Changing Accountants for an Irish Limited Company: Handover Checklist

Choose the handover point around the company's next deadline

Start with a list of the next tax submissions, payments, payroll runs and CRO work, using the company's actual calendar and current official guidance. A financial year-end, a tax accounting period and an Annual Return Date are not interchangeable. Ask who has checked the dates and what information is still missing. Do this before discussing a convenient start date with the new firm.

If accounts or a return are already in progress, decide whether the outgoing accountant finishes that assignment or transfers the work at an agreed stage. Close to a deadline, changing both the provider and software can add avoidable uncertainty. There is no universal best month to switch: readiness, access and clear responsibility matter more than a calendar slogan.

Use a responsibility table, not a vague promise to take over

List each service separately. The person doing bookkeeping may not be responsible for payroll, tax payments, annual accounts or the CRO annual return. A new accountant should confirm which periods and tasks their engagement covers. Ask the outgoing provider to confirm what is complete, what is unfinished and what they will no longer do.

Agree the new scope and the total payable in writing

Explain the number of transactions, bank and payment accounts, employees, currencies and trading locations. Disclose outstanding filings, unreconciled periods, director transactions and Revenue correspondence. This helps the prospective accountant assess the work instead of quoting for a tidy company which turns out to need substantial reconstruction.

Separate recurring work from onboarding, migration and catch-up work. Request a written engagement describing what is included, what needs separate approval and the total payable for the agreed scope. Establish who approves returns and arranges payments. Also ask about response times, document deadlines and ending the engagement. A different provider cannot resolve an unclear scope unless you make it clear at the start.

Professional enquiries are not the old accountant's veto

Chartered Accountants Ireland explains that what is often called professional clearance is a process of professional enquiries, not a power for the outgoing firm to prevent another firm acting. Give permission for appropriate communication between the firms. The incoming accountant must assess acceptance under their professional obligations; sending an enquiry letter is not a promise that they will accept every assignment.

Raise outstanding fees separately and ask for an itemised account. The institute's case study distinguishes company accounting records from documents potentially subject to a lien, and discusses limited circumstances for retaining documents. Do not turn that into a blanket assumption that every internal working paper belongs to you. Where a dispute blocks essential information, obtain advice on the specific records and contract rather than relying on an online template.

• Chartered Accountants Ireland: changes in professional appointment

Prepare a complete accounting handover pack

An accounts PDF is an output, not the entire accounting system. The new provider needs enough information to trace balances and understand adjustments. Agree the required formats before exporting, and distinguish final accounts from drafts. Mark unresolved items so the recipient does not mistake an estimate or an unreconciled figure for a settled balance.

Use secure, agreed channels for transferring records, especially payroll and personal information. Keep an inventory of what was sent, the period it covers and any gaps. Revenue says you remain responsible for record keeping even where an accountant stores records on your behalf. Maintain company access rather than relying on one provider's inbox as the only archive.

• Latest signed accounts, current trial balance, detailed ledgers and bank reconciliations.
• Sales and purchase records, unpaid customer and supplier balances, and payment-platform reports.
• Asset, borrowing, stock, director-loan and related-party schedules where applicable.
• Filed tax returns, supporting calculations, payment evidence and open Revenue correspondence.
• Payroll reports, relevant employee records and the status of recent submissions where applicable.
• Company details, prior CRO filing evidence and the current compliance calendar.

• Revenue: responsibility for business record keeping

Changing providers does not restart the record-retention clock

Section 281 of the Companies Act 2014 requires adequate accounting records. Section 285 requires the relevant records to be preserved for at least six years after the end of the financial year containing their latest relevant date. That is not simply six years from the day you switch accountants. Other obligations or an unresolved matter may require longer retention; get advice before deleting historic files.

Check that archived attachments actually open and that the company can retrieve them after an old software subscription ends. Keep a usable backup outside the outgoing provider's account. A list of invoices without their supporting documents, or a file in a format nobody can access, may leave the new accountant unable to explain a balance.

• Companies Act 2014: section 281, accounting records
• Companies Act 2014: section 285, retention period

Arrange Revenue agent access through the proper process

For customers registered and active on Revenue's online systems, the agent e-linking process provides a request which the customer approves or rejects in ROS or myAccount. For a company using ROS, review the agent identity and requested tax link in the Revenue record before approving it. Use Revenue's current guidance for the company's situation rather than assuming an engagement letter alone creates online access.

