I was prompted to write this as a result of reading a question on the GetSatisfaction support page for FreeAgent (FAC). One of the comments was

If all he [the accountant] is going to do is re-enter all the data I’ve already entered in FAC, just because he happens to be familiar with Sage (for example) I don’t want to pay for that.

My initial reply was too general, saying there was far more to it than that but as more comments were made I began to realise that too many clients don’t have a clue what their accountant does at their year end. Not surprisingly, this isn’t always the client’s fault!  A later comment said

Since signing up to FreeAgent I’ve been trying to work out how it can best fit in with the work that my accountant does for me, and she’s been strangely reluctant to help me understand it.

So in an attempt to shed some light on the secret world of accountants I started to list what an accountant does with the figures in FreeAgent. Very soon, however, I realised that not all accountants do what we do! Too many do far less which may be one of the reasons for the “strange reluctance” to help clients understand.

I have therefore made two lists. The first is headed Minimum and sets out the least amount which an accountant would have to do to prepare something called “final accounts”. The second, What a good accountant does, is slightly longer!

I hope they help. Don’t forget that the “minimum accounts” will be inaccurate, they may be rejected by Companies House and HM Revenue and Customs and worst of all may result in you paying too much tax.