The most useful questions to ask an accountant are not about price. They are: are you a registered tax practitioner, who actually does the work, what exactly is included, how many days after month-end do I get my numbers, and is responding to a SARS query included or billed separately. Those five reveal more than any fee comparison.
There are also three technical questions that tell you in about a minute whether a prospective accountant has genuinely looked at your affairs — or whether your current one has.
The credentials questions
1. "Are you a registered tax practitioner? What is your PR number?"
Why it matters: anyone who completes or submits a tax return on your behalf for payment must be registered with SARS as a tax practitioner and belong to a recognised controlling body. This is a legal requirement.
The answer you want: a PR number, given without hesitation, that you can verify.
Red flag: vagueness, or "my colleague handles that side".
2. "Which professional body, and are you in good standing?"
Why it matters: membership brings professional standards and a disciplinary process. If something goes badly wrong with an unregistered practitioner, you have a civil claim and nothing else.
The answer you want: SAICA, SAIPA, ACCA, CIMA, SAIBA or similar, with current membership.
Worth knowing: which body matters less than most people assume for an owner-managed business. A Professional Accountant PA(SA) is entirely appropriate for most SMEs — you do not need a CA(SA) specifically. See bookkeeper or accountant.
3. "Can you sign off on my annual financial statements, and can you perform an independent review if I need one?"
Why it matters: who may perform an independent review depends on your public interest score. Above 100, it must be a registered auditor or a member of an IRBA-accredited body.
The answer you want: a clear yes or no, and if no, how they handle it. See does your company need an audit or an independent review.
The scope questions
4. "What exactly is included, itemised?"
Get it in writing against this list:
Monthly bookkeeping and bank reconciliation
VAT201 preparation and submission
Payroll, payslips and EMP201
Both EMP501 reconciliations
Annual financial statements
ITR14
Two provisional tax returns
CIPC annual return and beneficial ownership
Monthly management accounts
Responding to SARS queries
Why it matters: "R4,500 a month" means very different things at different firms. Two quotes are not comparable until both are itemised against the same list.
5. "Is responding to a SARS verification or audit included, or billed separately?"
The single most revealing question in the list.
It tells you whether you have bought compliance filing or a relationship. A firm that includes reasonable SARS correspondence is confident in its own work. One that bills every query hourly has a different incentive.
6. "Who actually does the work?"
Not who you are meeting. The person processing your transactions and preparing your returns.
The answer you want: a named person or a defined team, and how you reach them.
7. "How many working days after month-end do I get my management accounts?"
The answer you want: ten working days or fewer.
Why it matters: management accounts that arrive on the 25th of the following month have lost most of their value. See what are management accounts.
Red flag: "we do everything at year-end". That is compliance, not accounting.
The practical questions
8. "What software do you use, and do I own my data?"
The answer you want: cloud accounting software with a live bank feed, your own login, and the ability to export everything if you leave.
Red flag: a desktop package on their machine that you cannot access, or "we keep the file".
9. "What do you need from me, and by when each month?"
A good answer is specific — bank statements by the 5th, invoices as they arrive, queries answered within a week.
Why it matters: most accounting failures are collaboration failures. If the expectations are not clear, the deadlines will not be met and each side will blame the other.
10. "What happens if a deadline is missed?"
The answer you want: an acknowledgement that they carry responsibility for deadlines within their control, and a description of how they prevent misses.
11. "How do you charge, and what triggers an extra bill?"
The answer you want: a fixed monthly fee for recurring work, with a clear and short list of what falls outside it.
Why fixed beats hourly for compliance work: it removes the incentive to spend longer, makes budgeting possible, and removes the disincentive to phone with a question. The questions people do not ask because of the clock are usually the expensive ones.
See how much should an accountant cost.
12. "Can I speak to two clients like me?"
Ask specifically for clients of similar size and in a similar industry. A firm confident in its service will provide them.
