can anyone recommend a knowledgeable accountant (but not Dale)

stanley

stanley

Can anyone recommend a good accountant in Melbourne that understands trusts and property investing? Actually i don't mind using an accountant in another state if they really know their stuff, it's just that i'd like to personally meet with them initially and interview them first.

I've done a search and it usually comes up with Dale GG's name but i'd rather go to someone who knows their stuff and will do my tax returns personally. Dale certainly seems to know his stuff but i know i'll end up with one of his associates. It seems like everyone on the forum uses Dale and i fear he has too much to deal with and cannot offer a personalised service for me.

EDIT: I'm still thinking of going to Gatherum-Goss, so can anyone who uses this accounting firm recommend one of his associates (Sharni, Cathy, Adam or Aleisha)?

Nick M is another person i've also seen highly recommended and someone i'm also considering. For anyone here who uses Nick M, does he personally do your tax, or is it an associate of his?

Please PM me if you'd rather not discuss your accountant's details on this forum.

PS: i'd love to here of any good accountants on Hamilton Island as i understand the trip to see my accountant is tax deductable? :)

PPS: please don't consider this an attack on Dale per se. As i said, i want to have the accountant recommended to me, to actually do my returns - not an associate. I doubt that there are many forumites who actually use Dale personally for their tax returns as there's not enough of him to go around. :(
 
I'd be interested in some of those answers myself as i'm currently "between accountants" and will need to decide whether to go to Dale myself. Due to the fact i don't have atrust I imagine i'd most certainly be with an associate then what of the "do you have an IP?" question?
 
Hi,

I may not be giving you the answer you seek but felt the need to clear up any incorrect assumptions about Dale's services due to the size of his practice.

Honestly if you want a tax advisor who personally processes all of his or her client's tax returns I would be very concerned about their level of skill. I don't know of too many excellent tax advisors who do this. My understanding is that Dale's job is to keep abreast of the latest tax legislation and how to create wealth for his clients etc and then advise his clients accordingly. If a taxation advisor is spending nearly all his or her days robotically processing tax returns there will be little time to do this effectively.

And no Dale doesn't do most of the processing of our tax returns. However he makes damn sure that they are carefully checked and every possible tax deduction is obtained. But I will discuss any complex issues and areas of concern with Dale prior to the processing of the returns. I use my own judgement as to whether I need to speak to Dale or one of his staff. For example, I'm not going to hassle him about more routine and general administrative issues.

So what I suggest is that you arrange an initial consult with Dale. I'm sure any fears or concerns you have will be very quickly put to rest. Then if you decide to use his practice you will find that many issues should be able to be dealt with by his very competent staff. However when there are specific or perceived complex issues that you only feel comfortable discussing with Dale then I'm sure he will only be too happy to do so.

It's all a case of using your money and his expertise to the best advantage.

Cheers - Gordon
 
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Hi all,

Stanley,
The advice Gordon has given is excellent.

We also use Dale's business and I feel that this may be an appropriate thread to thank Dale and his staff for their wonderful services at a reasonable cost.
We just reeived a very lovely Chrissy present :D :D :D

And yes Dale, the shout is on us.

bye
 
Dale wouldn't be hiring employees if they were garbage. Besides, if Dale is the principal he would make sure that his employees were competent and that their work was checked properly before it went out the door. An accountancy practice and its employees are a reflection of the principal.

Besides, there is nothing faster in an accountancy practice than an incompetent accountant being shown out the door.
 
stanley said:
EDIT: I'm still thinking of going to Gatherum-Goss, so can anyone who uses this accounting firm recommend one of his associates (Sharni, Cathy, Adam or Aleisha)?
(
Click to expand...

Hi stanley,

I have met and chatted to Cathy, Adam and Aleisha and know they are all very skilled and knowledgeable accountants. While they might not have the technical knowledge of Dale, he is always approachable for anything they are unfamiliar with.

Obviously Dale is too busy to look after everyones tax affairs personally, but i would feel assured when using one of his associates that you will still be getting extremely great service, as Dale usually keeps a very close eye on everything.
 
I would say that 30% of our clients use Dale GG and I have not heard one complaint over the last 4 years, so your fears are probably unfounded.

Having said that if you need a good property accountant and are prepared to pay mid size firm fees I can recommend 2 accounatnts - one in SOuth Yarra and one in St Kilda Rd.

email me at [email protected]


As others have said. You will see the accountant - but he won't do your books himself
 
Hi Stanley, i also use Gatherum-Goss and have no complaints.

Dale's firm is a bit more expensive than others but i guess you get what you pay for, and of course he's also very generous with his time posting on this forum.

FYI, i originally had Sharon until she left and now have Cathy who seems a very nice and knowledgeable lady. I hope i don't get smacked for this, but there were a few headaches in the beginning (forgetting to include income for a private practice, forgetting to include interest on loans as a tax deduction and also suggesting it's ok to omit some income from overseas :eek: )

Of course i was a bit upset about this considering the great reputation that Dale's firm has, but i think it was perhaps due to her trying to rush too much being new in the job. But everything is good now and i'm sure she's much more diligent because of these initial errors of judgement.

