Choosing an accountant is not just about getting a tax return lodged. The right adviser should help you understand your numbers, meet your obligations with confidence and make better decisions throughout the year.
If your current accountant is hard to reach, reactive, unclear about fees or simply processing last year’s information, it may be time to reassess the relationship. A change does not need to be difficult, and it can be an important step towards a more organised, tax-aware business or personal financial position.
When accounting feels like a once-a-year chore
Many people stay with an accountant because it feels easier than changing. They may have worked together for years, or the accountant may already know the business history. Familiarity matters, but it should not come at the expense of service, clarity or sound advice.
For a sole trader, investor or employee with relatively straightforward affairs, the core need may be accurate and timely tax compliance. For a growing business, company, trust or SMSF, the relationship often needs to go further. You may need help interpreting cash flow, maintaining clean records, planning for tax obligations, managing payroll and superannuation requirements, or considering the consequences of a new contract, asset purchase, restructure or sale.
An accountant does not make the final decisions for you. Business owners and company officeholders remain responsible for their affairs and legal obligations. However, a capable adviser can help you understand what needs attention, ask the right questions early and keep financial information reliable enough to support good decisions. ASIC makes clear that company officeholders remain responsible for ensuring the company meets its obligations, even where an agent assists.
The following signs can indicate that your current arrangement is no longer giving you the support you need.
1. You only hear from your accountant when something is due
A deadline-driven service can leave you constantly reacting. You receive a request for documents near BAS time or EOFY, send through a bundle of information, sign what is prepared and repeat the process the following year.
Compliance work is important, but it should not be the only point of contact. A good accountant should be available to discuss significant changes before they create avoidable complexity. That could include taking on employees, buying a vehicle or equipment, moving from sole trader to company, starting a side venture, receiving a large payment, selling an investment property or dealing with a trust distribution.
Regular contact does not have to mean constant meetings. It may be a planned review during the year, a clear list of information required before lodgment, or a prompt conversation when you flag a major decision. What matters is that advice is available before the transaction, not only after it has been recorded.
This can be particularly important for private companies and trusts. For example, private expenses paid from a company account, shareholder drawings or informal loans can create Division 7A issues if they are not identified and managed properly. The ATO warns that inadequate separation of private and company expenses, as well as poor transaction records, can result in unintended Division 7A outcomes.
2. Your questions are answered vaguely, late or with unnecessary jargon
Tax and accounting can be complex, but your adviser should still be able to explain the practical issue in plain English. You should understand what information is needed, why it matters, what the options are and what decisions you need to make.
Warning signs may include:
- Repeated delays in responding to reasonable questions.
- Advice that appears to rely on generic assumptions rather than your records and circumstances.
- Explanations that leave you more confused than when you started.
- Recommendations without a clear explanation of the risks, costs or next steps.
- Requests for urgent signatures without enough time to review the documents.
Good advice does not always mean receiving the answer you hoped for. Sometimes the right answer is that a deduction cannot be supported, a proposed arrangement needs more work, or specialist legal or financial advice is required. The important point is that the advice is clear, timely and honest about uncertainty.
Registered tax practitioners are subject to professional obligations that include acting honestly and with integrity, acting lawfully in a client’s best interests, managing conflicts of interest and maintaining client confidentiality.
You should also be comfortable asking who will actually perform the work. In some firms, a senior adviser oversees matters while accountants, bookkeepers or administrative staff complete different parts of the process. That model can work well when responsibilities, review processes and communication channels are clear.
3. Your bookkeeping is always behind, and your reports cannot be trusted
Poor records create stress at tax time, but the consequences are broader than a difficult BAS or delayed return. If your bookkeeping is months behind, bank accounts are not reconciled, loan balances do not make sense or transactions are regularly posted to the wrong category, you are making decisions from incomplete information.
That can affect pricing, spending, hiring, cash flow management and your ability to obtain finance. It can also make it harder to identify errors before they become expensive to fix.
The ATO expects businesses to keep records that support the amounts reported in tax returns and activity statements. In general, business records need to be retained for the required period, commonly at least five years, and records relating to losses, capital gains tax matters or other ongoing positions may need to be kept longer.
A helpful accountant or bookkeeping adviser should not simply tell you that the file is “messy”. They should help establish a workable process. Depending on your circumstances, that might involve:
- setting up sensible chart-of-accounts categories;
- separating business and private spending;
- establishing a routine for receipts, supplier bills and invoices;
- reconciling bank, loan and payment-platform accounts;
- reviewing GST coding;
- tracking payroll, superannuation and contractor payments appropriately; and
- producing reports that you can actually use.
The goal is not perfection in every transaction. It is a timely, supportable set of records that gives you a clearer picture of where the business stands.
4. Your accountant does not understand your structure or changing circumstances
Different structures carry different tax, reporting, governance and administrative considerations. A sole trader, partnership, company, discretionary trust, unit trust and SMSF should not be treated as though they all operate the same way.
For instance, a trust generally has its own tax return and records concerning how its income is dealt with. A company has separate corporate obligations, including maintaining financial records and attending to ASIC annual review requirements. Company directors also need to remain informed about the company’s financial position and ensure proper records are kept.
If your accountant rarely asks about changes in ownership, family circumstances, investments, new business activities, overseas dealings, employees, property transactions or plans to sell, they may not have enough information to identify issues early.
This does not mean every client needs complex structuring. In many cases, keeping an existing arrangement simple and well-managed is the better outcome. But your adviser should understand the structure you have, the documents that govern it and the practical consequences of using it.
