Finding the right accountant
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Search for an ICAEW Chartered Accountant
Legally anyone can call themselves an ‘accountant’ without any training or experience. To make the right financial decisions, you need the right financial advice. An ICAEW Chartered Accountant can help.
ICAEW Chartered Accountants can be recognised by the ACA or FCA after their name.
They are:
- qualified chartered accountants who complete a minimum of three years in-depth training including practical experience
- committed to continuing professional development training every year to keep their knowledge and skills up-to-date
- members of ICAEW – The Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales
- bound by ICAEW’s Code of Ethics and subject to our disciplinary procedures
- required to hold a practicing certificate and professional indemnity insurance if they offer professional services to the public
- subject to review as part of ICAEW’s Practice Assurance scheme, which demonstrates their commitment to quality assurance, and upholding and developing the highest professional standards.
ICAEW has launched the Business Advice Service to promote the use of ICAEW Chartered Accountants by businesses.
ICAEW firms who join the service will offer SMEs and start-ups an initial consultation at no charge to discuss their business needs. After the initial consultation, you are free to end your association with the firm. On the other hand, it is quite possible that a number of business issues will have been identified which the firm can help you with. If that it is the case, your business may find it worthwhile to employ the firm as advisers at a commercial rate agreed between the two of you.
Firms participating in the service are identified in the ICAEW Directory of Firms with the symbol 
against their entry.
Full details of the service can be found at businessadviceservice.com
Find an ICAEW Chartered Accountant in the ICAEW Business Advice Service.
If you are an ICAEW firm offering this advice, you can be listed free of charge in a special section within this directory. To join the service, ICAEW member firms can update their entry online or contact Wilmington Publishing & Information Ltd on +44 (0)20 7324 2399.
Speaking to an ICAEW Chartered Accountant before you start your business will help you make the right decisions right from the start. They will discuss the options available to set up your business eg, as a sole trader, partnership, or a limited company.
You will need to consider many issues such as tax implications, personal liability, capital, etc. A chartered accountant will know the pros and cons of each of these and will be able to advise you on what will work best for you. See also the section on small business FAQs
Read more about starting your business.
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There are many different records that have to be kept by a business – VAT, PAYE, accounting records of sales and purchases.
If your records are inadequate in any of these areas, you could fall foul of the law.
All businesses have to submit accounts to the tax authorities. All limited companies and limited liability partnerships also have to file annual accounts with the Registrar of Companies, which follow specific guidelines.
Companies with a turnover of more than £6.5m are required by law to undertake an annual audit, carried out by a registered auditor. However, even when it is not a legal requirement, most businesses choose to have this independent review because of the positive benefits it can provide.
An ICAEW Chartered Accountant will know which records you are required to keep, help you to keep them properly and ensure that they are filed with the relevant authorities at the right time.
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An ICAEW Chartered Accountant has the professional experience to examine your business ideas and evaluate profit potential. They can also help you work on break-even analysis, business ratios, budgets, etc, which can be used to set realistic financial targets. You will then be able to plan ahead and compare forecast figures with actual results.
The way your business is financed has an important effect on profitability.
- Should new capital equipment be leased or purchased?
- Should money be raised by share capital, loans or overdraft?
- What are the tax implications?
- Can any spare cash be invested temporarily?
All these considerations affect working capital requirements, the cost of financing the business and of course profits. You should not make these decisions without professional help.
Read more about planning for business.
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Just received your tax return form and don’t know what to do? Many companies choose to use an ICAEW Chartered Accountant to help complete their company tax return. Another major headache for companies is the completion of P11D returns, which have to be completed for all directors and employees who earn over £8,500 pa. An ICAEW Chartered Accountant can give you tax advice quickly and professionally.
Read more about tax, NIC, VAT and HMRC.
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An overdraft is usually the appropriate way to finance a temporary or fluctuating cash shortage. Where a longer-term commitment is involved, a bank loan is often the easiest and most suitable form of finance.
The Government and the EU may provide financial assistance in some circumstances. This may take the form of cash grants, tax concessions, help with training or removal costs, subsidised rents and so on. Assistance schemes vary from year to year, from industry to industry and from region to region.
There are many other possible sources of finance available, ranging from debenture loans to venture capital provided under, for example, the Enterprise Investment Scheme or Venture Capital Trusts. Alternatively, it may be possible to arrange finance from a merchant bank, a research foundation or some other financial institution.
When seeking a bank overdraft or loan, applying for certain types of government aid, or when you want to attract new investors or partners, you will need to present a convincing picture of your business’s financial condition and future prospects.
An ICAEW Chartered Accountant knows what information is required and how it should be presented to have the best chance of success.
Read more about raising finance.
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Rapid increases in turnover can sometimes weaken or even destroy a business because its systems break down or because it cannot finance the increased levels of stock, work in progress and debtors which are required.
Adequate working capital and good controls over stock, invoicing, credit to customers and cash collection are among the most important aspects of good financial management in a growing business. Expansion of business activity increases the volume of transactions which have to be recorded. Tasks such as payroll preparation, book-keeping and accounts preparation may be better handled outside the business by an outsourced provider such as a chartered accountancy practice. An independent check on the accounts once a year may add further credibility to the financial information you produce in the eyes of those who look at your accounts.
Eventually, you may choose to employ an ICAEW Chartered Accountant fulltime, although there will still be an occasional need for specialist help from an independent firm. If an audit is required, an ICAEW Chartered Accountant in your own employ cannot carry it out.
