How to Choose a CA for Your Business: 12 Questions That Separate a Filing Clerk from an Adviser
- The single highest-value question is "which filings are inside the fee, named one by one" — bundles described as all compliance are where almost every dispute starts.
- Insist that your logins, books and data stay accessible to you; an engagement you cannot exit without losing your records is a commercial risk, not a service.
- Switching CAs is a defined process — settle dues, get the no-objection, file ADT-3 for a statutory auditor and hand over data — not an argument.
Choosing a chartered accountant is mostly judged on fee, which is exactly why so many small businesses end up with filings they did not know were excluded and books they cannot take with them. The difference between a good and a bad engagement is rarely technical competence — most CAs are competent — it is scope, responsiveness and data access. Here are the twelve questions worth asking before you sign, and the two sections after that nobody tells you about.
Scope: four questions
- "Which filings are inside this fee, named individually?" You want a list: how many GST returns a year, which TDS quarters, AOC-4, MGT-7, ADT-1, DIR-3 KYC, DPT-3, MSME-1, the income-tax return, Form 16 issuance. "All ROC compliance" is not a list.
- "Is the statutory audit fee inside or outside?" For a company, the audit is mandatory from year one and it is often a separate engagement — frequently with a different firm, since the auditor and the accountant should not be the same hand.
- "What is explicitly excluded?" Good answers name things: notice replies, assessments, appeals, valuation reports, 15CA/15CB, registration under new laws, correction statements. Vague answers here become invoices later.
- "How is bookkeeping priced as volume grows?" A fee quoted on 50 vouchers a month behaves very differently at 500. Agree the slab now.
Delivery: four questions
- "Who will actually do my work, and who do I call?" A named person matters more than the firm's size. Partner-signed, article-prepared is normal; partner-unreachable is not.
- "What is your response time, and on what channel?" Agree something concrete — same-day acknowledgement, 48 hours for a substantive reply. Most friction in these relationships is silence, not error.
- "Will I get a compliance calendar with my own due dates?" A CA who hands you a dated calendar at the start of the year is managing your risk; one who calls you on the 18th is managing their own.
- "What do you need from me, by when, every month?" Late filings are very often caused by late client data. Fix the input schedule, not just the output date.
Control and risk: four questions
- "Whose email and mobile go on the GST and income-tax portals?" They should be yours, or at minimum yours in addition. Notices land there, and so do OTPs. If you cannot log in to your own GSTIN, you do not control your own compliance.
- "In what format do I get my books, and can I take them with me?" You want data you can export — not a view inside somebody's licensed software you lose access to on exit.
- "How do you handle my data, and who else sees it?" With the DPDP rules in force, ask where it is stored, who in the team has access, and whether anything is sent to third-party or AI tools.
- "What happens if we part ways?" A professional answer describes a handover: trial balance, ledgers, return acknowledgements, challans, audit working papers where shareable, and a no-objection certificate.
How fees are usually structured, and what is reasonable
| Engagement | Typical basis | What should be in writing |
|---|---|---|
| Monthly bookkeeping | Per month, by voucher volume or turnover slab | Volume slab, software used, who does data entry, export format |
| GST returns | Per month or per quarter, per GSTIN | Number of GSTINs, whether GSTR-9/9C is included, reconciliation scope |
| TDS returns | Per quarter, per TAN | Form 16/16A issuance, correction statements, lower-deduction tracking |
| ROC annual filings | Annual package | The forms named individually, who certifies, DIN KYC included or not |
| Statutory audit | Annual, separate | Scope, timeline, who signs; ideally a different firm from the accountant |
| Notices, assessments, appeals | Per matter | Almost always excluded from retainers — confirm the basis in advance |
| Virtual CFO / advisory | Monthly retainer | Deliverables: MIS pack, review call cadence, projections, lender liaison |
A fee materially below the market usually means volume is assumed low, the audit is outside, or notices will be billed separately. None of those is dishonest — it is only a problem if you did not know.
Signals worth acting on
- Good: gives you a dated compliance calendar; puts the scope in writing; keeps your portal credentials in your name; tells you when something is not needed yet; explains a position rather than asserting it; raises a problem before the due date.
- Concerning: guarantees a refund amount or a specific tax saving; proposes cash share capital or unsupported expenses; cannot be reached for a week; refuses to hand over data; keeps the business's logins exclusively; quotes a bundle with no named filings.
Switching a CA, cleanly
- Settle undisputed dues first — a handover dispute almost always starts with money.
- Ask in writing for the handover set: ledgers and trial balance in an exportable format, filed returns with acknowledgement numbers, challans, Form 16/16A, audit report and relevant working papers, statutory registers, DSC return.
- Get a no-objection certificate. Where a statutory auditor is changing, the outgoing auditor's resignation is filed in ADT-3 and the new appointment in ADT-1; mid-year changes need a board or shareholder process, so do not do it mid-audit if you can help it.
- Change the authorised signatory, email and mobile on the GST and income-tax portals yourself, and remove the old e-return intermediary where applicable.
- Have the incoming CA do an opening-balance reconciliation before touching the current year. Inherited errors become your errors otherwise.
Common mistakes
- Choosing on fee alone and discovering the audit, notices and GSTR-9 were outside it.
- Letting the CA's email and phone be the portal contact. You then learn about notices second-hand, after the reply window has started running.
- Using the same firm as accountant and statutory auditor for a company — it weakens the audit and looks poor in any diligence.
- No written engagement letter. Scope, fee, exclusions, data handling, exit — one page is enough, but it must exist.
- Sending data on the due date and blaming the filing delay on the CA.
- Switching mid-audit. It delays the filing, the ₹100-per-day clock runs anyway, and the new firm starts with incomplete papers.
If you want to see what a named-scope engagement looks like before you ask anyone else for one, the KyaTax Services pages list each service with its inclusions and what is charged at actuals, so you can use them as a comparison sheet. Professional fees are exclusive of GST, government and statutory fees and out-of-pocket expenses.
Do it yourself in minutes — free to try, no login needed.
Open KyaTax Services →Frequently asked questions
How do I check whether a chartered accountant is genuine?
Every practising CA has a membership number and every firm a firm registration number, both verifiable on the ICAI website. Ask for the FRN on the engagement letter, and note that only a practising CA holding a certificate of practice can sign an audit report.
Should my accountant and my statutory auditor be the same firm?
For a company, preferably not. The auditor is expected to examine work the accountant produced, and having one hand do both weakens that and looks poor in investor or lender diligence. Many small companies use one firm for books and GST and a separate firm for the statutory audit.
Can I change my CA in the middle of the year?
Yes, but sequence it. Settle dues, obtain a no-objection certificate and take a full data handover. If the statutory auditor is changing, the resignation goes in ADT-3 and the new appointment in ADT-1, with the required board or shareholder approval. Avoid switching mid-audit — the filing deadline does not pause.
Who should the registered email and mobile on the GST portal belong to?
The business. Notices, OTPs and portal alerts go to that address, and if you cannot log in to your own GSTIN you cannot see what has been filed in your name. Your CA can be added as an authorised signatory or e-return intermediary without becoming the sole contact.
General information for FY 2026-27, not professional advice for your specific case. Rules change — verify against the latest notification or ask a KyaTax expert.
Related: All free tools · More guides · Virtual CFO