Have you found your level?

If your accountant works alone this 'secret' will not be relevant. But if your accountant has partners and/or staff, read on.

Many accountants have staff who work for them. In bigger firms there may be 2 or more partners and a number of staff. Who does the work for you? The owner/partner or one of his/her staff? Who do you speak to when you call? Who do you meet?

If you rarely have much to do with the owner/partner do you feel comfortable that you're getting any value from them just being there and available if you need them? I assume you're confident that they would be there if you needed them?

The question though is what are you paying for? If you have nothing to do with the owner/partner you may be paying more in fees than you need to be. Why do I say that?

Well, if your affairs are simple and straightforward for example and you're dealt with by a manager all the time you might want to ask yourself a few questions:

• why are you paying fees that cover not only the work the manager does but also a profit margin for the firm that pays him his salary;
• would you be able to enagage someone directly for a fraction of the fee?
• would you feel comfortable using an accountant who has no back-up or support?
• are you comfortable that the manager is giving you the quality of service that the owner/partner promised originally?

I should also stress that many people are quite happy to pay higher fees by virtue of the additional security and comfort they get from knowing that there will always be someone there to help them even if, for example, 'their' accountant is off sick, on holiday or has an accident.