How to Choose an Accountant for an Irish Limited Company

# How to Choose an Accountant for an Irish Limited Company

Choose an accountant by comparing the work your company actually needs—not by comparing headline fees alone. For an Irish limited company with turnover above €100,000, examine professional standing, relevant experience, who will do the work, the exact compliance scope, bookkeeping and payroll responsibilities, reporting quality, response arrangements and all exclusions. Put the agreed service in writing before appointment.

Start with your company’s real requirements

Two companies with the same turnover can require very different services. A consultancy with a small number of invoices is not the same engagement as a retailer with stock, multiple bank feeds, payroll and frequent VAT reporting.

Prepare a short fact sheet before requesting proposals:

• turnover and expected growth;
• number of monthly sales and purchase transactions;
• employees and payroll frequency;
• VAT registration and filing frequency;
• bookkeeping system and who maintains it;
• company year-end and Annual Return Date;
• loans, leases, stock, imports, exports or group companies;
• management accounts or cash-flow reporting required;
• outstanding filings or Revenue queries;
• advice expected on remuneration, investment, hiring, finance or sale plans.

This lets each firm price the same assignment and reduces surprises later.

Check professional standing

IAASA recommends selecting an individual who is a full member of an accountancy body within its supervisory remit. Ask for the proposed engagement partner’s full name, professional body and membership status, then verify it with the relevant body where possible.

Do not assume that every person offering accountancy services can perform a statutory audit. If an audit is required, confirm that the individual or firm is approved and registered in Ireland for statutory audit work.

Professional membership is not a guarantee of service quality, but it gives you a defined qualification and regulatory framework to assess.

Ask who will actually handle your business

The person presenting the proposal may not prepare the bookkeeping, accounts or returns. Establish:

• the engagement partner;
• the day-to-day manager;
• what is outsourced or processed elsewhere;
• who reviews the work;
• who answers technical questions;
• what happens during leave or busy filing periods.

You should know whom to contact about a routine bookkeeping query, an urgent Revenue letter and a commercial decision. Those may be different people, but the route should be clear.

Compare scope, not labels

A “limited-company package” has no universal content. Ask firms to mark each item as included, optional or excluded:

Pay particular attention to CRO work. An accountancy firm may prepare financial statements without accepting responsibility for every company-secretarial filing. The engagement needs to say who is monitoring the Annual Return Date and who files the B1.

Test whether the firm understands deadlines

You do not need to become a tax expert, but the accountant should be able to explain your calendar in plain language.

For example, Revenue states that a company generally files its Corporation Tax return and pays the balance due nine months after the end of its accounting period, by the applicable electronic deadline. Preliminary-tax timing depends on the company’s circumstances. CRO annual returns use the company’s Annual Return Date and financial-year-end rules rather than the Corporation Tax date.

Ask the proposed firm to produce a one-page annual calendar for your company. It should show what the business must deliver, what the accountant will do and when approval is required.

Look for a process, not a promise

“We are very responsive” is difficult to assess. Better questions are:

• Where do I send records and queries?
• When are monthly records due?
• Who confirms that they are complete?
• What response arrangement applies to routine and urgent queries?
• How will approaching deadlines be communicated?
• How are additional fees approved?
• When will draft year-end figures be available?
• What meeting or review is included during the year?

The answer should be a repeatable process. If all responsibility depends on remembering to call one busy individual, the service may become fragile as your business grows.

Decide what information you need during the year

Annual accounts are historical. A growing business may also need current information about cash, margins, debtors, stock, payroll cost and tax reserves.

Ask what a management-accounts package would contain, how soon after month-end it would arrive and whether someone will explain the results. A glossy dashboard is not useful if the figures are late, unreconciled or not connected to decisions.

For a company over €100,000 turnover, useful reporting might begin with a simple monthly or quarterly pack:

• profit and loss compared with budget or prior period;
• balance sheet;
• cash position and short-term forecast;
• aged debtors and creditors;
• VAT, payroll and Corporation Tax reserves;
• a small number of business-specific indicators;
• actions agreed with management.

The appropriate frequency depends on the size, volatility and decisions facing the company.

Compare fees fairly

There is no reliable universal fee for an Irish limited company. The price depends on transaction volume, record quality, payroll, VAT, complexity, reporting and advice.

To compare proposals:

1. Give each firm the same written fact sheet.
2. Use the same scope table.
3. Separate recurring compliance from clean-up or once-off work.
4. Ask what assumptions the fee relies on.
5. Ask what events trigger additional fees.
6. Confirm whether quoted amounts include VAT.
7. Compare the level and timing of contact, not only the total.

A low quote may be entirely suitable for a clean, simple company. It becomes poor value only if important work is excluded, the business expected advice that was never included, or records must be repaired later.

Twelve questions to ask at the selection meeting

Score each answer from 0 (unclear) to 3 (specific and evidenced):

1. What professional body does the engagement partner belong to?
2. Who will do and review each part of our work?
3. What experience do you have with businesses of our scale and sector?
4. What exactly is included and excluded?
5. Who monitors Revenue and CRO deadlines?
6. What do you need from us each month, and how?
7. How are queries prioritised and answered?
8. How and when will fees change?
9. What management information can you provide?
10. How do you manage handover from our present accountant?
11. Who controls our accounting-system subscription and data access?
12. What would your first 30 days with us look like?

Do not select mechanically from the total score. Use it to expose vague answers and differences between proposals.

Warning signs before appointment

Pause if a proposal:

• does not identify the responsible person;
• uses “everything included” without a service schedule;
• cannot explain the company’s filing calendar;
• does not ask about the condition of the bookkeeping;
• assumes CRO work is somebody else’s responsibility without saying so;
• requires sharing personal system passwords rather than secure user access;
• gives tax conclusions before understanding the facts;
• promises savings or results without analysis;
• is unclear about data access when the engagement ends.

Frequently asked questions

Should I choose a local accountant?

Proximity can help where you value face-to-face meetings, but many services can be delivered securely online. The more important questions are competence, scope, communication and relevant experience. Find My Accountant supports businesses nationwide rather than only Dublin and Cork.

Must my company have a statutory audit?

Not every company requires one. Eligibility for audit exemption depends on current legal criteria, company type, group position and filing history. Ask a qualified adviser to confirm the position for your company rather than relying on turnover alone.

Is a fixed monthly fee better?

It can improve budgeting if scope and assumptions are clear. It is not automatically better than an annual or hourly arrangement. Compare what is included, what triggers extra work and what contact you receive.

Should the same firm do bookkeeping and year-end accounts?

It can simplify the flow of information, but separation can also work well. What matters is ownership, consistent records, review controls and an agreed handover between providers.

Submit an accountancy enquiry

Find My Accountant is an independent enquiry website, not an accountancy practice. Businesses throughout Ireland can tell us their county and the services they need. With your consent, your enquiry may be sent to one participating accountancy firm serving your area so it can contact you. No engagement, response or outcome is guaranteed.