Accountant gone AWOL

[cheeky_chops]

Our 2 man accountant, call him Andy merged with another small 2 man accountancy 4 months ago. Service from Andy gone down hill in last month, emails unanswered, slow.

Get an email sunday from lets call him Bob "I am getting in contact to let you know that Andy and their team are unexpectedly no longer with the business. Unfortunately, this means we can no longer provide bookkeeping services as from 1st March 2024." As you can imagine, FFS doesnt cover it!!

Weve got 2 companies both in Xero, one VAT registered
I do the day to day invoicing/bills and recc and on top of it all
Bob has taken over the Xero subscription - dont even know who this Bob is as always dealt with Andy
Payroll for 2 directors not in xero, Andy managed it
Year end accounts both 30 sept so due end of June (i hope)

Any tips on how to tackle this? I dont want to just jump frying pan to fire - infact ive still to reply to Bob as im feeling pretty sporty right now.

[StevieBee]

I was about to say that the Licensing authority for Accountants would be a good starting point but a Google search to find out the name reveals that remarkably, there is no legal requirement to be licensed to provide Accountancy and Tax Advisory services. That said, appears most are registered so worth seeing if dear old Andy is with the CIMA / AAT or whoever. They may be able to exert some pressure.

[Panamax]

I'm struggling to see what the problem is here. You're not suggesting he's "run off with the money".

Your old accountant doesn't want your business any more. Get a new one.

[Equus]

cheeky_chops said:

...Unfortunately, this means we can no longer provide bookkeeping services as from 1st March 2024.

...I do the day to day invoicing/bills and recc and on top of it all...

For clarity: I assume that means you already do your own day-to-day book-keeping on Xero?

If so, what is the problem?

[Eric Mc]

StevieBee said:

I was about to say that the Licensing authority for Accountants would be a good starting point but a Google search to find out the name reveals that remarkably, there is no legal requirement to be licensed to provide Accountancy and Tax Advisory services. That said, appears most are registered so worth seeing if dear old Andy is with the CIMA / AAT or whoever. They may be able to exert some pressure.

Yes - there is no legal requirement for people preparing general sole trader or limited company accounts and/or tax returns and submitting them to HMRC or Companies House to have any qualifications whatsoever. That has always been the case.

The only areas where formal qualifications are required is where legally required audits need to be carried out or when the receiving authority (such as the Charity Commissioners) state that persons of a certain qualification need to sign the finncial reports.

If your accountant is a member of a recognised accounting body (ICAEW, ICAS, ICAI, ACCA - I'm not going to spell all the acronyms out but they are all recognised by dint of their "Chartered" status) then you can check with the relevant body as to their current status i.e. are they still a member and are they up to date with their membership requirements e.g. they've paid their annual sub, they are meeing their annual technical training targets etc.

[Jordie Barretts sock]

Equus said:

cheeky_chops said:

...Unfortunately, this means we can no longer provide bookkeeping services as from 1st March 2024.

...I do the day to day invoicing/bills and recc and on top of it all...

For clarity: I assume that means you already do your own day-to-day book-keeping on Xero?

If so, what is the problem?

I think the OP is 'feeling a bit sporty' because 'Andy' didn't say goodbye.

[Mr Pointy]

Equus said:

cheeky_chops said:

...Unfortunately, this means we can no longer provide bookkeeping services as from 1st March 2024.

...I do the day to day invoicing/bills and recc and on top of it all...

For clarity: I assume that means you already do your own day-to-day book-keeping on Xero?

If so, what is the problem?

It seems the Director's payroll was not being done via Xero but by Andy - so the OP isn't getting paid.

Time to add the payroll to Xero?

[Vasco]

Equus said:

cheeky_chops said:

...Unfortunately, this means we can no longer provide bookkeeping services as from 1st March 2024.

...I do the day to day invoicing/bills and recc and on top of it all...

For clarity: I assume that means you already do your own day-to-day book-keeping on Xero?

If so, what is the problem?

Quite. I'm a bit lost what the problem is

[Ham_and_Jam]

Get yourself a new accountant.

By the sounds of it you’ve got time on your side if you get your skates on.

[Whataguy]

Maybe Andy and the team are running again separately? You might be able to find them.

I know someone who was in a similar situation, the merger didn’t work out and they were having their emails vetted so things were going slow through no fault of their own.

A lot of these ‘mergers’ just want the most profitable big clients and they either drop service or put the prices up hugely to get rid of the other clients they don’t really want.

[FourGears]

cheeky_chops said:

Our 2 man accountant, call him Andy merged with another small 2 man accountancy 4 months ago. Service from Andy gone down hill in last month, emails unanswered, slow.

Get an email sunday from lets call him Bob "I am getting in contact to let you know that Andy and their team are unexpectedly no longer with the business. Unfortunately, this means we can no longer provide bookkeeping services as from 1st March 2024." As you can imagine, FFS doesnt cover it!!

Weve got 2 companies both in Xero, one VAT registered
I do the day to day invoicing/bills and recc and on top of it all
Bob has taken over the Xero subscription - dont even know who this Bob is as always dealt with Andy
Payroll for 2 directors not in xero, Andy managed it
Year end accounts both 30 sept so due end of June (i hope)

Any tips on how to tackle this? I dont want to just jump frying pan to fire - infact ive still to reply to Bob as im feeling pretty sporty right now.

Face to face meeting I sugge

Was Andy old? Retired? Dodgy?

However if on Xero what's the issue? Why ia payroll done by accountant? Use something like Xero or moneysoft. Simples