Choosing an International Accountant: The 10-Point Checklist

What an international accountant does

An international accountant keeps the books, prepares accounts and handles tax compliance for clients whose affairs cross borders, and usually coordinates with advisers in the other countries involved. In practice the work falls into four groups: bookkeeping and annual accounts; statutory audit; tax compliance and planning, including UK tax residency questions for people moving abroad; and advisory work such as transaction support, forecasting and part-time finance director services.

Each group carries different rules. Some work, such as audit, investment business and insolvency, needs specific authorisation, so the Consultative Committee of Accountancy Bodies (CCAB) tells clients to ask whether a firm is authorised for those services before appointing it. Decide which of the four you need now and which you expect to need as the business grows, then shortlist full-service accountancy firms or specialists accordingly.

The 10-point checklist at a glance

The fastest way to compare candidates is to run each one through the same ten checks and record where you verified the answer.

#	Check	Where to verify
1	The services you need, including any regulated work	Your own scope list, then the firm's written proposal
2	A recognised professional qualification	The body's member directory (ICAEW, ACCA, ICAS and others)
3	A practising certificate for the principal	The professional body
4	Audit registration, if you need an audit	Register of Statutory Auditors
5	Anti-money laundering supervision	The professional body, or HMRC if there is none
6	HMRC tax adviser registration	Ask for confirmation of the firm's agent services account
7	Licensing in each other country involved	National registers, such as CPAverify in the US
8	Professional indemnity insurance	Ask for confirmation in writing
9	A written engagement letter and fee basis	The engagement letter itself
10	Fit: team, sector experience, size and complaints route	Meeting, references and the firm's complaints procedure

Points 2 to 7 are hard checks against a register or regulator. Points 1, 8, 9 and 10 depend on what the firm puts in writing. Where tax in several countries is involved, add specialists in local and international taxation to the shortlist.

How to check if an accountant is qualified and regulated

Check the title first, then the register. The UK government's Regulated Professions Register records that the restriction on chartered accountants applies to the title only: "Chartered Accountant", ACA and FCA are protected for ICAEW members, "CA" for ICAS members, and Chartered Accountants Ireland protects its own designations. The same entry notes that a member who practises publicly as a principal of a firm needs a practising certificate from the institute. Search the body's directory, such as the ACCA find an accountant service or ICAEW's Find a Chartered Accountant, and ask which body issued the practising certificate.

Qualification matters for more than the letters after a name. The CCAB explains that qualified advisers are regulated by their professional body, must complete continuing professional development with an annual declaration, and are required to hold professional indemnity insurance.

Audit registration

If your company needs a statutory audit, the firm must be eligible to sign it. Under section 1212 of the Companies Act 2006, an individual or firm can be appointed as statutory auditor only if it is a member of a recognised supervisory body and eligible under that body's rules. You can confirm this on the public Register of Statutory Auditors, which can be searched by firm, individual, location or supervisory body.

Anti-money laundering supervision

Accountancy firms in the UK need an anti-money laundering supervisor. According to GOV.UK guidance on the Money Laundering Regulations, a professional body supervises its own members, and HMRC supervises accountancy service providers that are not supervised by a professional body. Ask who the firm's supervisor is; a vague answer is a warning sign.

HMRC tax adviser registration

Under the new regime, anyone paid to deal with HMRC about someone else's tax affairs must register unless an exemption applies. HMRC's guidance on when to register as a tax adviser says the requirement covers sole traders and firms acting for a single client, and that advisers based outside the UK must register too. Advisers with a Self Assessment or Corporation Tax account register from 18 August 2026, with three months from the opening of their window to apply. An adviser who should register and does not may be unable to deal with HMRC for clients, so ask any accountant who will deal with HMRC for you to confirm their agent services account.

Checking an accountant outside the UK

For each other country involved, find out which body licenses accountants there and check its register. In the United States, certified public accountants are licensed by state boards of accountancy. NASBA's CPAverify search draws on licensing data sent by participating state boards, so you can confirm that a CPA holds an active licence without searching each state separately.

Elsewhere, start with the International Federation of Accountants. IFAC says its members and associates include over 188 professional accountancy organisations in more than 143 jurisdictions (as of January 2026), and members must show they meet its Statements of Membership Obligations. Membership of an IFAC member body is a useful baseline, not a substitute for the local register. This matters most when you are opening a business in Dubai, deciding between a branch or a subsidiary abroad, or working out whether a Pillar Two top-up tax applies to the group.

Questions to ask an accountant before hiring

Put the same written questions to every firm on your shortlist and compare the answers side by side. The CCAB's checklist is a sound starting point:

• Expertise. Have you advised clients with our type of tax issues and in our sector?
• Size. Do you act for businesses of a similar size to ours?
• Authorisation. Are you authorised for audit, investment or insolvency work if we need it?
• People. Who will actually do the work, and how often can we meet them?
• Insurance. Do you hold professional indemnity insurance?
• Reputation. Will our lenders and shareholders accept your work?
• Growth. Can you offer the services we will need as we expand?

