Most owners stay with their accountant for years after the relationship stopped working, because changing feels like a hassle and nobody wants an awkward conversation. In practice the process is routine, takes a few weeks and can happen at any time of year. This page explains what to look for, how the switch works in Australia, and what the first ninety days with Acquire look like.
The signs are usually clear in hindsight. If more than two of these apply, the relationship has become compliance only, and a business that is growing, restructuring or heading toward a sale needs more than compliance.
None of these mean the firm is bad at tax returns. They mean the firm is doing compliance and nothing more, and compliance is the floor, not the service. If you have read this far, you probably already know which of these apply to you, and the real question is whether the hassle of moving is worth it. In our experience it is smaller than owners expect, and this page shows why.
When you appoint a new accountant in Australia, the new firm writes to the old one. This is the ethical clearance letter, sometimes called a professional clearance or courtesy letter, and it is required under the professional and ethical standards that accountants work to. It asks whether there is any professional reason the new firm should not accept the engagement, and requests the documents needed to continue your affairs.
In practice the letter is routine. The outgoing firm confirms there is nothing to disclose, or occasionally notes unpaid fees, and sends the information across. You do not need to have the difficult conversation yourself. A short email to your current accountant saying you have appointed a new firm and asking them to cooperate with the clearance request is enough. Most firms respond within a couple of weeks, and the professional bodies expect them to.
Unpaid fees are the one thing that can slow the process. An accountant can in some circumstances hold onto their own working papers until fees are settled, but they cannot withhold your records, your lodged returns or your financial statements. If there is a dispute, we help you work out what you actually owe and what you are entitled to.
Your financial records belong to you. Prior-year financial statements, lodged tax returns, BAS and the Xero file are yours and come across with you. The outgoing accountant's own working papers are technically theirs, but the standards require them to provide what a new accountant needs to continue without redoing everything.
We ask for all of this in the clearance letter so that nothing has to be rebuilt. The depreciation schedule and the loss and franking records are the ones most often missing, and without them the next return takes longer and costs more. If the old firm cannot produce them, we reconstruct them from the lodged returns and the ATO records, but it is better to get them the first time.
Your tax agent appointment moves through the ATO's client-to-agent linking. You nominate us in Online services for business, and we add you to our client list within the window the ATO allows. Until that is done, we cannot see your ATO accounts or lodge for you, so it is the first thing we ask for.
If you have a company, the ASIC registered agent is changed so annual statements and company changes come to us rather than the old firm. And the Xero subscription ownership or adviser access is updated so we can work in the live file. We handle all three and tell you exactly what to click. If your old accountant owns the Xero subscription, we arrange the transfer so the history comes with it.
None of this interrupts your business. Payroll keeps running in Xero, BAS keeps getting lodged, and the ATO sees a change of agent rather than a gap. If a lodgement falls due during the handover, we agree with the outgoing firm who is responsible for it so nothing is missed and nothing is done twice. We send you a short checklist for the ATO nomination, which takes about ten minutes.
You can change accountants at any time. The new financial year is a natural moment but not a requirement, and waiting for it can cost a year of better advice. If the old firm has already prepared last year's return, we pick up from the current year. If they have not, we either let them finish it or take it over, depending on how far along it is and what you have already paid for.
The one date that matters is 31 October. To use the extended lodgement dates available to tax agents for the current year, you generally need to be on our client list by then. If you are moving in September or October, we prioritise the linking so you do not lose the extension. Businesses with overdue returns are also welcome; clearing a backlog is a normal part of onboarding, not a reason to be embarrassed.
There are also moments when changing is more valuable than usual: before a restructure, before a sale, before a major finance application, or when the business has outgrown a sole practitioner. In each case the new firm needs time to understand the business before the event, so earlier is better than later. If you are part-way through a year with messy books, moving earlier also means the clean-up is done once, by the firm that will use the result.
The first thing we do is look, not lodge. We review the last two to three years of financials and returns, the structure, the Xero file, the payroll set-up and the ATO accounts for every entity. This usually turns up a few things: a Division 7A loan that was never documented, a trust distribution that was not minuted, super or BAS lodged late, a depreciation schedule never updated, or a structure that made sense ten years ago. We put these in a short report with what each one means and what to do about it.
In the second month we fix what needs fixing and agree the rhythm: what you receive each month, who does the bookkeeping, when tax planning happens and when we meet. By the third month the Xero file is clean, the compliance calendar is set and you have your first management report. From there you have a team at Victoria Point or Jimboomba that knows your business, rather than a firm that rediscovers it every July.
The three firms under our roof, Acquire, VKS Accounting and Veal & Prasad, mean onboarding is handled by people who have done hundreds of transitions. Greg Blackaby built the firm by acquiring practices, and every acquisition was a transition of every client in it.
The fee you pay your accountant is the visible cost. The invisible costs are usually larger: tax that was not planned for because nobody looked before 30 June, a structure that exposes your home to business risk, a Division 7A problem compounding quietly, super guarantee charge accruing on super paid late, a business sold for less because the financials were not clean, and the hours you spend chasing answers.
Switching is not free either. There is onboarding work, and the new firm has to learn your business. For any business beyond the start-up stage, though, the comparison is straightforward: a year of proactive advice tends to pay for the transition many times over. If you are not sure, book a call with our Brisbane or Logan team and we will tell you honestly whether changing would make a difference for you.
One more cost is harder to measure. An accountant who has watched a business for years should be the person who notices when it is drifting, when a competitor is for sale, or when the owner is tired and should be planning succession. If nobody is noticing those things, the business is paying for a service it is not getting.
No. You choose a new accountant, they send an ethical clearance letter to your old firm, and your records and the three key registrations, the ATO tax agent link, the ASIC registered agent and the Xero subscription, are moved across. You do not need to have a difficult conversation; a short email telling your old accountant you have appointed a new firm is enough. Most transitions take two to four weeks and lodgements continue on time throughout.
It is the letter a new accountant sends to your previous accountant when you appoint them. It asks whether there is any professional reason the new firm should not act for you and requests the records needed to continue your affairs. It is required under the professional standards accountants work to, and it is routine. The outgoing firm usually replies within a couple of weeks confirming there is nothing to disclose and sending the information.
Your financial statements, lodged tax returns, BAS and Xero file are your records and must be provided. An accountant can in some circumstances hold their own working papers until outstanding fees are paid, but they cannot withhold documents that belong to you, and the professional standards require them to give a new accountant the information needed to continue. If there is a fee dispute, we help you work out what is actually owed.
Whenever the relationship stops working. The start of a financial year is tidy but not necessary; we pick up from the current quarter at any point. The one date worth noting is 31 October: to use the extended lodgement dates available through a tax agent for the current year, you need to be on the new firm's client list by then. If you are changing in spring, we prioritise the ATO linking so nothing is lost.
You should, but it is a short message, not a meeting. Tell them you have appointed a new accountant and ask them to respond to the clearance letter and provide your records. You do not need to explain why. Most firms handle it professionally; they lose and gain clients all the time. We send the formal request and handle the follow-up, so your involvement is a single email and the ATO nomination.
Not if the timing is handled. The ATO's lodgement program gives tax agents later due dates for their clients, but a client generally needs to be on the agent's list by 31 October to qualify for the current year. When you nominate us in Online services for business we add you promptly, and if you have already missed a date with your old firm we work out the position and talk to the ATO where needed.
