Most people choose an accountant the way they choose a plumber: someone recommended one, the price seemed fair, and the job got done. That works fine until your affairs get more complicated. A second property, a growing business, a self-managed super fund, a redundancy payout. Suddenly the difference between an accountant who lodges your return and one who actively plans around it is worth thousands of dollars a year.
Australia has no shortage of accounting firms, so the question isn’t whether you can find one nearby. It’s how to find one who’s genuinely on your side, and whether a specialist or a broader firm suits your situation better. This guide walks through what actually matters, wherever you are.
Lodging a return is the easy part
Anyone with a registration can put numbers in the right boxes. The value sits in what happens before and after that. A good accountant asks about the year ahead, not just the one that closed. They spot the deduction you didn’t know you could claim, flag the capital gains event coming in March, and tell you when a decision you’re about to make will cost you at tax time.
That forward view is the whole point. Tax planning happens during the year, while you can still change the outcome. By the time you’re lodging, most of the levers have already been pulled. If your current accountant only ever contacts you in July with a request for documents, you’re paying for compliance and missing the advice.
Check they’re actually registered
This one is non-negotiable. To charge a fee for preparing your tax return, an accountant must be a registered tax agent with the Tax Practitioners Board. You can verify anyone in about a minute on the TPB public register. Registration means they carry professional indemnity insurance and meet ongoing education requirements.
Beyond registration, look at the professional body behind them. A Chartered Accountant (CA) or CPA has completed a rigorous post-graduate program and is bound by a code of conduct. It isn’t a guarantee of a good fit, but it’s a floor. Our accounting team works to CA ANZ standards, and every return is reviewed before it’s lodged.
Match the accountant to your situation
A sole trader with a simple return and a family running a business through a trust need very different things. Be honest about which you are before you shop on price.
| Your situation | What you actually need |
|---|---|
| Salaried, one property, straightforward deductions | A reliable individual tax agent who lodges accurately and on time |
| Sole trader or contractor | Someone who handles GST, PAYG and quarterly BAS, not just the annual return |
| Company or trust | A business tax specialist who understands structuring, Division 7A and distributions |
| SMSF trustee | An accountant who does SMSF work in-house, so the fund’s return and your personal return talk to each other |
| Complex affairs across all of the above | An integrated firm where the accountant, planner and lender share one view of your finances |
The last row is where a lot of value leaks away. If your accountant, financial planner and mortgage broker have never spoken, nobody is looking at the whole picture. Decisions that make sense in isolation can work against each other.
Questions worth asking upfront
Before you engage anyone, a short conversation tells you most of what you need to know. Ask these:
- Who actually does my work? In some firms the partner sells and a junior does the return. Not always a problem, but you should know who’s on it.
- How do you charge? A fixed annual fee, an hourly rate, or a package. Fixed fees make budgeting easier and remove the “am I being charged for this call?” hesitation.
- What do you do between lodgements? The good answer involves a mid-year check-in or at least a proactive note when the rules change.
- Do you handle business tax, SMSF and planning, or just returns? This decides whether you’ll outgrow them.
- How do you prefer to work? If you want someone local you can sit across a desk from, say so. If you’d rather do everything by email, check they’re set up for it.
You’re not interviewing for perfection. You’re checking that the person understands your situation and won’t disappear until next winter.
It’s the relationship that counts
The thing that actually matters isn’t how close the office is. It’s whether you have a real relationship with the person doing your work. An accountant who’s worked with you for years knows your history and the reasoning behind your numbers. That’s what turns a compliance service into advice you can act on. Face time matters too, but it doesn’t have to mean the same postcode. A consistent video relationship builds the same trust as a desk you can sit across.
Some clients want to meet in person, and for them a nearby office helps. Across greater Sydney you can walk into our North Sydney, Norwest, Miranda or Hurstville office, drop off a shoebox of receipts or talk through a thorny structuring question, and leave with a plan. Our Melbourne and Brisbane clients work with us remotely and keep the same accountant year after year: paperwork moves securely online and we meet over video. Both work well. What counts is that the same team stays with you as your affairs get more complex.
The integrated advantage
Here’s what a standalone tax shop can’t easily do. When your accountant, financial planner and mortgage broker work under one roof, the tax return informs the investment strategy, the investment strategy informs the borrowing, and the borrowing gets structured to be as tax-effective as it can be. Debt recycling, salary sacrifice, the timing of a capital gain against a contribution to super: these only work well when someone’s coordinating them.
That coordination is the core of how we work at AGS. Our accounting and tax service doesn’t operate in a silo. For clients with an SMSF, the fund’s administration and compliance runs alongside the personal return so nothing falls between two advisers. For business owners, the tax planning feeds straight into the growth and succession conversation.
Signs it’s time to switch
You don’t need a dramatic reason. But if a few of these ring true, it’s worth a look:
- You only hear from your accountant when a lodgement is due.
- Your affairs have grown but your fee and your service haven’t changed.
- You’ve asked a planning question and got a blank look.
- You’ve never been told about a strategy, only about a deadline.
- Your accountant, planner and lender have never coordinated on anything.
Changing accountants is less painful than most people expect. A new firm requests your history from the old one, and the handover is routine.
If you’re weighing up a change, or setting up with an accountant for the first time, we’re happy to talk it through with no obligation. Book a free initial discussion at whichever office suits you, and we’ll tell you honestly whether we’re the right fit for where you’re headed.