Finding an Accountant in the UK

Where to find an accountant

It is essential to look for someone who has professional accounting qualifications, most accountants will belong to one of the professional organisations and many of these will let you check that the accountant is actually a member  The organisations to look for include:-

• Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales
• Institute of Chartered Accountants of Scotland
• Institute of Chartered Accountants in Ireland
• Association of Chartered Certified Accountants
• Chartered Institute of Management Accountants

Having said that, the author feels that best way to find a good accountant is through personal recommendations, talk to other businesses about their accountants and you will soon get an idea of what they are like – reports will range from “excellent”, through “good” to “ok”.

Where else can I get recommendations?

There are several ways to get recommendations and, in the authors view, they include the following :-

• Friends, family, business associates and contacts
• Professional or trade associations – this can be particularly useful if you’re looking for an accountant that specialises in your business sector
• Looking on our blog ,websites listing local accountants  and directories listing accountants
• Bank or lawyer

Bear in mind that it’s always best to start looking for an accountant well before you need to use one.  You are, in all likelyhood, going to be relying on your accountant to produce reports, tax returns and save you money on tax etc.  It is important that you feel comfortable talking to the accountant and their staff either on the telephone, face to face or via emails – do they give you the sense that they have your interests at heart and will they spend time explaining things to you.

Because this is such an important decision you should not leave it to the last minute before deciding which accountant you are going to use.  In deed, you will probably need advice before you start your business to make sure that you are trading in the right way and have the accounting systems set up ready to track your expenses, sales and profits.

Once you have found some names and considered their reputations and qualifications, you should draw up a shortlist of 4 or 5 accountants you’d like to contact, then contact them and ask for a free initial meeting so that you can talk to them about how they could help you and what is expected.  At this initial meeting you might even be able to get a ball park figure for the cost of using them as your accountant – but remember that cheapest is not always best.

DSCO – Hertford, Hertfordshire

DSCO, formerly David Suckling and Co, are a firm of accountants in Hertford, Hertfordshire who advise over 200 clients of many sizes from different industries across Hertfordshire.

As well as the standard accountancy services that you would expect, DSCO are business advisers who are focused on the future.  They believe in three principles when giving advice to clients :-

• No jargon
• Put first things first
• Working towards the clients goals

Their  enhanced business advice package is a cost-effective package that is designed to significantly improve the profitability of your business and starts by targeting your life goals so that you are sure that you will enjoy the rewards of your hard work and not just work hard to run your business.

DSCOs’  fees include free unlimited telephone and email support and interestingly for a firm of accountants they have several testimonials from clients on their website that you can read.

DM Accounting – Borehamwood, Hertfordshire

DM Accounting are a firm of accountants in Borehamwood, Herts,  providing a personal service to business owners and individuals in Hertfordshire, London, Essex and surrounding areas.

Their website says “We work much more closely with our clients than traditional accountants. We also have a much smaller number of clients than normal and are selective in the clients that we act for. We want to get to know our clients businesses inside out, enabling us to easily identify problems and spot opportunities. We want to help improve profits and encourage growth.”  If you do not want to be just a number on a spread sheet and are looking for accountants in Hertfordshire, Essex or anywhere near Borehamwood it would be worth talking to DM Accounting and seeing what they say.

Gibbons Mannington – Bexhill, Rye and Tenterden

Gibbons Mannington is a firm of Chartered Accountants that has three service centres in East Sussex and Kent offering accounts, taxation and business advisory and support services to a wide range of businesses and individuals. With offices in Bexhill, Rye, and Tenterden they are on hand to help.

They seem to be slightly unusual for accountants in Kent, in that they say on their website that they will travel to meet you in your offices if you would prefer.

Knowing and understanding the business community in the South East Region of Kent and Sussex helps Gibbons Mannington to help you solve problems quickly and efficiently. Every business benefits from outside advice in a relationship of mutual respect and trust. A very high level of technical competence is what you will get from Gibbons Mannington.  So, if you need tax advice in Sussex, auditing in Kent or Bookkeeping in Rye, it may be worth talking to Gibbons Mannington.

Williams Denton – Llandudno and Bangor, Gwynedd

Williams Denton Cyf are a firm of Acccountants in North Wales that can trace their history back to 1926. In 2002 the practice incorporated and Williams Denton Cyf was established.

Today they continue to build on their enviable reputation for providing excellent advice and first class service to business and personal clients alike. They have many clients in the local community and service businesses, small and large, across many sectors in Bangor, Llandudno, Colwyn, Anglesey and Conwy.

They offer a range of services, from tax advice in North Wales to an clever method of providing accountancy software support in North Wales where they can connect to your system and sort out problems for you.