Should We Formalize Our Accountant's Role with a Written Agreement? Seeking Advice!

Hello seniors! I am an HR in a small company. We have an accountant (not at a regular post) who files our tax returns, and we pay him for his services by cheque. However, neither party has any kind of agreement or contract between us.

Should We Have a Written Agreement?

So my question is: should we have any kind of written agreement for this? If yes, can you specify what it should include? It would be a great help if you can provide any kind of format or manual for that.

Thanks & Regards

In general, no one makes an agreement with the CA. Few large companies have a rule for agreements for all services. If your company has that rule, ask your legal department for a template of the agreement. Otherwise, just ask him for a proposal in the form of a letter or email stating what services he will be performing and the fees payable to him. Then, get the letter approved by the concerned person and give him a copy.

First of all, thank you, Banerjee sir, for your reply. I was almost hopeless about getting any response. As you said, I will ask him for a proposal. Actually, there is no legal department in our company, as we are a small IT company. I just had doubts about it and wanted to know for the sake of knowledge and for our future safeguards in either case.

Thanks a lot, sir.

I missed the "not" in the first sentence of your original post. Always write in a simple manner. Just writing it like this would ensure there is no misunderstanding: I am working as HR in a small company. Anyway, getting a proposal and a sign-off is a good practice, whether you are a small or large organization. It keeps terms and scope of work in black and white, and there is no scope for misunderstanding or using ambiguity as an escape.

Please find enclosed herewith the format of the Agreement with C.A. You may make necessary changes as per your requirements. Actually, it was prepared by me for undertaking the entire accounting-related work in connection with the merger of the proprietary concern into a private limited concern.