Interviewing an Accountant: Seven Questions Worth Asking Before You Sign

Most people pick an accountant the way they pick a dentist: a friend mentioned a name, the office was nearby, and the first call went fine. That works until the month you need a quick answer and nobody writes back.

A better approach is to treat the first call like a short job interview, one where you are the one hiring. You are not testing their knowledge of rules. You are checking whether they will fit the way you work, now and in two years when your business looks different.

Here are seven questions that tell you most of what you need to know.

Before the call: know what you are hiring for

An accountant can do very different jobs. Some only prepare yearly tax paperwork. Others keep your books every month, advise on pricing, help you plan a big purchase or catch problems early.

Write down, in two or three lines, what you need today. For example: "I am a solo designer with about a dozen clients in three currencies. I want my yearly filing done right and someone to tell me if I am setting aside enough money." That short note makes every answer easier to judge, because you can hold it up against what you actually need.

Question 1: "Who will actually do my work?"

At bigger firms, the person on the first call is often not the person who handles your files. That is not automatically bad, but you should know it. Ask who your day-to-day contact will be and whether you can speak to them before you decide.

At a one-person practice, ask a different question: what happens when they are ill or on holiday? A good answer names a backup or a clear way to reach them.

Question 2: "How do you like to receive my records?"

This one reveals a lot. Some accountants want a shoebox of paper. Some want a shared folder. Some want a clean export once a month. Neither is wrong, but the answer shows how much of your time the relationship will take.

If you already keep tidy digital records, say so and watch their reaction. An accountant who is happy to take a spreadsheet export instead of retyping everything will usually charge less and make fewer mistakes. If you invoice with a tool that offers reports and a CSV export, such as TickPaid, you can hand over a month of income and outstanding balances in a minute rather than an afternoon.

Question 3: "What do you do between filing dates?"

Some accountants vanish for eleven months and reappear with a deadline. Others check in, flag a slow month or tell you that your costs are creeping up.

Ask for an example of something they noticed for a client halfway through the year. You are not looking for a dramatic story. A simple one is fine: "A client was paying a subscription twice, and we caught it in the quarterly review." What matters is that they look at your numbers when nobody is forcing them to.

Question 4: "What kind of clients are you used to?"

An accountant who spends their days with restaurants and shops will understand your world differently from one who works with consultants and creatives. You do not need an exact match, but you do want someone who understands your common situations: irregular income, a few big clients, expenses that mix home and work, customers in other countries.

If you work across borders, ask directly how they handle income in several currencies. If the answer is vague, keep looking.

Question 5: "How do I reach you, and how fast do you reply?"

Do not accept "anytime!" as an answer. Ask for specifics: email, phone, a shared messaging app? Is there a normal reply time, such as one or two working days?

The promise matters less than the habit. If they were slow to schedule this first call, that is information. People are usually at their most responsive before they are paid.

Question 6: "How do you price, and what is not included?"

Fees come in a few shapes: a fixed price per year, a monthly retainer, or an hourly rate. Each can be fair. What you need is clarity about the edges.

• Is a quick question by email included, or does it start a timer?
• What happens if I send my records late, or in a mess?
• Do you charge extra to fix mistakes in earlier years?
• What would make the price go up next year?

When you compare two accountants, do not compare the headline number. Write down what each price covers, line by line. A cheaper quote that excludes the questions you will certainly have is often the more expensive one.

Question 7: "What would make us a bad match?"

It sounds odd, but it works well. A confident, honest accountant will tell you plainly: "If you want someone to answer within the hour, that is not me," or "I prefer clients who send records monthly." That is a good sign. You get to decide whether you can live with their limits before money changes hands.

Someone who says "we are a perfect match for everyone" is selling, not advising.

Listen for how they explain things

Beyond the seven questions, pay attention to how you feel while they talk. Ask something you already half-know, such as why money you have set aside for taxes should sit in a separate account. Good accountants explain without making you feel small. They use plain words, check that you followed, and are comfortable saying "it depends, and here is what it depends on."

You will share very personal numbers with this person. If you find yourself holding back, or nodding at things you did not understand, trust that feeling.

Run a small trial first

You rarely need to commit to everything on day one. Consider starting with one limited job: a review of your last year, or a single quarter's books. You will learn how they communicate, how clear their work is and whether their invoices match their quote.

Think of a first project as a paid conversation. If it goes well, expand the work. If it does not, you have lost little, and you leave with a cleaner set of records than you started with.

Keep the door open

Hiring an accountant is a long relationship, not a lifelong one. Your business changes. You might start alone and later hire a helper, or move from simple invoices to selling products. The person who suited you at the start may not suit you later, and that is normal.

Review the arrangement once a year with three plain questions. Do I get answers when I need them? Do I understand what I am paying for? Has my business outgrown what this person offers? If the answers worry you, start the interview process again.

A one-page checklist to take with you

1. Write down what you need the accountant to do.
2. Ask who does the work and who covers when they are away.
3. Find out how they want your records, and how much time that costs you.
4. Ask what they do between filing dates.
5. Check that they know clients like you.
6. Agree on how and how fast you will talk to each other.
7. Get the price and its limits in writing.
8. Ask what would make you a poor match.

Bring that list to two or three calls. By the end, one person will usually stand out, and it will not be because of the lowest price. It will be the one whose answers sounded like they were about you.