Accounting services selection checklist: checks to make before you appoint an accountant

Use this accounting services selection checklist with the exact provider, legal entity and engagement proposed. A brand, directory position or professional logo cannot replace service-level evidence.

What to take away

Treat missing mandatory evidence as a failed gate, not a low-weight disadvantage.
A brand, directory position or professional logo cannot replace service-level evidence.
Score only preferences, and record the chosen scope, decisive trade-offs and review date.
Never interpret HMRC registration or access as endorsement of an accountant.
Define acknowledgement, useful response and resolution separately in the contract.

Need and scope

List every business, individual, tax, period and deliverable.
Separate bookkeeping, payroll, accounts, tax compliance, advice, company filing and audit.
Record current systems, volumes, currencies, industries and unusual transactions.
State retained client work and desired provider responsibility.
Define deadlines, client cut-offs and acceptance evidence.
Identify work the provider will refer or decline.

Entity and status

Obtain the contracting legal name, company number, address and trading names.
Check current Companies House records, while recognising they do not prove service quality.
Identify the entity handling data, billing, support and each professional service.
Check the claimed individual's membership in the official directory or register of the relevant body, such as ICAEW, ACCA, AAT or CIOT. Confirm any practising status or permission needed for the proposed work.
Ask which anti-money-laundering (AML) supervisor oversees the accountancy business. Check HMRC-supervised firms on HMRC's anti-money-laundering supervision register; for another supervisor, check its published firm register or confirm supervision directly with it.
For HMRC tax services, complete the relevant authorisation through HMRC's agent authorisation service yourself. Check which tax service you have authorised; never share your Government Gateway credentials. An agent's Agent Services Account is not an endorsement.
Ask for evidence of professional indemnity insurance covering the contracting entity and proposed work. Check the cover limit, exclusions, expiry and any minimum cover required by its professional body; do not assume there is one UK-wide minimum.
Never interpret HMRC registration or access as endorsement.

GOV.UK's registered auditor guidance explains that company audit requires registered-firm status through a recognised supervisory body (RSB). For statutory audit, search the Register of Statutory Auditors using the Financial Reporting Council (FRC) auditor search, and confirm the firm and responsible individuals are authorised. UK RSBs include ICAEW, ICAS, ACCA and Chartered Accountants Ireland. General accounting credentials are not a substitute.

Entity and Status Checks

Obtain legal name, company number, address
Check current Companies House records
Identify entity handling data, billing, support
Verify body membership with the source
For audit, use live audit-register route
Never treat HMRC registration as endorsement

People and competence

Name engagement owner, preparer, reviewer and specialist.
Match competence to entity, tax, framework, industry and complexity.
Ask how absences, leavers and peak workloads are covered.
Review sample outputs with confidential information removed.
Establish review depth, technical consultation and correction records.
Contact references fairly and with permission.

Delivery and communication

Walk through record intake, queries, preparation, review, approval and submission.
Test the normal channel and an urgent escalation.
Define acknowledgement, useful response and resolution separately.
Record accessibility and communication adjustments.
Ask how rejected submissions and missing client records are handled.
Compare website promises with contractual service standards.

Data and technology

Map information, purposes, roles, locations, subprocessors and retention. For personal data, identify each party's role as controller or processor.
Review security, authentication, permissions, logging, backups and incidents.
Identify software edition, ownership, integrations and limits.
Test a usable export containing records, attachments and identifiers.
Prohibit unapproved reuse of confidential data.
Establish deletion, return and access removal at termination.

For personal data, check how the arrangement complies with the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018. Where a controller must pay the ICO data protection fee, check its entry on the ICO's register of fee payers and record its registration details; if it is not listed, ask for the basis of any exemption. The ICO's controller and processor guidance explains why role allocation follows factual purposes and means. Confirm the arrangement rather than accepting a template label.