Read more about growing your business.
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Buying
The difficulty in buying a business is knowing how much to pay as there is rarely a market comparison available. Even when a public company is for sale, the quoted share price may not reflect the real worth of the business.
It is therefore advisable to ask an ICAEW Chartered Accountant for expert advice on valuation and negotiation.
Selling
You may choose to sell part or the whole of your own business. You will have to put a value on the business and, of course, find a suitable buyer.
Here again an ICAEW Chartered Accountant can help by assessing the value of goodwill and assets and perhaps by introducing potential purchasers.
Merging
Merging with another business can involve complicated financial negotiation. There may be a transfer of shares or a cash adjustment between the parties and there will probably be a lengthy legal agreement, which will need to be examined from a financial viewpoint.
The tax and accounting calculations can sometimes be extremely complex and usually require expert knowledge.
Management buyout
Raising finance for a management buyout may involve complicated loan arrangements between the company and the new shareholders.
The tax implications also need careful appraisal.
Read more about exit or sale strategies.
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The dates chosen for starting or ending a business and for its accounting year-end can make an important difference to the tax position and cash flow. Similarly, the timing of important transactions or purchases of capital equipment can have a significant effect.
It pays to consult an ICAEW Chartered Accountant before committing yourself to a decision on timing, since you may be able to save tax or delay the payment of tax. Most expenses of running a business are tax deductible but there are exceptions.
A chartered accountant can help to ensure that you claim all legally available tax allowances and to achieve maximum benefit from the timing of capital allowance claims. You should always consider the tax implications when investing in new equipment, buying a new car or undertaking any other major expenditure.
Depending on circumstances, the best approach might be outright purchase, loan finance, hire purchase or leasing contract.
Dividing a company’s operations into subsidiary companies or branches may provide tax advantages, as may the formation of a company by a sole trader or partnership.
Trading or setting up overseas brings its own problems, which can sometimes be extremely complex. To assess the tax advantages and disadvantages of overseas operations, you need to get expert advice.
Read more about tax, NIC, VAT and HMRC.
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Filling in tax forms can be complicated. Whatever the tax assessment involved - income tax, corporation tax, VAT, etc, an ICAEW Chartered Accountant can help to collate the necessary information and prepare the return on your behalf.
Where there is a dispute over a tax liability, an ICAEW Chartered Accountant can provide advice on the detailed issues raised by HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC).
Some businesses have trouble sorting out the transactions which are VAT-able and those which are exempt or zero-rated. A chartered accountant can help you to understand the rules governing VAT and also advise on the type of invoicing and book-keeping required for HMRC purposes. A tax liability may depend on the taxable value of a benefit received or an asset transferred. In such cases, the professional opinion of an ICAEW Chartered Accountant can help you to agree a value with the tax authorities.
If too much tax has been paid in the past, it may be reclaimed in certain circumstances.
Typical examples of overpayments include a non-taxpayer’s investment income being taxed at source, incorrect PAYE coding or the omission of allowable expenses from a tax return. Individuals must make their own assessment regarding personal taxation.
A chartered accountant can help you to understand tax rules and make sure you are fully aware of all the filing and payment deadlines.
Read more about tax, NIC, VAT and HMRC.
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It’s important for your business to have a properly designed management information system, which will enable you to identify and keep track of profits and losses.
You will need to prepare this information more regularly than once a year in the annual accounts, probably quarterly, monthly or even weekly. There is a wide variety of cost-effective computers and accounting programs, which can produce most of the accounting and management information you need to run your business.
Many chartered accountants are able to advise on the suitability of a system for your particular business and to ensure that proper audit controls are provided.
Read more about managing your business.
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When a company goes into liquidation it effectively ‘dies’ when it is dissolved and is no longer on the Register of Companies. The most important method of dissolving a company is through a liquidation.
A liquidation is final and the company will not be in existence after the liquidation comes to an end. There are different ways that a company can enter the liquidation process and specialist advice from an insolvency practitioner is essential. It depends if liquidation is voluntary (any insolvency practitioner) or compulsory.
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The SME Funding Adviser Scheme is an initiative from ICAEW to identify member firms which provide independent advice to small and medium-sized (predominantly UK) businesses, with up to 250 employees or a turnover of £25.9m, seeking business finance advice.
The UK government wants to encourage entrepreneurship and has introduced a number of initiatives to increase the choice of finance for start-up and growth businesses.
The ICAEW has been working with government to ensure businesses have access to a wide choice of independent professional advisers across the UK on a whole range of business finance options.
This scheme helps Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) to identify ICAEW member firms in their region, which are able to offer advice on business finance options.
The directory will enable you to identify practices offering advice over a wider range of finance, particularly equity finance (sometimes referred to as risk capital) - where a new investor provides share capital in return for a share of the business. Many higher growth businesses will at some point in their development want equity finance to fund entry to new markets, new product development or to realise some or all of the original owner’s investment in the business.
To help small businesses, we have established a link from the Finance and Grants page of the businesslink.gov website (the government's main source of web-based general business advice) directly to the ICAEW Directory of Firms, in which an ICAEW member firm’s flagged entry will appear.
The scheme identifies 10 areas of expertise on which chartered accountants can offer advice. Find an SME Funding Adviser here.
If you are an ICAEW firm offering this advice, you can be listed free of charge in a special section within this directory. To join the scheme, ICAEW member firms can update their entry online or contact Wilmington Publishing & Information Ltd on +44 (0)20 7324 2399.
