How long to draw up accounts?
Discussion
I like my accountant, and have been with him since we started business 8 years ago. His advice is always on the safe side of HMRC and I have learned a lot from him in terms of keeping accounts.
However, I wonder if I am as far up his list of priorities as I might hope to be. Our 2006/7year ended 30/11/07 and I delivered all the papers to him 10 days later. I keep fairly tight accounts with seprate lists of cheques, invoices etc and even keep them under the account headings and produce a summary each month so it builds to a yearly picture. I even keep a running set of notes explaining any oddities like double payment, dividends and major evenets in the year. All in all I think I am a pretty good client in terms of record keeping. It is a fairly simple business; no cash, all bills get paid, I keep all the VAT and PAYE records well and we don't have complex holdings or any overseas work or purchases. We turn over between £100k and £200K a year but only raise about 100 invoices. Not exactly BP.
Having delievred the paperwork in December I chased him in February and got draft accounts in early April. I had a meeting with him late April and we sorted out an odd anomolay (one invoice had two figures transposed). I am still waiting for the acounts with HMRC now asking for the NI from the company car and the P11d and the CT tax is due in a montth or so.
Is this speed of production normal or is it time to ask him to be more expeditious? I can't see any reason I should be worrying about hitting HMRC deadlines 7 months after I deliver the papers?
Hand on heart, sometimes the finalisation of accounts can take longer than originally intended. Outside pressures, overall workload and government imposed deadlines often tend to push the completion of one particular job further and further along until the deadlines associated with that job make its completion imperative.
Prioritisation of the workload is a large part of what we do. Unfortunately, sometimes the accountant's priorities may be out of step with yours as he struggles to ensure he doesn't miss someone else's deadline.
I suggest you give him a call and remind him how long he's had the job and try and give him a date by which you'd like everything finished. I find that, if a client actually says "I'd like the accounts completed by....", it does help focus the mind in getting that job done.
Prioritisation of the workload is a large part of what we do. Unfortunately, sometimes the accountant's priorities may be out of step with yours as he struggles to ensure he doesn't miss someone else's deadline.
I suggest you give him a call and remind him how long he's had the job and try and give him a date by which you'd like everything finished. I find that, if a client actually says "I'd like the accounts completed by....", it does help focus the mind in getting that job done.
As a note, at the time you handed in your records, it was a really busy time with the self assessment deadline looming. After 31 January, you then have to deal with all the crap you tend to put to the side during that busy period, then again another deadline with P35s etc for May. Not an excuse, but an idea of what we're contending with. Inbetween these deadlines there are still those who don't bring their books in early and still have tight deadlines with Limited Company year ends and the like.
We try to turn out our jobs between 2-4 weeks, but at the moment, we're on about 6. Sometimes things do get put to the side (if you know you have an inderstanding client who is not going to panic when they get their tax bill), but it's good practice to let them know.
As Eric says, just give them a call, they won't mind.
We try to turn out our jobs between 2-4 weeks, but at the moment, we're on about 6. Sometimes things do get put to the side (if you know you have an inderstanding client who is not going to panic when they get their tax bill), but it's good practice to let them know.
As Eric says, just give them a call, they won't mind.
Eric Mc said:
Hand on heart, sometimes the finalisation of accounts can take longer than originally intended. Outside pressures, overall workload and government imposed deadlines often tend to push the completion of one particular job further and further along until the deadlines associated with that job make its completion imperative.
Prioritisation of the workload is a large part of what we do. Unfortunately, sometimes the accountant's priorities may be out of step with yours as he struggles to ensure he doesn't miss someone else's deadline.
I suggest you give him a call and remind him how long he's had the job and try and give him a date by which you'd like everything finished. I find that, if a client actually says "I'd like the accounts completed by....", it does help focus the mind in getting that job done.
He is calling me tomorrow. Says he has done the P11D for me, so not to worry. I think he travels quite a bit doing audit work and isn't always available at his offoce for day, and sometimes weeks. Doesn't help me as I have a dread of missing HMRC deadlines.Prioritisation of the workload is a large part of what we do. Unfortunately, sometimes the accountant's priorities may be out of step with yours as he struggles to ensure he doesn't miss someone else's deadline.
I suggest you give him a call and remind him how long he's had the job and try and give him a date by which you'd like everything finished. I find that, if a client actually says "I'd like the accounts completed by....", it does help focus the mind in getting that job done.
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