Good luck with it all.
 
People who need people

All firms go thru issues with personnel changeover, probably quite plausible there will be teething problems when a key contact leaves.

We too were fortunate to have Sharon as a contact and the service was top class. More importantly, since then, follow up service from Dale GG is unbelievable - we are not even clients (for loyalty reasons have stayed with original accountant who did not have the skills or experience to set up our hybrid discretionary trust, which is why we sought out Dale GG). But still Dale copes with our yearly "duh" questions via email to help us and our accountant make use of the structure set up for us.

At the end of the day, the quality of the leader and the management will tell in an organisation, and to date, our experience as one of GG's smallest clients is that they are EXCELLENT in comparison to all firms we have dealt with as a company and individuals.
 
We don't use Dale regularly, as we don't live in Melbourne and my wife prefers to go in and have face to face chats with our strategist. If we did live in Melbourne, Dale would be our first choice. Even if that meant travelling to Kilsyth on a regular basis. :p

You'll find with nearly all professional practices (especially lawyers) that a junior prepares the work which is then checked and signed off by the senior or partner. The signoff is important and I sacked our first accountant because of the mistakes in the treatment of a wide range of matters, the number of errors that were entered in, despite our detailed, correct and neatly summarised records, the delays in dealing with the returns, the number of times we had to resubmit the forms and the denial of responsibility for gross errors.

Mistakes happen, and it's YOUR job to check for them, but it's how they are dealt with and whether they are repeated that's truly important.
 
Hi Stanley
Unfortunately any decent accountant is very busy. It is not practical for a good businessman whether they be an accountant or a builder or a mechanic - to do it all.

Delegation to good staff is paramount. It does not make any sense for a client to pay me to enter their group certificate into a tax return.

The key features for me (and I dont think Dale will disagree) is that you have someone to call on with the complex issues and the planning aspects of what you do.

Do not be misled by any accountant if you think they will do it all. If they do rest assured that their knowledge will not be any where near where you want it to be.

Everyone makes mistakes - (my staff do) but we do our best to implement and follow procedures and I do my best to ensure everything is checked and corrected. Unfortunately circumstances arise when things do slip through on occassion. We all strive for perfection in whatever we do.

I think you should give Dale a go and then make your decision in 12 months time

Good Luck
Nick M
 
Stanley, contrary to what has been stated, you can get personalized advice and service from acountants.
You can establish a close working relationship with your accountant.Of course this depends on how much you spend. You can't expect this if your fees are a few hundred bucks.

There are drawbacks to using "personality" accountants:
1. Fees are alwayz considerably more expensive
2. They are too busy to talk details (if you can ever catch them).*
3. You will never build a close relationship with the principle accountant*
4. Staff turnover will make you start your relationship from scratch*
* unless your a very high fee paying customer.

As for Capitalist's statements of "you gets wat u pay for", it's not always the case as he found out.

I use a small firm that has 4 qualified accountants, all very good, most with >15 yrs experience, all with RE experience and ther own portfolios (some worth many mils), and very reasonable fees, and most of all very approachable. Yes they have 6 or so assistants that do return preps, typing, data entry etc, but I discuss my tax matters with an "expert" who knows what's going, has real world experience, and does'nt just follow procedure.

I'm sure they're are many firms like this that can give you personalized service and with which you can build a relationship. It's just a matter of looking. As around, mainly people who are already in the situation where you want to be, or are more succesful than you are in your field.

On the other side
One of the best accountants I know actually does only small clients and work 3 months of the year around tax time. He see's 8-10 clients per day at $150-$200 each and only does personal returns (except close family) The rest of the year he attends to his investments. He make much more money now than he did after working 20yrs in the big firms & corporate accounting world. And holidays most of the year!

good luck
:cool:
 
Stanley

A funny storey for you which I feel sums up Dales dedicated and personalised service!
Working shift work, I sent an email to Dale one night....probably around 4.30am.I was horrified to see the reply to an in depth email returned a few minutes past 5am!

I say no more....

cheers

Sam
 
My wife (an accountant with one of the big firms) and I had Xmas drinks with one of her clients. It seems she has been doing his tax for twenty two years. He knows perfectly well it is not the partner who signs the return who does it.

Truth is, Mrs T has the highest retention rates of clients in the branch, many of whom have been for "life" ie till retirement and beyond. They all think the sun shines out of ...........

So you can get personal service from an accountant. The staff want to do it right and have access to seniors for specific queries.

Thommo
 
Hi Stanley,

I use Andrew Goldberger at Guests Accounting, who are based in Caufield. He is absolutely top shelf and I can't recommending him and his firm highly enough. Have a look at their web site www.guests.com.au

Regards
Alistair
 
Hi guys...

Where can i locate this Dale person???

I'm also after a new accountant. I live in Melbourne's South East

Cheers
Krissy :)
 
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