Changing Accountants: Preparing Records for a Clear Handover

Thinking about changing accountants but worried about what happens to your records, your deadlines, and the work that’s already half done? It’s a common worry, and it’s usually easier to manage than people expect. A clear handover comes down to three lists: the work that’s finished, the work that’s still due, and the records your new accountant needs to pick things up.

Changing accountants is a normal business decision. Your needs change, your business grows, or you simply want a different kind of service. Whatever the reason, the aim is the same: nothing falls between the two firms, and your new accountant starts from an accurate picture. Here’s how to prepare for that.

Decide what’s moving

Start with what you actually need. Perhaps your bookkeeping has outgrown the time you can give it, you’d like more regular figures during the year, or you just want someone who explains things in plain English. A clear requirement makes the first conversation with a new firm far more useful than a general sense that things could be better.

Then list every part of your affairs your current accountant handles. A limited company’s accounts, your personal self-assessment return, the payroll, VAT returns, and a rental property can each be separate pieces of work with separate authorisations. Don’t assume one conversation covers all of them.

Our tax services are only one part of what we can pick up, so it helps to share the full list at the start. That way the quote, the engagement letter, and the handover all describe the same work.

If the move follows a disagreement, keep your notes short and factual. Record the issue, any relevant correspondence, and any deadline it affects. Your new accountant needs to know about unresolved matters, but what they’ll mostly want to know is what needs doing next.

Give every deadline an owner

The riskiest part of any change is a deadline that each firm assumes the other is dealing with. Make a simple list of what’s coming up over the next few months: accounts, tax returns, VAT returns, payroll submissions, and payments. For each one, note the period it covers, the due date shown on your HMRC or Companies House account, and how far the work has got.

Keep filing and paying as separate lines on that list. Submitting a return and paying the tax it shows are two different jobs, and finishing one doesn’t finish the other.

Then ask both firms to confirm in writing who’ll handle each item. It’s perfectly normal for the outgoing accountant to finish work already in progress while the new one picks up from the next period. Here’s an illustrative example, not a rule: a company might move its monthly bookkeeping in November while its current accountant finishes the accounts for a year that has already ended. That works well when everyone knows where the line sits and who answers questions about each side of it.

Don’t cancel software access or stop a payroll run just because you’ve had a first meeting with someone new. Agree the order of events first. A short, well managed overlap is usually safer than a sudden cut-off that leaves records out of reach.

Professional clearance

Before a new accountant takes you on, they’ll usually ask your permission to contact your current accountant. This is often called professional clearance. Professional bodies generally expect their members to make this enquiry, partly to check there’s no professional reason they shouldn’t act, and partly to ask for the information needed to carry on the work.

ICAEW’s helpsheet on changes in professional appointment sets out how this works for its members, and it’s a useful plain explanation of the process. It’s a courtesy between professionals and a sensible safeguard for you. It isn’t a request for your old accountant’s permission to leave.

You can help by telling your current accountant about the change yourself, politely and in writing, and by confirming who they should deal with. Most handovers are straightforward when everyone knows what’s expected. If there are outstanding fees or a question about particular working papers, treat that as a separate conversation and check your engagement letter. A blog post can’t settle a contractual question, so ask for advice on your own situation.

Gather the records behind your figures

Your own business records, such as sales invoices, purchase receipts, bank statements, and bookkeeping files, are the heart of any handover. Your new accountant will also want your last set of accounts and tax returns so they can see the figures they’re building on. Ask them for a list of what they need rather than sending everything in one unsorted folder. Useful things to pull together include:

1. Latest accounts and returns. The most recent year-end accounts, corporation tax or self-assessment returns, and recent VAT returns.
2. Bookkeeping records. The current file or export, plus bank reconciliations up to the latest date they were done.
3. Balances still open. Lists of customers who owe you money and suppliers you still owe.
4. Payroll details. Employee records and year-to-date pay and deduction figures if payroll is moving part way through the tax year.
5. Supporting schedules. Loans, finance agreements, and any assets the business owns.

Label everything by period and keep final documents separate from drafts. Then write a short list of known questions: a customer balance under dispute, a transaction still waiting for paperwork, or a loan figure that needs checking. Don’t tidy awkward items away to make the handover look neater. Knowing about them early saves everyone time.

If payroll is part of the move, timing matters more than usual, because each pay run is reported to HMRC as it happens. Our payroll service would need the year-to-date figures for each employee to carry on accurately from the last pay run your current provider completed.

Access without shared passwords

List the systems your business uses: accounting software, payroll software, receipt apps, and any document portals. Note who owns each subscription and who has admin access. If your current accountant holds a subscription for you, agree what happens to the data, the login, and the billing before anyone changes anything.

HMRC has its own process for authorising an agent to deal with your tax. Its guidance on changing or removing a tax agent’s authorisation explains the steps and makes clear that you shouldn’t share your own sign-in details. Your new accountant will tell you what they need you to approve.

Treat tax authorisation and software access as two separate jobs. Your new firm may need both, and setting up one doesn’t grant the other. For a limited company, confirm who holds the Companies House authentication code too, as it’s usually needed to file company information online.

For your accounting software, use the provider’s own accountant or user access rather than a shared login. Keep a note of who was added and when, so old access can be removed once the handover is complete.

Settle into the new routine

Once records arrive, ask your new accountant what they’ve received and what’s still missing. A confirmation that files were sent doesn’t prove they answer every question. A simple open items list, with a name next to each item, keeps things moving.

Agree how you’ll work together from here: when you’ll send records, how questions will be raised, and who approves returns before they’re filed. If you’ve been keeping your own books, our article on a reliable bookkeeping routine may help you decide how much you’d like to hand over.

Set a check-in a couple of months after the move. It’s much easier to spot a missing bank statement or an unclear responsibility early than to find out at the year end that each side assumed the other had it.

Questions about changing accountants

Do I have to wait until my year end to switch?

Not necessarily. You can change at any point, but the timing affects who finishes which piece of work. Ask your prospective accountant what moving now would mean compared with moving after a particular return is filed, so no deadline is left without an owner.

Will my current accountant know I’m talking to another firm?

Once you decide to go ahead, usually yes, because the new firm will normally ask your permission to contact them. You don’t need to tell anyone while you’re simply comparing options, but telling your current accountant yourself before their letter arrives is a courteous way to start the handover.

What if most of my records are on paper?

That’s fine. Tell your new accountant before you hand anything over, and agree how the papers should be sorted and whether they need the originals. Label each bundle with the business name and period, keep a note of what you’ve handed over, and don’t throw originals away without advice.

Should I change accounting software at the same time?

Treat that as a separate decision. A new accountant doesn’t automatically mean new software. If a move does make sense, agree what will transfer, how opening balances will be checked, and how you’ll keep access to older records before closing the old system.

What if an earlier return looks wrong?

Flag it, and hand over whatever correspondence and records you have. Agree who’ll look into it and who’ll deal with any correction. Don’t assume a new engagement includes a review of every earlier return, and don’t change figures that have already been filed without advice.

Can I move just part of the work?

Often, yes, but the dividing line needs to be clear. Payroll, bookkeeping, VAT, and the annual accounts all feed into each other, so agree how information will pass between the firms. Otherwise a partial move can leave gaps that nobody notices until a deadline arrives.