We’re Chartered Accountants and proud of it! .....
Why you need to choose your accountant carefully.
Tel: 0845 604 2028
© Colledge & Co & MPC Financial Consulting Ltd 2010-
Now it is repeated elsewhere in our website but we thought that this information should have its own section too. Please make sure that you choose a qualified, Chartered Accountant. Here’s why.....
Anyone can call themselves an accountant!
Now unlike the term 'Solicitor' or 'Architect', the word 'Accountant' is not legally protected in the UK (despite extensive lobbying by the UK Accountancy Bodies). Unlike someone who fights a case for you or designs a house, anyone can call themselves an accountant and do your accounts, VAT and tax. You too can get up one morning and call yourself an accountant and start a business over the internet! Indeed there are many organisations that have. This is a situation that is not repeated in most other countries worldwide.
This could lead to big problems. You may be getting sub-
If you have a problem with them there is every chance that it will not be addressed by anyone; If you find yourself in a position of being investigated by HMRC or any other statutory body, the advice (or ‘advice’) you received may not have been worth the paper it was written on and you are left to face the consequences. Even if you end up going through the hassle of taking them to court for professional negligence, the chances of getting any damages you’ve been awarded aren’t exactly brilliant.
Oh and they aren’t even necessarily any cheaper.
However not everyone can call themselves a Chartered Accountant
Yes, not everyone can call themselves a Chartered Accountant. They must pass stringent exams and a comprehensive accountancy education in the form of 3 years of on the job training before being admitted to the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (‘ICAEW’). After qualification they are required to continue with ongoing professional development to keep on top of the game! This must be certified to the ICAEW and all qualified chartered accountants are subject to an audit of this certification.
The ICAEW is a body of 130,000 accountancy professionals worldwide and is consistently held as being a premier institution with a premier qualification. Members are bound by strict Institute Guidelines and are legally responsible for upholding such standards in the courts system.
Member firms must have also have sufficient professional indemnity insurance should there ever be problems. Again, the level of cover must be submitted to the ICAEW each and every year.
These additional responsibilities set down on its members give all clients a comfort of an enhanced service. We are proud to be Chartered Accountants and a member of the ICAEW Practice Assurance Scheme for this very reason!
All at Colledge & Co are chartered accountants and the company behind us is a member of the ICAEW Practice Assurance Scheme.
We’re also members of the ICAEW’s Business Advice Service.
In many, many firms, the bulk of the work is completed by a trainee accountant, someone who is ‘qualified by experience’ (i.e. not qualified) or in some cases, a piece of software. The final accounts may be signed off by someone who is suitably qualified but with Colledge & Co, the whole thing is completed by someone who is qualified.
For a great value for money service too. We believe that you are getting a service from fully qualified chartered accountants for a fee that is less than that charged by businesses who are either not chartered accountants or those who primarily use unqualified staff for the bulk of their work.
We are part of MPC Financial Consulting Ltd, registered company 05301313. You can check our existence via the Companies House website here.
MPC Financial Consulting are a member firm of the ICAEW. Please check our status here. You can also find out more about the ICAEW here and here.
For more information on the director please click here. You can check any of our accountants’ memberships by calling the ICAEW too. We are also happy to answer any questions so feel free to contact us at any time.
If you are currently comparing us against other providers then please also remember to check their credentials too.
- Would you fancy having your plumbing done by someone who woke up and decided that he was a plumber this morning?!
- Would you like your teeth being pulled out by someone who is in their first week of training to be a dentist?!
- Would you fancy your dog being operated on by software driven machinery?!
Then surely you wouldn’t want your accounts, tax and VAT being completed by anyone else than a suitably UK qualified chartered accountant!