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Switching accountant for a limited company.

A limited company can change accountant at any point in the year. This page sets out what happens in order, how clearance and records work, what HMRC and Companies House need, and when to switch.

Reviewed October 2026 against GOV.UK, Companies House, AAT, ICAEW and ACCA guidance.

What happens, in order

How long it takes depends on how quickly the previous accountant releases the records.

  1. The call. You book a free 20-minute discovery call about the company and what has not been working. Finstem quotes a fixed monthly fee in writing afterwards.
  2. The email. You send one email naming the previous accountant, with their email address and the company number.
  3. Clearance and records. Finstem writes to the previous accountant for professional clearance and asks for the records in the same letter, with your written authority. Finstem drafts your one-line note saying you are moving.
  4. Set-up. Finstem sets up the software and the HMRC agent authorisations. You sign the engagement letter and approve the authorisations.
  5. Day one. Finstem checks every Companies House and HMRC deadline (accounts, confirmation statement, corporation tax, VAT and payroll) and plans for anything that falls during the handover.
  6. Normal cycle. The records are brought up to date and the company goes onto a normal cycle. The page on how switching works has the same process in brief.

What professional clearance is, and your part in it

Professional clearance is the new accountant’s enquiry to the previous one before accepting the work. ICAEW’s guidance for its members says the name is a misnomer: the existing accountant cannot give or withhold permission to act, and the decision to accept belongs to the new accountant.

Your part is small. ICAEW says clients have the right to choose their accountants and to change them. AAT’s Code of Professional Ethics says a licensed member will generally need your permission, preferably in writing, before contacting the previous accountant, and that anything the previous accountant says must be honest and unambiguous. AAT’s Client Care Policy says a licensed member who has ended an engagement should, with your consent, correspond with the new accountant on request.

If the previous accountant is slow or holds records back

This is general information from professional-body guidance and legislation, not legal advice.

  • Client records. ACCA says documents belonging to clients must be given to them or their agents promptly on request, unless a right of lien can be exercised. ICAEW’s Code requires existing accountants to deal promptly with reasonable requests to transfer records.
  • Lien. A lien is a right to keep a client’s property until fees for work on it are paid. ICAEW says it exists only if four conditions are met and is meant to prompt a slow client, not to exact payment from a client who has a dispute over the fees. AAT permits a licensed member to use one only if the engagement letter mentions it and a document retention policy supports it, and requires legal advice first.
  • Company records. ACCA says that under English law no lien can exist over a company’s accounting records within section 386 of the Companies Act 2006, or over VAT returns (photocopies excepted). Under section 388 those records must be open to inspection by the company’s officers at all times.
  • Transfer information. Even where a lien exists, ACCA says the duty to supply reasonable transfer information to the new accountant remains.

What you can do: ask in writing for specific records; check the engagement letter, which AAT requires to say who owns the records and whether a lien will be exercised; and take legal advice on a disputed lien. If the accountant belongs to a professional body it has a complaints route. AAT asks you to use the firm’s own complaints procedure first and does not consider fee disputes. Tell Finstem on the call if you expect difficulty.

HMRC and Companies House: what changes

HMRC agent authorisation

HMRC authorises an agent tax by tax. For VAT, the new agent sends you a link that you must respond to within 21 days. For Corporation Tax, HMRC posts the company a letter with an authorisation code, which you give the agent within 30 days; form 64-8 is the paper route. If you change agent, HMRC says the new authorisation replaces the existing one, and you can also remove an agent in your business tax account. Stopping a VAT or employer PAYE agent dealing with HMRC by phone or letter needs a further step by post or phone. HMRC says you must not give your sign-in details to your agent.

Companies House

The company authentication code is a 6 digit alphanumeric code that works as a company officer’s signature for online filing. If you do not have it, Companies House posts it to the registered office, which can take up to 10 working days. If you change it, tell anyone else who files for you. Companies House advises changing it if someone no longer authorised to file, such as a previous accountant, knows it. Directors also give their Companies House personal code in the next confirmation statement, and can share it with an accountant who files on their behalf.

