[ Changing accountants ]

Changing accountants is usually simpler than people expect.

Most of the handover happens between the two firms. We coordinate the professional handover, update the authorities we need and work out what information is required to take over the work.

Your part is mainly helping us understand the business, what is happening now and what you want from the new relationship.

Book an introductory call →See how the handover works ↓

[ Before you move ]

Start with why you're considering a change.

You don't need to tell your current accountant anything before having the first conversation with us.

We want to understand what is prompting the change, what work is currently underway and what you want to be different.

Then we can determine what information we need before proposing the engagement.

Two Wakefield Pacific team members talking through a client's file together

[ The handover ]

We coordinate the change with the outgoing accountant.

Once you decide to proceed, we manage as much of the transition between the two firms as we reasonably can.

We agree on the work and fee.

Before anything changes, we confirm the proposed scope and fee so you know what the engagement includes.

Once you decide to proceed and the necessary onboarding steps are completed, we can begin coordinating the change.

We get the onboarding sorted with you.

There are a few things that need to happen before we can properly take over the work — including gathering the information we need, completing identity and onboarding requirements and getting the relevant entities connected to us with the ATO.

We generally recommend a short onboarding appointment with our team, either in our office or online. It usually takes around 20 minutes and gives us the chance to work through the setup with you rather than sending you away with a list of instructions.

There may still be things only you can complete or authorise. We stay with you through the process and tell you exactly what needs to happen next.

We coordinate the professional handover.

With your authority, we contact the outgoing accountant and request the information and records needed to take over the work.

We coordinate the handover professionally and keep you informed if anything needs your involvement.

We work out where things stand.

Once we have access to the records, we review what we have inherited and identify anything that needs attention.

That may include the accounting records, outstanding lodgments, tax positions, entity structure, prior-year information and work already in progress.

If something requires additional work that was not included in the agreed scope, we'll explain it before proceeding.

We start the agreed work.

Once the handover and initial review are underway, we begin the work set out in the engagement.

Where 90 Days to Clarity forms part of the agreed engagement, this is where that work begins.

A straightforward handover can move quickly. More complex transitions can take longer, particularly where work is already underway or information is incomplete. We'll keep you informed about what is outstanding.

[ Getting set up ]

Some of the setup needs to be done by you. You don't have to work it out by yourself.

Changing accountants now involves more than signing an engagement letter. There are identity checks, authorities and ATO access that need to be dealt with before we can properly act for the business.

Our onboarding team guides this with you.

We collect the information we need to set the relationship up properly.

That includes the personal, contact and entity information needed for our records, authorities and engagement.

Depending on the entities and work involved, we may also need information about the people who own, control or are authorised to act for an entity.

Identity checks are now part of the regulatory environment too.

From 1 July 2026, new anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing requirements apply to certain professional services provided by accountants.

Where those requirements apply to work we are providing, we may need to complete additional customer due diligence before the relevant service begins. That can include verifying identity and, depending on the structure, understanding who owns or controls an entity and who is authorised to act for it.

We build those checks into our onboarding process and explain what we need from you.

We only ask for the information needed to establish the relationship, meet our professional and regulatory obligations and provide the agreed services. We'll tell you how to provide anything we need securely.

Privacy →

We guide you through getting the entities linked to us with the ATO.

For many business entities, the ATO requires the client to nominate a new registered agent before we can add the entity to our client list and access the accounts we are authorised to manage.

That part has to be completed through the client's own government access. We cannot log in and do it in your place.

What we can do is sit with you and guide you through it.

Our onboarding team will show you where to go, what needs to be selected and which entities need to be dealt with, then confirm when the nomination has been completed so we can finish the setup from our side.

We generally do this with you.

The easiest way to get the setup done is usually a short appointment with our onboarding team.

You can come into our Mermaid Beach office or meet with us online. We generally allow around 20 minutes to work through the setup, answer questions and deal with the ATO nomination process where it is required.

If something does not work first time, we help work through the next step rather than leaving you with an error message and a government help page.

20 min

A short onboarding appointment.

In the office or online. We guide you through the identity, authority and ATO setup required for your entities.

We'd rather spend 20 minutes doing it with you than send you five emails explaining how to do it yourself.

Government access, identity requirements and entity authorities are not always intuitive. A short conversation usually makes the process much easier.

A Wakefield Pacific team member sitting alongside a client, walking them through a setup process on screen

[ What we may need ]

The exact handover depends on the business.

Depending on the engagement, the information we request may include accounting records, prior financial statements and tax returns, entity information, current workpapers, lodgment history and details of work already underway.

We tell you what is required rather than asking you to assemble everything before the first conversation.

[ 90 Days to Clarity ]

The handover gets the information across. Then we need to understand it.

Changing accountant does not automatically give us the history behind the numbers.

Where 90 Days to Clarity forms part of the engagement, we use that period to understand the financial position, structure, current issues and the decisions that need attention.

See 90 Days to Clarity →

[ The questions people usually have ]

The things that make people put off changing.

That's something we need to understand, not something you need to fix before speaking with us.

We'll look at the records and work out what needs to be corrected before we can rely on them. If that work is outside the proposed engagement, we'll scope it with you first.

[ Your part ]

You don't need to project-manage the switch.

There are still a few things we'll need from you.

01Tell us what is prompting the change.
02Review and approve the proposed engagement.
03Provide the personal and entity information we need for onboarding.
04Complete any identification or verification steps we ask for.
05Join a short onboarding appointment so we can guide you through the authorities and ATO setup that apply to your entities.
06Introduce us to relevant people in the business where required, such as your internal finance person or external bookkeeper.

We'll coordinate the professional handover and take care of the work on our side around that.

[ Thinking about changing? ]

Tell us why you're considering it.

You don't need to make a decision before speaking with us.

We'll talk through what is happening, what you want from the new relationship and whether there is anything about the timing or current work that needs to be considered.

Book an introductory call →Questions before you decide? →