{"id":5667,"date":"2022-06-30T11:24:15","date_gmt":"2022-06-30T10:24:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/taxfix.com\/en-uk\/?p=5667"},"modified":"2025-09-10T16:41:11","modified_gmt":"2025-09-10T15:41:11","slug":"6-signs-to-spot-a-dodgy-accountant","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/taxfix.com\/en-uk\/blog\/6-signs-to-spot-a-dodgy-accountant\/","title":{"rendered":"If these 6 signs describe your accountant\u2026 run!"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>Finding the right accountant can be tricky, especially if you\u2019re new to the world of <a href=\"https:\/\/taxfix.com\/en-uk\/glossary\/self-employed\/\">self-employment<\/a>. How much is too much? What does it mean to be qualified? How long should everything take? It\u2019s a jungle out there!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Help! I\u2019m not sure if my accountant is legit<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>We\u2019ve got you. To help you out, we\u2019ve put together a quick rundown of six signs that spell bad news when it comes to the hunt for the right accountant.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">1. Not qualified<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>In the UK, you don\u2019t have to have passed accounting exams to describe yourself as an accountant. Although a non-qualified accountant isn\u2019t necessarily a red flag, it\u2019s something to be mindful of when you choose someone to do your accounting.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">What\u2019s a qualified accountant?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Qualified accountants in the UK are part of professional institutes by which they are governed. They are also covered by indemnity insurance covering both you and them if anything goes wrong.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<div class=\"embed-container\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Tax in 10(ish) seconds - what is a tax accountant?\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/Q_RMGjH0I0k?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/div>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Don\u2019t share your HMRC details<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Watch out for an \u2018accountant\u2019 asking you for your HMRC login. This is a telltale sign that they are not qualified. Agents registered with HMRC shouldn\u2019t need it.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">2. Up-front money promises<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>If your accountant has lured you in by telling you how much money they can save you with their services before they\u2019ve even seen your accounts, this is a big warning sign. Data on how much they\u2019ve saved their other clients is fine, but as your accounts are unique, it would be impossible to forecast your savings by switching ahead of time.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">3. Unprofessionalism<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Irrespective of the state of your accounts, it\u2019s very unprofessional for a new accountant to slate the work of your previous accountant. Often, they\u2019ll have to clear up some of the previous work to get themselves up to speed, but generally they\u2019ll do this free of charge. If your new accountant bad-mouths your previous accountant and then charges you extra to re-do their work, consider this a big red flag.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">4. Bad communication<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>There\u2019s nothing worse than signing up for an accounting service and then not being able to get in contact with them. A good accountant should be proactively trying to help you, as opposed to responding only when prompted.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">5. High fees and nothing to show for it<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>If you\u2019re being charged sky-high fees by your accountant, you need to make sure that the costs are justified. Also be wary of an accountant asking you to give them money to pay your tax bill (e.g. \u201cYour tax bill is \u00a32000, give me that and I\u2019ll pay it for you.\u201d).&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This is a reported scam that has resulted in the \u2018accountant\u2019 running off with the cash.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Keep an open mind<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Shop around before settling on an accountant. We\u2019d recommend checking out your online options as well\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>(*cough* Taxfix)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">6. Jargon-friendly<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>A good accountant will not explain things to you with jargon. They should be available to talk you through anything that isn\u2019t clear and help you understand what you pay for and what expenses can be claimed.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>My accountant makes things complicated<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>If you come away from speaking to your accountant more confused than you were before or if you\u2019re able to get better insights from someone who isn\u2019t your accountant, there is a problem!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">What now?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>If you&#8217;re still not convinced your accountant is the one for you, that&#8217;s OK! Keep shopping around. You can also <a href=\"https:\/\/taxfix.com\/en-uk\/tax-advice\/\">get in touch with our accredited accountants<\/a> for a one-off tax advice consultation to help you sort out your tax situation. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Finding the right accountant can be tricky, especially if you\u2019re new to the world of self-employment. How much is too much? What does it mean to be qualified? How long should everything take? It\u2019s a jungle out there! Help! I\u2019m not sure if my accountant is legit We\u2019ve got you. To help you out, we\u2019ve [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":9,"featured_media":41597,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[299,301],"tags":[413],"class_list":["post-5667","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-blog","category-tax-basics","tag-accounting"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v25.8 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>If these 6 signs describe your accountant\u2026 run! &#8211; Taxfix (formerly TaxScouts)<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Finding the right accountant can be tricky, especially if you\u2019re new to the world of tax returns. Here are 6 signs that spell bad news.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/taxfix.com\/en-uk\/blog\/6-signs-to-spot-a-dodgy-accountant\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_GB\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"If these 6 signs describe your accountant\u2026 run! &#8211; Taxfix (formerly TaxScouts)\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Finding the right accountant can be tricky, especially if you\u2019re new to the world of tax returns. Here are 6 signs that spell bad news.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/taxfix.com\/en-uk\/blog\/6-signs-to-spot-a-dodgy-accountant\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Taxfix\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/taxfix_uk\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2022-06-30T10:24:15+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-09-10T15:41:11+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/taxfix.com\/en-uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/25Q3_TS_Rebrand_UK_Website_Content_Blog-and-guides_6-signs-to-spot-a-dodgy-accountant.png\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1280\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"672\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/png\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Gemma Doswell\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@Taxfix\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@Taxfix\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/taxfix.com\/en-uk\/blog\/6-signs-to-spot-a-dodgy-accountant\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/taxfix.com\/en-uk\/blog\/6-signs-to-spot-a-dodgy-accountant\/\",\"name\":\"If these 6 signs describe your accountant\u2026 run! &#8211; Taxfix (formerly TaxScouts)\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/taxfix.com\/en-uk\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/taxfix.com\/en-uk\/blog\/6-signs-to-spot-a-dodgy-accountant\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/taxfix.com\/en-uk\/blog\/6-signs-to-spot-a-dodgy-accountant\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/taxfix.com\/en-uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/25Q3_TS_Rebrand_UK_Website_Content_Blog-and-guides_6-signs-to-spot-a-dodgy-accountant.png\",\"datePublished\":\"2022-06-30T10:24:15+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-09-10T15:41:11+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/taxfix.com\/en-uk\/#\/schema\/person\/008d0d859b00d5809e35d143dff5dd4a\"},\"description\":\"Finding the right accountant can be tricky, especially if you\u2019re new to the world of tax returns. 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