Fees and engagement

Compare the same entities, services, period, volumes and VAT convention.
Obtain a written quote stating the amount, VAT treatment and whether each fee is fixed, estimated or subject to review.
Separate recurring, one-off, software, migration and client-side costs.
Define units, allowances and change triggers.
Obtain additional-work rates and approval thresholds.
Read renewal, price-change, suspension and termination terms.
Get a written engagement letter or terms of engagement before work begins. Check that it covers scope, responsibilities, fees, deadlines, complaints, data handling and termination; consult the relevant body's rules and engagement-letter guidance, such as ICAEW's or ACCA's, where applicable.
Reconcile proposal, engagement, data terms and order form.

Complaints, continuity and exit

Obtain the provider's written complaint route and identify the applicable professional body's complaints and disciplinary process, such as ICAEW's or ACCA's, if relevant.
Ask what independent review or alternative dispute resolution (ADR) is available, who can use it and how to escalate; record the exact scheme and eligibility before signing.
Examine serious public findings in context and request a response.
Test staff absence, supplier outage and deadline contingency.
Define unfinished-work and successor-handover responsibilities.
Record notice, final charges, authority changes and retained records.
Name the owner for periodic supplier review.

Interview and verification

Give every finalist the same fictional or appropriately protected case.
Ask the proposed engagement owner and reviewer to attend, not only sales staff.
Require evidence for objective claims and label unavailable material.
Walk through a missing document, changed approval, filing rejection and complaint.
Contact comparable references using consistent questions and consent.
Offer the provider a route to correct factual misunderstandings.

Final decision record

List passed, failed and uncertain mandatory gates.
Explain weighted preferences and any sensitivity to the weights.
Record the runner-up and reason it was not selected.
Name accepted residual risks, safeguards and owners.
Set onboarding, first-file and first-quarter review points.
Give every underlying record an expiry or update trigger.

Score only preferences. Treat missing mandatory evidence as a failed gate, not a low-weight disadvantage. Record the chosen scope, decisive trade-offs, residual risks and review date. Before appointment, confirm the provider's AML supervisor on the relevant register and complete any HMRC agent authorisation needed for the services. If status, legal duties or contractual rights remain unclear, seek independent professional advice.

Before you act

List every entity, tax, period and deliverable.
Verify the relevant professional-body membership, AML supervisor and any HMRC agent authorisation.
Check professional indemnity insurance and any applicable minimum cover.
Name the engagement owner, preparer and reviewer.
Map data roles, locations, subprocessors and retention; check UK GDPR, the Data Protection Act 2018 and any required ICO fee registration.
Obtain a written quote for the same scope and period, and a written engagement letter.
Record the provider's complaint route, escalation scheme, notice, final charges and retained records.

Common questions

What should I check about the accountant's legal entity and status?

Obtain the contracting legal name, company number, address and trading names. Check current Companies House records, while recognising they do not prove service quality. Identify the entity handling data, billing, support and each professional service. Check the claimed individual's membership in the official directory or register of the relevant body, such as ICAEW, ACCA, AAT or CIOT, and confirm any required practising status. Identify and verify the firm's AML supervisor; never treat HMRC registration or agent access as endorsement.

How do I compare fees fairly between accountants?

Compare the same entities, services, period, volumes and VAT convention. Obtain a written quote showing the amount and VAT treatment, and whether fees are fixed, estimated or subject to review. Separate recurring, one-off, software, migration and client-side costs. Define units, allowances and change triggers, and obtain additional-work rates and approval thresholds. Read renewal, price-change, suspension and termination terms. Before work begins, get a written engagement letter or terms of engagement covering scope, responsibilities, fees, deadlines, complaints, data handling and termination; check the relevant professional body's rules and guidance.

What should happen before I appoint an accountant?

Reopen every high-risk record and obtain qualified advice where status, legal duties or contractual rights remain uncertain. Record the chosen scope, decisive trade-offs, residual risks and review date. Name accepted residual risks, safeguards and owners, and set onboarding, first-file and first-quarter review points.