Map the relevant tax work, such as Corporation Tax, Employer PAYE and VAT where applicable, to the agreed provider. Confirm that the incoming agent can access the records needed for the first assignment. Revenue states that authorised agents use their own ROS certificate and password. Do not send them the company's own ROS login credentials as a shortcut to a faster handover.

• Revenue: agent and advisor e-linking
• Revenue: agents use their own ROS credentials

Remove obsolete agent links, not the company's tax registrations

Revenue's ROS guidance distinguishes removing a linked agent from ceasing a tax registration. The two actions have different consequences. Notify Revenue when you stop using an agent and review the old links, rather than assuming that cancelling a direct debit or sending a goodbye email removes access. Do not choose a deregistration action simply because the accountant is changing.

Agree the transition around unfinished work, then confirm which links should remain and which should be removed. If different providers handle payroll and annual tax work, consider each role rather than removing everything indiscriminately. Keep a dated record of the agreed responsibilities and access changes, and verify the relevant company details and contact arrangements afterwards.

• Revenue: managing tax registrations and agent links
• Revenue: inform Revenue when an agent stops acting

Plan the software cutover and check the opening balances

Changing accountant does not always require changing accounting software. First establish who owns the subscription, who controls the administrator account and whether the new provider can use the existing system. Agree separate user access and remove redundant permissions when their work ends. Do not transfer another person's credentials or assume every user needs full administrator access.

If migration is needed, preserve exports and attachments before cancelling the old subscription. Agree a cutover date, test balances against bank reconciliations, and check outstanding invoices, liabilities and year-end adjustments. Confirm who records transactions arriving during the migration. A successful file import is not proof that the figures reconcile or that a return has been filed.

• Verify the last completed reconciliation and the opening balances in the new system.
• Check attachments, historic reports and multi-currency data where relevant.
• Confirm the first payroll run and other recurring work have an assigned owner.
• Retain evidence of the cutover and resolve differences before relying on reports.

Check whether the accountant also provides other company services

Ask whether the outgoing firm is also the company's secretary, registered-office provider or statutory auditor, or holds statutory records. Ending an accounts-preparation engagement does not automatically replace those separate arrangements. Plan continuity of official mail and access to registers, and identify any formal company approvals or filings required for a genuine change.

The CRO requires notification of changes to registered officer details and registered-office particulars through the relevant processes. Replacing a statutory auditor also involves its own requirements and needs separate advice. Make a list of each role and provider so an accounting handover does not accidentally leave the company with an unwanted address arrangement or an unaddressed appointment.

• CRO: director duties, officer updates and registered-office changes

A practical example: unfinished accounts at the point of transfer

Consider a fictional consultancy whose outgoing accountant has prepared draft annual accounts but has not submitted the company tax return. The director should not assume the new monthly package covers completing that historic assignment. Agree who checks the draft, obtains missing evidence, prepares the return, gets director approval and confirms filing and payment. Record the work stage and responsibility, not merely a changeover date.

If the incoming firm takes over, allow for its own review of records and opening balances. If the outgoing firm finishes, confirm how final adjustments and filing evidence will reach the new firm. Neither route should leave both accountants assuming the other is responsible. This example illustrates coordination; it is not a guaranteed timetable for acceptance or completion.

Sign off the handover against evidence

Schedule a short review after the transfer. The director and incoming provider should be able to identify the records received, the next obligations and any unresolved matters. Keep gaps visible until they are resolved, rather than describing the handover as complete merely because an email has been sent.

• The incoming accountant has accepted the engagement and confirmed the covered periods.
• Each outstanding return, payment and payroll run has an agreed responsible person.
• The record inventory is acknowledged, with missing items and draft figures identified.
• Relevant agent links and software access have been checked; unnecessary access is removed.
• Company records remain accessible and backed up independently of the old subscription.
• Any secretary, office or auditor change is handled as a separate matter.
• The director has a written calendar and knows how filing evidence will be supplied.

Prepare your accounting enquiry with StartCompany.ie

StartCompany.ie offers accountant matching for Irish companies and works with authorised partners to provide its services. Use the accounting service page to discuss the work you need. Explain that you are switching, identify the next deadline and provide a summary of records and unfinished work. Do not send identity documents, credentials or a complete payroll file in an initial general enquiry.

Ask the proposed accountant to confirm suitability, availability, qualifications and the written scope before committing to a handover date. The quote depends on the company and work required; review the agreed total payable rather than assuming a fixed fee or automatic acceptance. Clear preparation helps the new adviser assess the company without promising a particular tax outcome or that historic errors will disappear.