The three technical questions
These take a minute each and reveal whether anyone has actually looked at your affairs. Ask them of a prospective accountant, and ask them of your current one.
"Do we qualify as a Small Business Corporation, and have we been claiming it?"
Why: SBC status is worth up to roughly R91,030 a year against the flat 27% rate. The test that disqualifies most companies is that no shareholder may hold shares in another company — including a dormant one registered years ago and forgotten.
A good answer shows they have checked the shareholding, not just the turnover.
See what is the company tax rate in South Africa.
"Is there an Employment Tax Incentive we should be claiming?"
Why: up to R1,500 per qualifying employee per month for staff aged 18 to 29 earning between R2,500 and under R7,500. Four qualifying employees is R72,000 a year, and the most common reason it goes unclaimed is that a setting in the payroll software was never switched on.
A good answer engages with your actual staff profile.
See the Employment Tax Incentive explained.
"What is my director's loan account balance?"
Why: almost every owner-managed company has one, most owners have never seen it, and a debit balance can trigger a deemed dividend under section 64E at the official rate of 7.75% and 20% dividends tax.
A good answer is a number, or an immediate offer to find out.
See what is a director's loan account.
If a prospective accountant cannot engage with any of these three, they are selling filing rather than advice. If your current accountant cannot, that is worth thinking about.
Red flags
No PR number, or reluctance to give it.
A quote before understanding your business. Someone pricing without asking about turnover, VAT status, headcount, entities or the state of your records is guessing.
"We'll sort it out at year-end." Nothing worth having comes from that approach.
Guarantees about tax savings before seeing your numbers.
No written engagement letter setting out scope, fees and responsibilities.
Unwillingness to give you your own software login.
Vagueness about who does the work.
Frequently asked questions
What questions should I ask an accountant before hiring them? Whether they are a registered tax practitioner and their PR number, which professional body they belong to, exactly what is included itemised, who actually does the work, how many days after month-end you receive management accounts, whether responding to SARS queries is included, what software they use and whether you own your data, and what they need from you each month.
Does my accountant need to be registered with SARS? Yes, if they complete or submit tax returns on your behalf for payment. They must be a registered tax practitioner belonging to a recognised controlling body. Ask for the PR number and verify it.
Do I need a CA(SA) for my small business? Usually not. A Professional Accountant PA(SA) or equivalent is entirely appropriate for most owner-managed businesses. What matters more is whether they can perform the assurance work your public interest score requires, and whether they engage with your business rather than only filing returns.
Should I pay hourly or a fixed monthly fee? For recurring compliance work a fixed monthly fee is almost always better. You know the number in advance, there is no incentive to spend longer, and there is no disincentive to phone with a question — and the questions people avoid asking because of the clock are usually the expensive ones.
What is the most revealing question to ask an accountant? Whether responding to a SARS verification or audit is included or billed separately. It tells you whether you are buying compliance filing or a relationship, and a firm confident in its own work usually includes reasonable correspondence.
How do I tell if my current accountant is doing a good job? Ask three technical 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, and what is my director's loan account balance. These are the three most commonly missed items in South African small business accounting.
Should I get references from an accountant? Yes, and ask specifically for clients of similar size in a similar industry. A firm confident in its service will provide them without hesitation.
Ask us the three questions
If you are comparing accountants, put the SBC, ETI and loan account questions to each of them — including us. The answers separate firms that file returns from firms that look at your business.
Smartbook is SAIPA and SAICA accredited and SARS registered, prices on turnover rather than hours, includes monthly management accounts and reasonable SARS correspondence in the plan, and gives you your own login to your own data.
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Last reviewed: 26 July 2026. Written by the Smartbook team — SAIPA and SAICA accredited, SARS registered tax practitioners. General guidance, not advice on your circumstances.
Primary sources: SARS — Tax Practitioners · SAICA · SAIPA · IRBA · Companies Act 71 of 2008