and associated to the company. It's also where Companies House send their correspondence. The service address is a similar thing but is the address of the director.

The trading address is would most likely be your home address unless you have a rented office or building somewhere which you trade from. It's not going to be your accountants address.

[anddrew]

Hello!

I am a new contractor, so please forgive my ignorance. I just opened my limited company and then started working with accountant. I set my company address to my home address, but the accountant now proposes to change it to their office address, so they will receive all the documentation directly and "it will be easier".

Please advice: Is this the right thing to do?

Thanks in advance...