Do I need a new accountant?

I have been using my current account for around the last 20 years, which is the main reason I haven't really considered changing from him. He has never been interested in providing too much tax advice, and just wants to rip through the return. I've only had one known issue with my returns completed through him in the past, when the ATO wrote asking for an explainer about a share related gain (can't remember the exact details). Apparently he had entered the amount in the wrong area - the ATO just said to be careful with that in future.

It has become more difficult now that I no longer go in and see him - we just email each other when it comes to putting the return together. He gives me property schedules to fill out for the income and expenses for each of my three investment properties, and I send him a few emails - one for property, one for shares etc., one for other stuff, with various attachments and notes as needed. I often ask a couple of questions when I send the emails through, but he rarely responds to these. And this year I found a number of discrepancies when he sent me back the draft return to view and sign.

The biggest issue was the missed depreciation for my newest property. He thought my line item 'Depreciation report' of $650 was the actual depreciation claim, rather than the cost of the report itself. This is despite the fact we have schedules for the other two properties that he refers to. I had sent through the schedule the previous year when I received it. In the same email that contained my property schedules this year I said "I sent you through the depreciation report previously, but let me know if you need me to send it again". He said he thought it was strange the depreciation was so low, and that he didn't have the report. Adding this to the return will likely mean no longer owing the ATO $1k. If I had just signed off on this I would have been out of pocket for no reason.

I also had a note next to the expenses line on one of my property schedules regarding the replacement of a water pump during the year for almost $1k - I asked if this would need to be depreciated. He didn't add this to the return (or depreciate it), and didn't recall it when I mentioned it to him over the phone. Finally, he asked if I had made any donations for the year, even though this was all included in one of the three emails I sent him for this year's return. He said just to let him know because it was too difficult for him to go through all his emails.

It's time to get a new accountant, right? I'm assuming this sort of thing isn't what you might expect from a good accountant? I understand how complex it is, and that of course mistakes are going to be made, but for me I think the biggest factor is the total lack of interest. When I raised all of the above issues - in a completely non-confrontational way (that's not my style!) - the implication was that it was my fault for various reasons. He was reluctant to even get my file out when we were discussing it.

 

Why would you stay?

 

I was concerned it would be difficult to start again as he has all of my records, but upon researching I understand the new accountant just asks for the records to be transferred over. I also wanted to make sure this definitely wasn't the norm and I wasn't being fussy. I mean, I assumed not, but happy to hear from others.

 

I was with the same accountant for 20 years as well. Service quality deteriorated while fees went up. Made the move last year to a new mob. Shared my experience and expectations. They said all the right things but after completing last years returns the lack of customer service was a deal breaker for me. I have just made the change again to another account this year. So far this last one looks like a winner. Very pro active and attentive to my needs.

Don’t hesitate and make the move.

 

I'd say he doesn't do your return, it's probably been outsourced to SEA somewhere.

 

I have a new client who ummed and ahhed about changing accountants. The former tax agent made more mistakes than they got right. Real big issues. Sometimes the hunch has a good basis. You probably realise he is sold school and may not even be up to date in knowledge. And after 20 years you want to be nice.

 

What is the usual process for most accountants these days when putting together tax returns? Are clients just emailing documents across, as in my case, or are there other better methods making use of technology and portals etc.?

 

Email is a terribly non-secure way to deal with tax matters. Emails can be intercepted. I know of a past client who lost $600K through that issue. Her email was compromised and monitored for several years before they acted. She had earlier received the microsoft virus call where they accessed her device. Federal Police found a history of them reading, wathcing and farming data.

We use a secure two way file transfer portal which includes encrypted locked PDF digital signing that involves NO software to sign as that is also a risk and unncessary to be compliant with Commonwealth protocols. It also allows the return and notices to be retained but we dont offer it as a storage option and suggest the signed copies be retained elsewhere.

Think of the front page of tax return...
Full name, address, date of birth, bank account and TFN....Get to page 2 and its occupation, employer, income and..... Also lists spouse name and date of birth.

 

Anybody can make a mistake. Although, I've seen some pretty basic mistakes on my tax returns. And I know the problem with my tax agent.

He is overworked, money hungry, works long hours to get as much money in as he can and oh yeah, his eyes bulge out of his head from lack of sleep.

I could change agent but instead I just point out any error I see.

Anyway, there's plenty of tax agents to switch to if you need. Who knows if they're any better. And if your bill is up to date the agent should release your files.

 

I thought I made a mistake once but I was wrong.

Yes its a important reminder to check what is prepared. We can misunderstand, miss something or even have a typo issue that gets through. Mostly trivial issues. But when it is a matter that demonstrates lack of knowledge thats a worry. And for some matters you do need to rely on that knowledge as it is the foundation for what may be right or wrong.

I get some common property ones which are signs a adviser may be less proficient with property tax than they admit:

• Land tax arrears claimed when assessed
• Claimed reduced interest due to covid for a rental because of a bank loan holiday
• Review of loan interest over two years shows a sudden jump in year another property was acquired
• Roof replacement as depreciable capital works
• Argue about scrapping deductions or fail to even consider it when major works are to be commenced
• Sale of a half duplex construction and its reported as a discount gain or...exempt.
• Some advisers who have a client with many properties and none have a QS report.
• Borrowing expenses issues with calculations over just 5 tax years (eg 20% per year)

 

Considering how complex it can get, I can certainly see how some mistakes can be made. For me though it was really about attitude - no real interest in providing any advice or getting it right. A significant amount of stuff I had sent through was not being included in the return, even though I had laid it out really clearly. I started getting frustrated when none of my questions were being answered. But when this lack of attention/interest flows through to the preparation of the return itself, that becomes a real problem. I'll definitely be shopping around.

 

If the attitude is wrong you cannot fix it. If a person has a genuine desire to help you should try and work it out.

every relationship has ups and downs. I have never been in a bad relationship where I was completely blameless and never been in a bad relationship where I was completely at fault.