How do I find a reliable accountant?

Taximan said:
As for Ubi’s hilarious reference to self-regulation giving some form of superiority to one professional body over another is a joke.
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Unlike yourself I never claimed superiority, but simply pointed out that the respective ICAI, ACCA, CPA Institute & Law Society regulatory systems do provide a safety net for clients when they are victims of incompetence on the part of professionals.

What protection does the ITI afford to clients when one of their members slips up?
 
I think everyone has said enough at this stage on accountant v. tax advisor v. solictitor, so let's leave it at that.

The OP asked

copeen said:
The thing is I can't find anyone to recommend an accountant and don't want to take someone out of the Golden Pages.

Anyone got any ideas on how to find someone?? (based in Cork).
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Any more suggestions?
 
Maybe ask someone in a club you are involved with or at work to suggest someone (accountant / tax advisor / solicitor :D) that they have used. Ask family members if they have ever used anyone.
 
In my experience that is a big difference between those who know how to do the calculation and those who KNOW how to and what to do with the calculations. Solicitors being good at their job, well some of them anyway, know how to do them, but a good Tax Advisor knows what to do with them and even some alternatives. But I would never go to a Tax Advisor for legal advice.
 
Just to point out- again- that a solicitor is very unlikely to do or to want to do a CGT return in relation to shares. Best bet is an accountant or tax advisor.
 
I'm a qualified accountant who studied tax when qualifying. Still doesn't mean I know everything about tax. I don't.

Tax law changes every year and unless you are working with it on a day to day basis then it doesn't take long to fall behind.

Most medium size accountancy practices would have at least one person in the partnership that would specialize in tax. Make sure the firm you do use has access to that resource.
 
Ok - I'm going to the AITI website - I actually thought an accountant WAS a tax expert - so this has really helped!!

Thanks for opening my eyes on that one - personally I would never use my Solicitor for this purpose but might get his view on if he knows anyone..

Thanks a million for ALL the responses, it's really helped - I'll let ye know how big the tax bill was!!

Coppeen
 
Somebody close the thread before a fight between accountants, solictors and tax consultants breaks out, boring and all as that would be :)
 
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Now there's a thought. A qualified accountant who is also a member of the Institute of Tax. This has an appeal in that the person should understand how to put the accounts together and how to tax the result.
Ideally you want a designer who will help you structure the transactions from the outset : that is a combination of technical knowledge, craft and street knowledge.

Reputation is key. A recommendation is worth a ton of brochures. I am sometimes asked to recommend an accountant to a wide audience and I refuse to do that as it depends on :
- what can you afford
- how ambitious you are for your business
- how wide a range of services would you want
- how complex is your current tax situation
- how much do you want exposure to other tax or investment opportunities
- how much do you know already : do you want a cradle to grave type service or more an execution only type approach.

There is an accountant out there for every situation but the key is to find the fit for your circumstances and outlook on tax planning.
 
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