Changing accountants: how the switch works
Many people stay with an accountant they’re unhappy with because switching sounds complicated. It isn’t. Most of the work falls on the new accountant, and you can change at any time of year.
Why people switch
The reasons we hear most often:
- calls and emails that go unanswered,
- no advice, just a return lodged once a year,
- a different person every time, so you explain your business from scratch,
- bills that are a surprise,
- an ATO debt or overdue lodgements nobody mentioned,
- software that’s never been set up or reconciled properly.
If any of those sound familiar, it’s worth a conversation.
How the switch works
1. Choose your new accountant
Meet first. Ask how they charge, who will actually do your work, how they communicate, and what they’ll do in the first month. Our first consultation is free and runs for up to an hour.
2. Sign an engagement letter
This sets out the work, the fee and who’s responsible for what. With us, it’s a fixed monthly fee, and switching costs nothing.
3. Link your new accountant with the ATO
For businesses, the ATO requires client-to-agent linking: you log in to Online services for business (using your myID) and nominate the new agent’s registration number, or call the ATO to do it. Only then can the new accountant add you to their client list.
For individuals, your new accountant can usually add you after confirming your identity. Either way, your new accountant guides you through it.
4. Get your records from your old accountant
Your new accountant writes to your old one asking for what they need: prior returns and financial statements, depreciation and asset registers, loan account balances, trust deeds and company registers, and any working papers relevant to continuing your affairs. Professional standards require accountants to cooperate with the transfer of records the client owns.
5. Software access
If you use Xero, MYOB or QuickBooks, you add the new accountant as an advisor user and remove the old one. If the file is in the old accountant’s subscription, it can usually be transferred to you.
6. ASIC agent details
If you have a company, your new accountant can become your ASIC registered agent, so annual statements and notices come to them, and may become your registered office if you choose.
What a good new accountant does first
- Pulls your ATO accounts and tells you exactly what’s lodged, what’s outstanding, and what you owe, including any debt you didn’t know about.
- Sets a lodgement calendar for BAS, returns, super and ASIC.
- Reviews your structure and software and tells you plainly what needs fixing.
- Puts a tax planning meeting in the diary before 30 June.
Timing
You can change at any time. Changing just after 30 June, before last year’s return is started, keeps things clean, but don’t wait if there’s a problem now. If returns are overdue, the sooner a new accountant is involved, the sooner penalties stop building.
What it costs
Your old accountant can charge for work they’ve already done, but shouldn’t charge to release records you own. At Judge Accountants, switching is free, and our fees are published.
Ready to switch?
Book a free consultation, bring your last tax return and your software login, and we’ll handle the rest. See business tax and accounting or personal tax.