Switching accountants takes about two to four weeks and follows a set sequence: appoint the new firm, they write to your outgoing accountant requesting professional clearance and your records, you confirm the release in writing, the tax practitioner details are updated on eFiling, and the new firm reconciles what they receive against SARS and CIPC.
It is a routine professional process, not a confrontation. Accountants change hands constantly and outgoing firms deal with clearance letters regularly.
The handover sequence
1. Appoint the new accountant. Get the engagement letter signed and the scope agreed before anything else moves.
2. The new accountant writes for professional clearance. This is standard practice among registered accountants — a letter asking whether there is any professional reason not to accept the appointment, and requesting the accounting records.
3. You confirm in writing. Your outgoing accountant needs your written authority to release information and records. A short email is enough, and it removes any ambiguity.
4. Records are transferred. See below for what you are entitled to.
5. eFiling is updated. The tax practitioner details change on your SARS profile, and access is transferred.
6. The new accountant reconciles. They check what they received against your SARS statement of account, your CIPC status, and the last set of financial statements — and tell you what is missing or outstanding.
Realistic timeline: two to four weeks. Longer if there are outstanding fees or records in poor order.
What your old accountant must hand over
Your records are yours. Source documents you provided, and records prepared on your behalf, belong to you.
You are entitled to:
Source documents you supplied — invoices, statements, contracts
Annual financial statements
Tax returns filed and assessments received
The general ledger, trial balance and supporting schedules
Fixed asset register
Payroll records and IRP5 data
CIPC documents and statutory registers
Your accounting software data — you should have your own login and be able to export
What can be withheld: an accountant may in some circumstances exercise a lien over their own working papers where fees are unpaid. Working papers are the firm's own internal documents, not your records. In practice, source documents and statutory records should still be released.
If fees are genuinely outstanding, pay them. A dispute over R6,000 that delays a handover for two months costs more than R6,000, and it damages a relationship you may need a reference from.
The best times to switch
Right after year-end financial statements are signed. The cleanest possible break. The old accountant has completed a full cycle, everything is reconciled to a signed set of statements, and the new firm starts from a known position.
At the start of a new VAT period, so no period is split between two firms mid-cycle.
The worst times:
Mid-way through the annual EMP501 reconciliation window
The week before a provisional tax deadline
During a live SARS verification or audit
With year-end financial statements half-finished
If something is genuinely wrong, do not wait for a convenient date. Ongoing non-compliance costs more than an awkward handover.
Reasons people switch, and whether they are good ones
Good reasons:
Deadlines missed. Penalties for late VAT, PAYE or annual returns caused by your accountant are a straightforward failure.
You never hear from them. An accountant who surfaces once a year with a bill is providing compliance, not advice.
No management accounts. If you have never seen a monthly report, you are flying blind.
You have outgrown them. A bookkeeper who was right at R800,000 turnover may not be right at R6 million with staff and VAT.
Questions go unanswered, or answers arrive weeks later.
You have discovered something that should have been flagged — an unclaimed ETI, an SBC election never made, a loan account nobody mentioned.
Weaker reasons, worth testing first:
Price alone. Compare scope before assuming a cheaper quote is comparable. See how much should an accountant cost.
One mistake. Everyone makes them. How it was handled matters more than that it happened.
A personality clash with one staff member. Ask to be reassigned before leaving.
What to check before you commit
Are they a registered tax practitioner? Anyone who completes or submits returns on your behalf for payment must be registered with SARS and belong to a recognised controlling body. Ask for the PR number and verify it.
Which professional body, and in good standing?
Who will actually do the work?
What is included, itemised? Especially whether SARS verifications, CIPC filings and management accounts are in or out.
Turnaround commitments. Specifically: how many working days after month-end do you get management accounts?
Do you own your data? You should have your own login to the accounting software and be able to leave with everything.
What to do in your first month with the new firm
Give them everything at once. Prior year financial statements, last two years of tax returns and assessments, your SARS statement of account, CIPC documents, bank statements, and the accounting file. A complete handover pack shortens the transition considerably.
Ask for a compliance health check. Outstanding returns on any tax type, tax compliance status, CIPC annual return and beneficial ownership status, and whether the registered representative is current. This is the moment to find problems, and a good firm will do it unprompted.
Ask three specific questions:
Do we qualify as a Small Business Corporation, and have we been claiming it?
Is there an Employment Tax Incentive we should be claiming?
What is my director's loan account balance?
Those three cover the most commonly missed items in South African small business accounting, and the answers tell you a great deal about how closely your affairs have been looked at.
Agree a rhythm. What arrives when, what they need from you, and by when.
Frequently asked questions
How do I change accountants in South Africa? Appoint the new firm, who then write to your outgoing accountant for professional clearance and your records. You confirm the release in writing, records are transferred, the tax practitioner details are updated on eFiling, and the new firm reconciles what they received against SARS and CIPC. It usually takes two to four weeks.
Can my old accountant refuse to hand over my records? Source documents you provided and records prepared on your behalf belong to you. An accountant may in some circumstances exercise a lien over their own working papers where fees are unpaid, but working papers are the firm's internal documents rather than your records.
Do I have to tell my current accountant I am leaving? Yes, in writing. Your outgoing accountant needs your written authority to release information and records to the incoming firm, and the professional clearance process requires it.
When is the best time to switch accountants? Immediately after year-end financial statements are signed is cleanest, or at the start of a new VAT period. Avoid switching during the EMP501 reconciliation window, just before a provisional tax deadline, or during a live SARS verification.
Will switching accountants cause problems with SARS? No. Changing the registered tax practitioner on your eFiling profile is a routine administrative step. Your compliance history and obligations are unaffected.
What should I ask a new accountant in the first month? Whether you qualify as a Small Business Corporation and have been claiming it, whether there is an Employment Tax Incentive you should be claiming, and what your director's loan account balance is. These are the three most commonly missed items in South African small business accounting.
We handle the switch
Changing accountants is the part people put off for years, usually while paying penalties for the problem that made them want to change in the first place.
Smartbook handles the whole handover — the clearance letter, collecting your records, reconciling to SARS and CIPC, and bringing anything outstanding up to date — with no disruption to your filings.
Last reviewed: 26 July 2026. Written by the Smartbook team — SAIPA and SAICA accredited, SARS registered tax practitioners. Questions about liens over records and fee disputes involve legal considerations — take advice where a dispute arises. General guidance, not advice on your circumstances.
Primary sources: SARS — Tax Practitioners · SAICA · SAIPA