Choosing an Accountant in Glasgow: 10 Checks

What should you check before appointing an accountant?

Check qualifications, professional body membership, relevant experience, fees, service scope, data handling and how quickly they respond to practical questions.

For business owners, the accountant should understand your bookkeeping system, tax obligations, company structure and the decisions you need to make during the year.

Ten checks before you hire an accountant in Glasgow

1. Regulation. Look the firm up on the ACCA, ICAS or ICAEW public register. Anyone can call themselves an accountant; only a regulated firm is held to a professional body's standards and complaints process.

2. Anti-money-laundering supervision. Every UK accountancy practice must be supervised by a professional body or HMRC under the Money Laundering Regulations. Ask which one. A firm that can't answer is a red flag.

3. Professional indemnity insurance. Regulated firms must hold it. It protects you if advice turns out to be wrong.

4. A fixed fee and a written scope. The engagement letter should list what is included (accounts, tax returns, payroll, VAT, HMRC letters) so a low headline fee can't grow with extras.

5. A named accountant. Find out who will do your work and answer your questions during the year, not just in January.

6. Scottish tax knowledge. Scottish taxpayers pay six Income Tax bands, and dividends are taxed at UK rates. A firm used to rest-of-UK clients can get director pay planning wrong.

7. Experience with your kind of income. CIS for trades, Section 24 for landlords, IR35 for contractors, marketplace payouts for online sellers: ask for examples.

8. Software and Making Tax Digital. Ask which software they support (Xero, QuickBooks, FreeAgent) and how they will handle MTD for Income Tax, which reaches £30,000 of income from April 2027.

9. Reviews you can check. Read Google reviews and look for detail about responsiveness and deadlines, not just star counts.

10. An easy switch. A good firm requests professional clearance from your old accountant and handles the handover for you.

How important is communication style?

Very important. You should know what information is needed, when it is needed and what the numbers mean before something is filed.

If advice is full of unexplained jargon, deadlines are unclear or fees are vague, the relationship can become stressful even when the technical work is adequate.

What should be included in an accountancy fee?

Ask whether the fee includes accounts, tax returns, bookkeeping checks, payroll, VAT, company secretarial work, HMRC correspondence, meetings and deadline reminders.

A low headline fee can become expensive if basic support is treated as an extra. A clear scope protects both sides.

How do you switch accountants safely?

After appointing the new accountant, they usually request professional clearance and records from the previous accountant. This helps ensure continuity and avoids missing prior-year information.

Countify can manage the handover, request the right records and identify any urgent filings or gaps early in the switch.