Changing Accountants in the UK: One Email Is Enough

Information checked: 22 August 2026.

Is your current accountant slow to respond, unclear about what you are paying for or leaving filings until the last minute? You do not have to remain with an accountant you are unhappy with simply because changing seems difficult. For most straightforward files, one email to your existing accountant is enough to start the process. Your new accountant can then manage the professional correspondence, request the records and follow up on the handover.

How do you change accountants?

The process usually involves three simple steps:

1. Agree the service scope and fee with your new accountant.
2. Email your current accountant authorising them to share your records with your new accountant.
3. Your new accountant contacts your former accountant, requests the necessary records and takes over your file.

This correspondence is commonly referred to as a professional enquiry. Your former accountant does not need to give you permission to leave. The purpose of the correspondence is to identify any matters your new accountant should know before accepting the appointment and to arrange the transfer of the necessary records. For confidentiality reasons, your former accountant should obtain your consent, preferably in writing, before responding. The ICAEW guidance on a change of professional appointment explains this process.

The one email you can send

You can copy your current and new accountants into the same email and use the following wording:

I confirm that I have appointed Leon Advisers as my new accountant. I authorise Leon Advisers to contact you and permit you to share my relevant accounting and tax records with them. Please communicate with them directly regarding the necessary handover arrangements.

In most cases, this is the most important action required from you.

What happens afterwards?

Depending on your circumstances, your new accountant may request:

• Previous accounts and tax returns
• Accounting records and bank reconciliations
• VAT and payroll information
• HMRC and Companies House filing dates
• Details of ongoing or incomplete work

You may then need to approve a new engagement letter, complete identity checks and authorise your new accountant to deal with HMRC. The authorisation method varies according to the relevant tax; sometimes you may need to approve a digital link, while in other cases you may need to complete a form. A new HMRC authorisation may replace the previous agent’s authority for the relevant tax. See the official HMRC agent authorisation guidance.

Can your former accountant block the process?

Your former accountant cannot prevent you from changing accountants. They may inform your new accountant about unpaid fees or problems relating to the records, but unpaid fees alone are not a sufficient reason for refusing to respond to a professional enquiry. A separate assessment may be required regarding the ownership or release of certain records.

Do you need to wait until the year end to change accountants?

No. You do not have to wait until the end of the company’s financial year or tax period.

However, where a filing deadline is approaching, it is important to tell your new accountant at the beginning. This allows the two firms to clarify which work will be completed by the former accountant and which will be handled by the new accountant.

Pensions Regulator – auto-enrolment records should also be checked

In our experience, one of the matters most commonly overlooked when changing accountants is the failure to update the address and contact details held by The Pensions Regulator.

Out-of-date information may prevent the employer from receiving timely reminders about re-enrolment and the re-declaration of compliance, which must be completed every three years. However, failure to receive a reminder does not remove the employer’s legal responsibility. The Pensions Regulator states that contact details should be kept current and explains the three-year re-enrolment and re-declaration cycle.

Where these duties are not completed on time, The Pensions Regulator may impose a fixed penalty of £400. If non-compliance continues, escalating daily penalties may also apply. The new accountant should therefore check that the contact details held by The Pensions Regulator and the next re-declaration date are up to date when taking over the file. See the regulator’s official enforcement guidance.

Conclusion

Changing accountants does not have to be a long, stressful or complicated process. You can start the process with a single authorisation email and leave the remaining handover arrangements to your new accountant.

This article provides general information. The handover process may vary depending on the existing engagement terms, unpaid fees and the condition of the accounting records.