As a nation we seem obsessed with comparison websites and we readily switch insurers to save £50-100 on our car or home insurance. So why don’t businesses market test their accountant more often? Is it because they are happy enough with the basic service and see little differentiation between local firms, or do they think its a lot of hassle to change even if they are open to the idea? I often meet business owners who aren’t entirely happy with their accountant but can’t bring themselves to do much about it, so when I get the chance I explain how easy it is to change, at the right time.

Service and other benefits aside, businesses can often save significant amounts by shopping around. This particularly applies the more services you require. Take a look at your accountancy and bookkeeping costs over the last year. How many items were billed separately, or in addition to the core fee you had agreed? Was your personal tax on top of the fee for the accounts?

In a future blog I’ll look at how to go about changing accountants and the differences a CIMA accountant can bring.

Meanwhile if you can see some benefit in changing your accountant, go (and) compare!