Ask any London business owner what frustrates them most about their accountant and, more often than not, the answer has nothing to do with numbers. It is silence. Unreturned calls, vague explanations, invoices that arrive with no context, and a nagging sense that nobody is actually looking out for you between filing deadlines. Good communication is not a nice-to-have in an accountancy relationship; it is the foundation everything else is built on. Without it, even the most technically brilliant advice can go unheard, misunderstood or simply left unused at the moment it was needed most.
Clarity Over Jargon, Every Time
The best accountants translate. They take VAT thresholds, corporation tax reliefs and cash flow forecasts and explain what they actually mean for your business this month, not in theory but in practice. If you regularly come away from a conversation more confused than when you started, that is a communication failure, not a reflection of your own understanding. A good accountant checks that you have grasped the point before moving on, rather than assuming silence means comprehension.
This matters more for small and growing businesses than almost anywhere else, because owners are usually wearing several hats at once. You do not have the luxury of a finance department to interpret advice for you. Plain English, short explanations and a willingness to repeat something a different way are hallmarks of an accountant who genuinely wants you to succeed, not just to tick a compliance box.
It also helps to ask your accountant to summarise key points in writing after a call. A short follow-up email that restates the main decisions and next steps gives you something to refer back to later, and it forces both sides to confirm that the explanation actually landed rather than simply assuming it did.
Proactive Updates, Not Just Reactive Answers
There is a real difference between an accountant who answers your questions and one who tells you things before you know to ask. Good communication includes flagging an upcoming deadline before it becomes urgent, mentioning a tax change that affects your sector, or noticing an unusual dip in margin and raising it unprompted. This proactive habit is often what separates a firm offering genuine virtual finance director services from one that simply processes paperwork once a year and waits for the next deadline to roll around.
Proactive communication does not need to be constant to be valuable. A short, well-timed email that says "your VAT return is due in ten days and your figures look ready" saves far more stress than a long report nobody reads. It is the timing and relevance that count, not the volume, and busy owners tend to appreciate brevity far more than length.
Consistency Across the Year, Not Just at Year End
Many small business owners only hear from their accountant twice a year: once for the annual accounts and once for the tax return. That pattern might be fine for a very simple sole trader, but for anyone managing cash flow, payroll or growth plans, it leaves long gaps where problems can quietly build without anyone noticing until it is far more expensive to fix. Good communication means regular touchpoints throughout the year, even brief ones, so nothing comes as a surprise.
- A quarterly check-in on management figures, not just annual accounts
- Reminders ahead of VAT, PAYE and corporation tax deadlines
- A short note when legislation changes affect your business specifically
- An open invitation to call with quick questions, without a meter running
This rhythm keeps the relationship alive rather than dormant, and it means small issues get caught while they are still small and inexpensive to fix, long before they become the kind of problem that eats an entire afternoon to untangle.
It is also worth remembering that this rhythm works both ways. Just as your accountant should be reaching out regularly, you should feel comfortable initiating contact whenever something changes on your side, whether that is a new contract, a staffing decision or simply a question that has been nagging at you for a week. A healthy communication rhythm is a two-way habit, not something delivered passively from one side to the other.
Responsiveness That Respects Your Time
Response speed is one of the most tangible signs of communication quality. A same-day or next-day reply to a straightforward question tells you that you matter as a client, not just as an invoice number. This does not mean an accountant needs to be available around the clock, but it does mean setting a realistic expectation and sticking to it consistently, whether that is 24 hours or 48, rather than leaving you guessing every single time you send a message.
Affordable accountants sometimes worry that being responsive will eat into margins, but the opposite is usually true. Clients who get quick, clear answers are far less likely to escalate small confusions into full-blown disputes, and they tend to stay loyal for years. Speed builds trust, and trust reduces the friction that eats into everyone's time in the long run.
Communication That Matches How You Actually Work
Not every business owner wants a phone call, and not every accountant should default to a formal letter when a quick message would do. Good communication adapts to the client. Some prefer email threads they can refer back to, others want a five-minute call, and a growing number are comfortable with messaging apps for quick queries. An accountant who insists on a single channel regardless of your preference is putting their own convenience ahead of yours, and that mismatch tends to quietly damage the relationship over time.
This flexibility becomes especially important as a business grows and its needs change. What worked when you were a sole trader with one bank account may not suit a limited company with staff, suppliers and investors asking questions. The communication style should evolve alongside the business, not stay frozen at whatever level was set on day one and never revisited.
Honesty When the News Is Not Good
Perhaps the clearest sign of good communication is how an accountant handles bad news. Anyone can deliver a clean set of accounts with a smile. It takes a different kind of professionalism to tell a client, clearly and without delay, that cash flow is tightening, that a tax bill will be higher than expected, or that a decision made last year has created a problem this year. Delaying uncomfortable conversations rarely makes them easier; it usually makes them considerably worse by the time they finally surface.
A firm that treats you as a genuine partner, with access to senior staff rather than being passed between juniors, will raise these issues early and offer options rather than just problems. That kind of senior-level, dedicated attention is exactly what businesses should look for when comparing accountants, and it is worth asking directly during any introductory call whether you will have consistent access to the same experienced person, through options such as outsourced finance director support, rather than a rotating cast of unfamiliar faces.
The Bottom Line
Good communication with an accountant is not about grand gestures or constant contact. It is about clarity, consistency, honesty and a genuine effort to keep you informed before problems arise rather than after. London business owners juggling tight margins and long hours deserve an adviser who explains things simply, responds promptly and tells the truth even when it is inconvenient. If your current arrangement feels distant or reactive, it may be worth exploring firms offering closer, more consistent support that keeps communication at the centre of the relationship rather than an afterthought.
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