How do I find/choose an accountant?

[audlangsyne]

I'm thinking ahead as this is my first year running a small self-employed business so I will be issued with my first tax return come October 2013. I have no idea how to find/choose an accountant to do my tax return with/for me, and how much I should expect to pay. Do they have offices on the high street/ do I look in yellow pages etc? I don't really have anyone IRL to ask so thought I'd ask on here.

You can look online or yellow pages yes. High St I would have thought not as unlike solicitors' offices they are not really open to the public for off the street calls. I have a great accountant and am a small self employed business too - you can pm me if you wish and I'll let you have their details. You can also try doing your tax return yourself. I don't think its all that hard although maths was never my strong point so opted for help myself!

We just went with a small practitioner just off our local high street. As a small business, we are keen to support other small businesses.

An accountant won't necessarily do your tax return. You should be able to do that yourself. The role of the accountant is to sign off your accounts and meet statutory requirements.

"An accountant won't necessarily do your tax return. You should be able to do that yourself. The role of the accountant is to sign off your accounts and meet statutory requirements."

Who told you that? There aren't any statutory requirements for a small business - except to file a tax return! If they aren't doing that, what are you paying them for?

Many accountants that work for themselves may operate from home or premises that are not on the high street or immediately obvious. There are lots of different kinds of accountants and different professional bodies - do shop around until you find someone you feel comfortable with. Many councils or local development agencies run "small business clubs" and quite often accountants who specialise in small business will volunteer at such clubs as a way of meeting potential new clients.

Chartered accountants can be found via www.icaew.com - there is a search function to look for chartered accountants in your local area.

You may also wish to consider certified accountants - they have a different organisation google ACCA and you will find their site.

Note that pretty much anyone can call themselves an accountant - but if they are members of either of these organisations then any member offering services has to be qualified and have certain types of professional indemnity insurance. So check which organisation any accountant you consider claims to belong to.

Thanks, everyone!!

Look online, do a search for chartered acccountants in your area and then go an talk to a few to see who you like.