A generic example illustrates the point. A business owner operates through a discretionary trust with a corporate trustee. The business becomes more profitable, the owner begins taking funds for private expenses and the family considers buying a commercial property. If the accountant only prepares the annual returns after the fact, opportunities and risks may be identified too late. A more proactive adviser would first review the trust deed, entity records, cash movements, loan accounts, GST position and the intended ownership of the property before recommending next steps.
5. You are surprised by tax bills, BAS amounts or overdue obligations
No accountant can remove every tax liability, and a large tax bill is not automatically evidence of poor advice. Strong profitability, capital gains, changes in income and prior underpayments can all affect what is payable.
The concern is whether the liability was foreseeable and whether you were given enough information to prepare. If your accountant provides no estimate, no cash-flow discussion and no warning until shortly before payment is due, it may be difficult to manage your position.
A useful adviser helps distinguish between tax planning and tax avoidance. Tax planning means understanding the rules, keeping appropriate records, considering legitimate choices and making informed decisions before they are locked in. It is not about inventing deductions, backdating documents or relying on arrangements that lack commercial substance.
For GST-registered businesses, clean records and regular reconciliation can make BAS preparation more reliable. The ATO notes that accounting software can assist with tax invoices and GST reporting, but software does not replace the need to review transactions and ensure the underlying information is accurate.
A better service model may include a forward-looking discussion about:
- expected income and expenses;
- cash reserved for tax and GST;
- payroll and superannuation obligations;
- asset purchases and finance arrangements;
- trust and company distributions;
- shareholder or associate loan accounts;
- investment sales or property transactions; and
- records needed to support deductions, cost bases and claims.
The outcome may not always be lower tax. It may be greater certainty, fewer surprises and less time spent resolving preventable problems.
6. Fees are unclear, or the scope keeps changing without explanation
Professional fees should be clear enough for you to understand what is included, what is outside scope and when additional work may be charged. You should not need to guess whether a phone call, BAS amendment, ASIC task, tax planning meeting or response to an ATO query will create an extra bill.
Unexpected fees can sometimes be reasonable. A file may be more complex than expected, records may require extensive repair work, or a new issue may arise after the original engagement begins. The problem is not necessarily the fee itself. It is the absence of early communication.
A well-run accounting relationship usually starts with an engagement that sets out the services, responsibilities, information required from the client and arrangements for ending the engagement. The Tax Practitioners Board identifies these as important matters for engagement communications.
Before appointing a new accountant, ask practical questions:
- What annual compliance work is included?
- Is bookkeeping included, reviewed or separate?
- How are BAS, payroll, ASIC and tax return services handled?
- Who is my usual contact?
- What turnaround time can I reasonably expect?
- How will you communicate additional work and fees?
- What information do you need from me, and when?
- Do you offer tax planning or business advisory meetings?
Clear expectations at the beginning make the relationship easier for both sides.
7. You no longer feel confident that your accountant is the right fit
Sometimes the issue is not a missed deadline or an obvious technical error. It is that the relationship no longer fits your needs.
Perhaps your business has grown beyond a basic annual tax return. Perhaps you have sold an asset, established a trust, taken on staff, acquired a rental property or started using a company. Or perhaps you simply want an adviser who is more responsive and easier to talk to.
It is reasonable to expect that the person providing tax services for a fee is appropriately registered. The Tax Practitioners Board’s public register allows clients to check whether a tax or BAS practitioner is registered and whether relevant public sanctions or breaches appear on the register.
Fit also includes how an accountant works with you. Some clients want regular management reports and structured planning meetings. Others want efficient, straightforward compliance support and someone reliable to call when circumstances change. Neither approach is inherently better. The right approach is the one that matches the complexity of your affairs and the way you prefer to run them.
How to change accountants without losing control
Changing accountants is usually more straightforward than people expect, particularly when it is planned rather than rushed.
Start by selecting your new adviser and confirming what they will handle. For businesses with an ABN, other than sole traders, the ATO’s client-to-agent linking process may require the business to nominate the new registered agent before the agent can access the relevant tax information. The client completes the nomination, although the new agent can guide them through the process.
A sensible handover process may include the following:
Confirm the scope. Decide whether the new adviser will handle bookkeeping, BAS, payroll, income tax returns, company compliance, trust work, SMSF matters or only selected services.
Provide authority. Sign the appropriate authority for the new adviser to act and, where relevant, complete the required ATO agent nomination process.
Request the records. Ask for copies of prior returns, financial statements, depreciation schedules, capital gains tax records, trust deeds, company registers, loan schedules, workpapers and accounting-file access where appropriate.
Review lodgment status. Confirm which BAS, returns, ASIC tasks, superannuation obligations or other matters are outstanding, and who is responsible for each item.
Protect your access. Make sure you retain access to your accounting software, bank feeds, government online services, payroll platforms and important source documents.
Communicate respectfully. A short written notice is normally enough. Your new adviser can often assist with the professional clearance and record-request process, with your authority.
Client information should not be transferred between practitioners without the client’s permission.
The value of the right adviser
A change in accountants should not be about chasing a promised refund or looking for someone who will agree with every idea. It should be about finding an adviser who is organised, registered, responsive and willing to understand the details that matter to you.
The right Australian adviser can help reduce administration pressure, improve the quality of your records, identify issues earlier and support legitimate tax planning based on your actual circumstances. That can save time and may improve tax outcomes, while keeping the focus on accurate reporting and sustainable decisions.
can help you review your current accounting and tax arrangements, clarify what support you need and put a practical transition plan in place.
This article is general information only and is not personal financial or tax advice. Tax outcomes depend on individual circumstances, records and applicable law. Speak with a registered tax agent or accountant, such as, before acting on information that may affect your tax or financial position.