Academy Chartered Accountants Limited
Chartered Accountant
You are here: Accounting Services > Virtual accounts

Accounting Services

Virtual accounting

So what's all the fuss about virtual accounts? Even internationally, there are relatively few chartered accountants (or international equivalents) offering this service. In NZ at the time of writing, one other accounting firm uses the word virtual - but in a more limited way. IRD now does as much as possible through the Internet to provide taxpayer's information - but traditional accountants still operate in a traditional way.

Few customers actually come to our office

Over many years, we've had the occasional client we've never met because of their location. But they've been the rare exception rather than the rule. Now in our own firm, we have already established some differences. For example, almost none of our clients have ever been to our offices. They (and we) find it much easier to work together with their system as our starting point.

So there's not a large move from there to a "virtual" accounting and tax practice. For clients we look after via BankLink, or the special accountants version of Xero, there's not really any difference at all. But for those who run their own accounting system, there is some difference.

Professional standards

For a start, accounting packages like QuickBooks, MYOB or MoneyWorks don't produce all the "extra" information required for accounting according to professional standards. While some business people survive without them, companies in particular have additional requirements under the Companies Act which specialised accounting systems used by most Chartered Accountants cater for. Therefore most accountants take the clients information into their system - and leave it at that. We do not like that.

We respect your accounting system

All the work that goes into clients own accounting systems deserves more respect. So we treat it as the main accounting source. We check the data in it together with the clients, ensuring there is every chance of errors being done correctly in future. We still transfer it into our system, for depreciation, tax and other adjustments and produce accounts that meet various accounting and reporting standards. But we do it with two differences.

1. We check your data: We check the data in whatever system you choose. We have considerable accounting experience, so we know what to look for. By checking your system with you, you too can learn for future reference, so hopefully any errors won't be repeated. If we find the accounting data is in fact a mess - and over time it stays that way, then that leaves us with three choices.

The first option is to sort out the same problems over and over. We don't regard that as an acceptable option. The second choice is to transfer you onto BankLink. We've only ever had to do that once - and the client was very happy in the end. This saved money for them and us, and reduced their risk with IRD. The third option is to refer you to another accountant.

One more thing about checking the data. This is not an audit. We do not look at everything in great detail. We use our knowledge and experience to identify problems. But the data is yours - and you are responsible for it.

We take a copy: Having checked the data, we then take a copy. The procedure for this varies from package to package - but bascially we take it into our system. There we do entries like depreciation, tax, etc. and produce a set of accounts. Once you have approved and signed these, we can file the tax return(s).

2. Update of your system: But we also do something many do not. We produce the final entries for input into your system. The procedure for this varies from package to package - but at the end of it, your system should be able to produce a balance sheet that matches the "official" accounts to the cent.

When you are happy with that, then you can "roll over" into the new year. Some systems (e.g. QuickBooks) do not lose the old data - but it is still a good idea to set the old year as requiring a password to change it. Generally once a year has been finished it should not be changed. It's easy to do this if it's not protected - when January rolls around it's not uncommon to enter the old year in error.

So what's virtual about all that?

There may be nothing virtual about it at all. But when we talk "virtual", generally it means we can do this by visiting you over the Internet (you start the required program and give us the password unique each time). So reviewing your system can be done with you at your system, and us also at your system - but still at our office (or even our home). We can talk as we go, using Skype, and we can see what you are doing, or we can do it while you watch, using another program. We can even see your Mac - you don't have to use Windows.

Non-traditional?

So if it's so great, why isn't everyone doing it? Short answer: we don't know. Slightly longer answer: we think tradition might have something to do with it. We have geared our whole practice to working this way. So we don't do a lot of the work traditionally handled by CA's. We use BankLink - or we use the client's system. And this means we don't use, for example, MS Money or Quicken. But most NZ-oriented packages (including Quicken's big brother QuickBooks) are fine.

So if you're interested in finding more, send us an e-mail - or Skype us.


Or you can read on -


next page - How can I reduce the annual accounting fees?