Mid-year or after the year end: when to switch

Any time works. Many people wait for the year end, but a mid-year switch is straightforward. You remain legally responsible for the company’s accounts and filings whoever prepares them, so settle who owns each date:

  • Accounts. Due at Companies House 9 months after the financial year ends. Corporation Tax is due 9 months and 1 day after the accounting period ends for profits up to £1.5 million, and the CT600 12 months after. Finstem agrees with the previous accountant who completes what.
  • VAT. The return and payment are usually due one calendar month and 7 days after the period ends, so a quarter open at the switch needs an owner.
  • Payroll. A payroll report goes to HMRC on or before each payday. Employees’ P60s are due by 31 May and expenses and benefits reporting by 6 July, so ask for year-to-date figures.
  • Confirmation statement. Due at least every 12 months, and it can be filed up to 14 days after the review period ends.

Avoid starting in the final days before a deadline, because some steps depend on others. If one is close, say so on the call and it is picked up first. A company with no accountant yet should read about the first year as a limited company.

What to have to hand for the first call

  • The previous accountant’s name and email address
  • The company number and year end
  • The last set of accounts, if there is one
  • A login for the bookkeeping software
  • HMRC references: the corporation tax UTR, PAYE and VAT numbers
  • The previous accountant’s engagement letter, and your company authentication code, if you have them
  • The date of any filing you know is close

Finstem collects everything else as part of clearance.

What to check before you leave

  • Outstanding invoices and any fees paid in advance, confirmed in writing
  • Administrator access to the accounting software, and which bank feeds are connected
  • Copies of filed accounts, CT600s and the VAT return history
  • Payroll year-to-date figures
  • A disengagement letter: AAT requires licensed members to confirm the end of an engagement in one, covering outstanding work and impending deadlines, unless there is good reason not to
  • After the move: a new company authentication code, and confirmation that the old agent’s HMRC authority is replaced or removed

Why directors switch, and what proactive service looks like

The reasons are familiar: the firm has been bought or is retiring, replies have stopped, a mistake has cost money, the fee has risen, or the director wants advice before the year end rather than after it.

Proactive means dates and decisions are raised before they arrive. At Finstem that is every Companies House and HMRC date tracked from day one; salary and dividends, expenses, capital allowances, pension contributions and the timing of purchases reviewed before the year end, with what was decided and why put in writing (see tax planning in Oswestry); management accounts where the company needs them; replies within one working day; and the same accountant every time. Finstem is an Oswestry practice: see accountants in Oswestry.

What switching costs

Finstem quotes a fixed monthly fee in writing after the free discovery call, with no hourly billing. The fee depends on the company and on what the quotation lists: usually the statutory accounts, CT600, directors’ self-assessment, VAT returns, payroll and confirmation statement, plus bookkeeping and management accounts where needed. Work outside the agreed scope is quoted separately in writing before it starts. ICAEW’s guidance says a previous accountant should not normally charge for transferring records unless there is good reason, and ACCA’s Code says transfer information is provided free of charge. More answers are in the main FAQ.

Sources checked on 10/10/2026: GOV.UK guidance on authorising, changing and removing a tax agent, company authentication codes and personal codes; the AAT Client Care Policy and Code of Professional Ethics; ICAEW helpsheets on changes of appointment and liens; the ACCA legal ownership factsheet; Companies Act 2006 section 386 and section 388.

Frequently asked questions

Get in touch
Q1How do I switch accountants for my limited company?

Give your new accountant permission, preferably in writing, to contact the current one, then move the records and HMRC access across. With Finstem that starts with one email naming the previous accountant and giving the company number. Finstem writes for professional clearance, collects the records, sets up the software and HMRC authorisations, and checks every deadline on day one. You sign the engagement letter and approve the authorisations.

Q2What is the best time of year to switch accountants?

Any time of year works. Many people wait for the year end, but a mid-year switch is straightforward. Avoid starting in the last days before a filing date, because some steps depend on others: the previous accountant releases the records, and a Companies House authentication code posted to the registered office can take up to 10 working days. If a deadline is close, say so on the call and Finstem picks it up first.

