How Accounting Firms Should Handle a Client Who Insists Their Previous Accountant Was Wrong

New clients sometimes arrive convinced their last accountant got something badly wrong — a bigger-than-expected tax bill, a missed deduction, a structure they don't understand. 💖 Sometimes they're right. Often the previous work was perfectly reasonable and simply wasn't explained well. How a new firm handles this moment shapes the client relationship from day one, and it's easy to get it wrong in either direction.

What most accounting firms get wrong

The most common mistake is agreeing too readily with the client's account before actually reviewing the figures, which can be professionally risky if it turns out the previous work was sound. The second mistake is the opposite: dismissing the client's concern out of professional courtesy to a colleague, without ever properly checking whether they might have a genuine point.

How to handle the conversation professionally

Avoid criticising the previous accountant by name or making assumptions about their competence — professional standards generally expect collegial conduct, and it protects your own reputation too, since today's colleague could be tomorrow's referral source. Keep the focus on the client's actual numbers and what happens next, rather than dwelling on what went wrong or who was responsible. If an amendment is genuinely needed, explain the process and timeline clearly so the client isn't left uncertain about what happens now.

Mistakes to avoid

• Agreeing with the client's account before actually reviewing the underlying figures.
• Criticising the previous accountant personally or professionally, even if an error is confirmed.
• Dismissing a genuine concern out of professional courtesy without properly checking it first.
• Leaving the client without a clear next step if an amendment is genuinely required.
• Making the conversation about blame instead of about the client's current numbers and next steps.

Please note: general information, not tax or legal advice — check your specific professional and ethical obligations with the Tax Practitioners Board or your professional body.

Frequently asked questions

Are we allowed to comment on another accountant's work at all?

You can factually explain figures and outcomes to your own client, but most professional standards expect care and restraint about characterising a colleague's competence or conduct — stick to the facts of the return itself rather than broader judgements.

What if the client wants us to help them make a formal complaint about the previous accountant?

That's the client's decision to make, and you can point them to the relevant professional body's complaints process if asked — it's generally best to stay factual and let the client decide whether to pursue that path themselves.

How do we amend a prior year's lodgement if a genuine error is found?

The specific process depends on the type of error and lodgement involved — this is worth confirming against current ATO guidance and your own professional processes rather than assuming a standard approach applies to every situation.

Does this apply the same way for a small error as a significant one?

The structure holds either way, though a significant error may carry its own disclosure or notification considerations depending on the circumstances — it's worth treating anything beyond a minor correction with extra care and, where relevant, professional advice of your own.

Keep reading 🤍

• How Accounting Firms Should Explain a Bigger-Than-Expected Tax Bill
• An Onboarding Script for New Accounting Clients Switching From a Big 4 Firm
• The Switching Accountants Landing Page Most Firms Don't Have