Negligent Accountant?

[Setanta12]

Hmmm ... not arguing anymore but I am AITI and an accountant, and I would always say that tax-accountants bridge the gap between the numbers/financial accountants and the words/lawyers.

(I could be wrong but I think there's a similar divide in the States as here for solicitors/barristers in that tax-accountants are allowed to only do 'compliance' and tax-lawyers are the only ones allowed to provide tax-planning. I could be wrong on that though ...)

 

[T McGibney]

Come on, realistically there's hardly much need to bridge any gaps between professionals in the OP's case. We're talking about the resolution of a relatively routine tax matter that has gone somewhat awry. It's hardly Supreme Court stuff.

 

[Gordon Gekko]

I know a number of AITI qualified solicitors who don't do any "pure" (ie non-legal) tax consultancy work.

A kink in the law in relation to professional/client privilege means that taxpayers who are at risk of criminal prosecution in relation to alleged tax evasion will need to consult a solicitor for confidential advice in relation to their defence, but this only applies in a tiny minority of cases and certainly not to the OP's situation.

Resorting to an AITI qualified solicitor for any relatively routine Revenue interaction would be serious (and imho expensive) overkill.

The OP has Revenue coming up the proverbial garden path as a result of this person's incompetence. Who knows what efficiencies were missed by using an unqualified generalist? In the context of inheritance tax, I would almost always opt for an AITI lawyer. They can see more angles.

 

[T McGibney]

The OP has Revenue coming up the proverbial garden path as a result of this person's incompetence. Who knows what efficiencies were missed by using an unqualified generalist?

Except that this isn't what the OP's problem is. No work has been done. We have no indication of the qualifications or otherwise of the professional who failed to do the work.

In the context of inheritance tax, I would almost always opt for an AITI lawyer. They can see more angles.

Says the AITI lawyer.

 

[Gordon Gekko]

Except that this isn't what the OP's problem is. No work has been done. We have no indication of the qualifications or otherwise of the professional who failed to do the work.



Says the AITI lawyer.

I am not a lawyer, and I resent the inference. Perhaps if you were AITI qualified, you wouldn't be making wildly inaccurate statement in another thread on the benefit of the 12.5% rate for small companies? The danger of using a generalist accountant for tax work there for all to see.