Q3Can I switch accountant mid-year?

Yes. A switch can happen at any point in the year. As a director you stay legally responsible for the company’s accounts and filings whoever prepares them, so every date still applies. On day one Finstem checks each one, picks up whatever is in progress, tracks any deadline in the handover and agrees with the previous accountant who completes what.

Q4Do I have to speak to my current accountant?

Not in person. Your new accountant generally needs your permission, preferably in writing, to contact them, and the exchange between practices is standard. Finstem writes to your previous accountant with your written authority and collects the records from there, so you are not in the middle of the exchange. Finstem also drafts the one-line note for you to send saying you are moving.

Q5What is professional clearance?

It is the new accountant’s enquiry to the previous one before accepting the appointment. ICAEW’s guidance calls the word clearance a misnomer: the previous accountant cannot give or withhold permission to act, and the decision to accept belongs to the new accountant. Finstem sends the letter with your authority, asks for the records in the same letter and confirms which firm is filing each upcoming deadline.

Q6What if my accountant will not release my records?

Ask in writing for the specific records. ACCA’s guidance says documents belonging to clients must be given to them or their agents promptly on request unless a right of lien can be exercised, and that, under English law, no lien can exist over a company’s accounting records within section 386 of the Companies Act 2006. This is general information, not legal advice. Finstem includes the request for records in the clearance letter.

Q7Can I switch if I owe my current accountant fees?

Yes. ICAEW says outstanding fees are not a reason for failing to respond to the clearance enquiry, and ACCA says reasonable transfer information must be provided even where there are unpaid fees. The previous accountant can still raise the fees. AAT permits a licensed member to exercise a lien only if the engagement letter mentions it and a document retention policy supports it, and requires legal advice first. This is not legal advice.

Q8What happens to filings already under way, and will VAT, payroll and the year end carry on?

Finstem plans for them on day one. It checks every Companies House and HMRC date for accounts, confirmation statement, corporation tax, VAT and payroll, plans for anything that falls during the handover and agrees with the previous accountant who completes what, so each firm knows which of them is filing it. VAT returns are usually due one calendar month and 7 days after the period ends, and payroll reports on or before payday.

Q9What happens to my HMRC access?

HMRC says you must not give your sign-in details to your agent. Instead the new agent is authorised tax by tax, and HMRC says a new authorisation request replaces the existing authority. You can also remove an old agent in your business tax account. For VAT and employer PAYE, stopping them dealing with HMRC by phone or letter needs a further step by post or phone. Finstem sets up the agent authorisations and you approve one for each tax.

Q10Do I need a company authentication code?

Yes, if the company’s accounts or confirmation statement are filed online or through software, because the code works as the signature of a company officer. It is a 6 digit alphanumeric code posted to the registered office, which can take up to 10 working days, so do not wait until a filing is due. Companies House advises changing it if a former accountant knows it. If a Companies House filing is close, say so on the call.

Q11What do I need to give you?

The previous accountant’s name and email address, the company number and year end, the last set of accounts if there is one, a login for the bookkeeping software, and the HMRC references: the corporation tax UTR, PAYE and VAT numbers. Finstem collects everything else as part of clearance. You also sign the engagement letter and approve the HMRC authorisations.

Q12Will switching be a hassle?

No. It takes one email from you. Finstem contacts your previous accountant for professional clearance, collects your records and handles the whole handover. You sign the engagement letter and approve the HMRC authorisations, Finstem does the rest. How long it takes depends on how quickly the previous accountant releases the records.

Q13What does it cost to switch accountant?

Finstem quotes a fixed monthly fee in writing after a free 20-minute discovery call, with no hourly billing. The fee depends on the company and on what the quotation lists: usually the statutory accounts, the CT600, directors’ self-assessment, VAT returns, payroll and the confirmation statement, plus bookkeeping or management accounts where needed. Nothing is added without being agreed first. ICAEW’s guidance says a previous accountant should not normally charge for transferring records unless there is good reason.

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