Is my business liable for accountant mistakes?

What happens if my accountant makes a mistake?

Having a good accountant is essential for anyone in a position of responsibility in the commercial world. Accountants have the expertise, training and years of experience behind them to guide you and your company in terms of your tax liabilities and financial responsibilities.

An accountant is responsible for advising you on how to meet your fiscal obligations and will undertake the legwork of submitting tax returns on behalf of your company. They should warn you if you are in danger of receiving penalties from HMRC, for example if you do not structure your tax payments correctly or you fall behind with paying tax.

Occasionally accountants do make mistakes. Sometimes they do not have adequate visibility of a company’s commercial activity and therefore do not have the information to provide you with the correct advice and services. Sometimes it can be simple human error.

Working with an experienced and reputable firm of accountants ultimately lessens the likelihood of admin errors or oversight on their part.

Ultimate liability and responsibility for submitting accurate tax returns on time and having the funds to meet tax obligations sits with your company, not with your accountant.

It is the role of UK company directors to ensure that their companies are complaint with statutory tax requirements and that is why HMRC take the view that accountants are independent agents who are contracted to work on behalf of their clients. If your accountant makes a mistake when preparing your company accounts or misses a deadline, your company still remains liable for tax payments and any fines or penalties.

Working with well renowned and respected accountants and providing them with full visibility of your financial information allows you to mitigate against the risk of errors from your accountant.

It is standard best practice to allow the accountant as much time as possible to submit the relevant tax returns, rather than forcing them to do a rushed job just before a tax deadline.

If you do not provide them with the full picture of your commercial activity, they cannot do their work properly. Giving them full and accurate access to all of your invoices and receipts, plus access to all relevant company bank account statements will give them a clear picture of how the company is performing and what tax liability your company must have.

If your company is buying or selling off assets the accountant needs to know. Likewise records of company pension schemes and staff payroll details should be accurate and clear for the accountant to review.

You should be clear about when your company tax year ends and provide the accountant with all relevant documents for the accounting period so that they can prepare your annual statements on time for submission to HMRC. Likewise, keep things tidy with regards to PAYE so that your accountant can accurately calculate your obligations and you don’t slip unnecessarily into arrears.

If you believe that an accountant you have hired has acted unprofessionally of course you can change to a new firm and make a complaint against the previous firm to the relevant accountancy body, such as the Institute of Chartered Accountants.

In the instance that an accountancy firm has acted negligently you can take them to court to seek compensation if your business has been seriously financially impacted. In this instance you would need to speak with a commercial lawyer in order to establish the case for culpability against the accountant.

At Begbies Traynor we have the experience and expertise to take a 360 view of your situation and make the required recommendations. Our advice is free and we can also help point you in the way of an accountant if you’ve been unhappy with your current service – see Handpicked Accountants for more information.