For an international mandate, add three of your own: which overseas firms will you work with and who supervises them; who is responsible if the overseas work is wrong; and how will you handle reporting duties such as the failure to prevent fraud offence that affect the group's controls.

Accountant fees and the engagement letter

Agree the basis of fees before any work starts. The CCAB guidance says clients should establish how fees are calculated and when they are payable, ask for an estimate, and expect extra charges for additional services such as VAT returns or payroll. Ask in advance whether a first meeting is free, since specific advice may be charged. Doing some of the bookkeeping yourself, or using compatible software, can reduce the bill, and fees are worth reviewing regularly.

The engagement letter is your contract. In the CCAB's words, you should receive a letter setting out what the adviser will, and will not, do for you and the terms of the engagement. For cross-border work, check that it names every entity and country covered, which overseas firms are subcontracted, and who owns the working papers if you later move firms.

Red flags when choosing an accountant

Walk away, or at least ask harder questions, if you see any of the following:

• No verifiable qualification. The title "accountant" alone proves nothing, and the firm cannot name its professional body.
• No supervisor. The firm cannot say who supervises it for anti-money laundering purposes.
• Audit without registration. It offers to sign an audit but is not on the Register of Statutory Auditors.
• Nothing in writing. It will not issue an engagement letter or confirm its insurance.
• Unclear conflicts. It acts for a competitor or counterparty and cannot explain how your information is kept separate, the kind of concern at the centre of the KPMG Senate inquiry.

If something goes wrong after appointment, the Financial Reporting Council says complaints go to the accountant or firm first and then to its professional body. The FRC itself investigates only cases that raise important public interest issues.

How to find an international accountant through Corporate INTL

Start with a shortlist of three. Search the advisory and accounting specialists in the Corporate INTL directory, then add tax advisers for planning work, CFO and finance director services for part-time leadership, and forensic investigations experts if a dispute or suspected fraud is involved. Browse advisers in the United Kingdom or advisers in the USA, or use the full Find an Expert directory for other countries. Run each firm through the ten checks, verify them on the registers above and compare the engagement letters. If you would like help choosing an international accountant, use our enquiry form and tell us which countries and services are involved.

Frequently asked questions

Do accountants have to be qualified in the UK?

No. Anyone can call themselves an accountant or tax adviser. Titles such as Chartered Accountant, ACA, FCA and CA are protected, and statutory audit is limited to eligible registered auditors, but the official register records no reserved activities for chartered accountants beyond the title. That is why checking the professional body's register matters.

How do I check if an accountant is qualified?

Ask which professional body the accountant belongs to, then search that body's directory, such as ICAEW's Find a Chartered Accountant or ACCA's find an accountant service. For audit work, check the Register of Statutory Auditors. In the US, use NASBA's CPAverify to confirm an active CPA licence.

Who regulates accountants in the UK?

Qualified accountants are regulated by their professional body, such as ICAEW, ACCA or ICAS. Auditors must belong to a recognised supervisory body under the Companies Act 2006, with the Financial Reporting Council as the competent authority for audit. Anti-money laundering supervision sits with the professional body, or with HMRC if there is none.

What should an accountant's engagement letter include?

It should set out what the accountant will and will not do, the terms of the engagement, and the basis of fees and when they are payable. For international work, it should also name each entity and country covered, any overseas firms involved and who is responsible for their work.

Do overseas accountants need to register with HMRC?

Yes, if they are paid to deal with HMRC about a client's tax affairs. HMRC's 2026 guidance says businesses based outside the UK must register as tax advisers, using the overseas route during their registration window, unless an exemption applies.

How do I complain about an accountant?

Complain to the accountant or firm first. If you are not satisfied, take the complaint to the accountant's professional body. The Financial Reporting Council investigates only serious cases that raise public interest concerns, and it cannot overturn a professional body's decision on your complaint.

Sources

1. CCAB: Choosing an Accountant
2. UK Regulated Professions Register: Chartered Accountant
3. ACCA: Find an accountant
4. legislation.gov.uk: Companies Act 2006, section 1212
5. Register of Statutory Auditors
6. GOV.UK: Money Laundering Regulations, who needs to register
7. HMRC: Check if and when you need to register as a tax adviser with HMRC
8. NASBA: CPAverify
9. IFAC: Membership
10. Financial Reporting Council: Complaints about an accountant or actuary

About this article

This checklist was researched and written by The Corporate INTL Newsroom, which covers cross-border legal, regulatory and business developments for lawyers, professional advisers and financiers in over 150 jurisdictions. It has been checked against the CCAB's guidance, the UK Regulated Professions Register, the Companies Act 2006, the Register of Statutory Auditors, HMRC and GOV.UK guidance, NASBA, IFAC and the Financial Reporting Council. It focuses mainly on the UK, with pointers for other countries. This article is general information, not legal, tax or accounting advice; for advice on a specific matter, consult a qualified adviser. Last reviewed 30 October 2026. For more analysis like this, visit the Corporate INTL newsroom or subscribe to Corporate INTL.