Searching for a tax accountant turns up plenty of options and very little way to tell them apart. Here is the checklist we would give a friend: the things that genuinely separate a professional you can build a relationship with from a lodgement mill.
Check registration before anything else
In Australia, only a tax agent registered with the Tax Practitioners Board can legally charge to prepare and lodge your return. Registration means qualifications, experience requirements, professional indemnity insurance and a code of conduct with real teeth. Verify any accountant on the TPB public register; it takes thirty seconds.
Look for advice, not just lodgement
Anyone can type numbers into ATO forms. The value is in what happens before: flagging deductions you missed, structuring things sensibly, telling you in May what to do before June 30. Ask a prospective accountant how they work across the year; if the answer is "we will see you at tax time", keep looking.
Insist on fixed fees
Hourly billing puts you and your accountant on opposite sides of the clock. Fixed fees quoted up front mean you can actually ask questions without watching a meter run. It is also the simplest test of how confident a firm is in its own scoping.
Local matters more than you would think
A North Adelaide accountant knows the South Australian business landscape, can meet you in person when it matters, and works in your time zone during your tax season. The best arrangement is both: a local office you can walk into, with online consultations when life is busy, which is exactly how we work with clients Australia-wide.
Questions to ask in the first meeting
- Are you TPB-registered, and what professional bodies do you belong to?
- Who exactly will handle my work, and will it be the same person next year?
- What is the fixed fee, and what does it include?
- How do you approach tax planning during the year?
- What happens if the ATO reviews my return?