What do people do when their accountant dies during this time of year?

March 31, 2006 7:12 AM

My father, who was a self-employed accountant with a staff of zero, passed away on Monday in the middle of tax season. His clients, mostly doctors with small to medium sized practices, are people whose finances he's been managing for decades and they were friends to him as well. How can we, my family, ease their transition to another person to handle their taxes?

They have been really understanding and patient and supportive and they are hurt too. We'd like to help them as much as possible.

posted by eighth_excerpt to Work & Money (10 answers total)

The IRS must have a protocol for this. Presumably they are all going to need extensions filed while you sort it out. Can any of your father's colleagues take the work on once the extension returns are filed?
posted by fourcheesemac at 7:20 AM on March 31, 2006

certainly they're going to need extensions ... you are not going to get this sorted out by april 15th
posted by pyramid termite at 7:26 AM on March 31, 2006

If your father had any accountant friends, it might be time to ask them what to do. With client cooperation, they might be able to pick things up and finish what your father started, as a sort of professional courtesy and final favor to your father. Of course, any accountant in the US is going to be busy this time of year, but it's worth a try. If not his friends, then who?
posted by pracowity at 7:31 AM on March 31, 2006

I'm sorry for your loss. Best of luck with this situation.
posted by Alt F4 at 7:34 AM on March 31, 2006

Did he belong to any professional organizations? Maybe something like a local branch of the American Institute of CPAs (I just googled this, I don't know anything about this organization). If he did belong to such an organization (or even if he didn't belong), I imagine that a group of CPAs may be able to divvy up his clients and their membership in the organization could serve as a source of confidence in their abilities.
posted by mullacc at 7:46 AM on March 31, 2006

Well, I think the easiest/most obvious thing is, find all the files for each client. Give them everything you have for them, anything with their name on it at all. Then tell them to get new accountants. I'm not sure what other steps are really required.

Sorry to hear about the loss of your father, but it seems to me like worrying about his clients should be the LAST thing on your mind. I know I certainly wouldn't give a flying crap about them for a while.
posted by antifuse at 8:09 AM on March 31, 2006

Solo-practitioner lawyers are supposedly to have a contingency plan in case of death or disability. Did your father have anything like this? Another accountant that he was close to?
posted by reverendX at 9:08 AM on March 31, 2006

Who owns the firm now? Your mother? Find another local accountant who can do the work - either a friend of your father, or if not, some other local accounting firm with a GOOD reputation. Sell your father's business to them - I know there aren't physical assets as such, but there is goodwill built up - the customer base. The receiving firm should pay for this - how much, I don't know, but something, and not a pittance, either - a bunch of doctor accounts is probably fairly valuable. Upon signing a deal, send all of your father's customers a letter saying that Firm X will be taking over their accounts, Firm X has a good reputation because of X, Y, and Z reasons, and you believe they will be in good hands. (Firm X should immediately file extensions on behalf of all of your clients.)

You should probably send all of your father's clients a letter today telling them what has happened, what you plan to do, reassuring them that they will receive another letter with further information in a week or so, and asking them not to call you and ask questions.

I *believe* that with the legal sale of the firm you should have no privacy/ethical problems with handing over the files your father has kept to Firm X, though you should check on this.

This is how to handle it, in broad strokes. You might enlist a lawyer to assist you with the legal aspects of the sale. While your bereavement is understandable, it would be best to do this as quickly as possible (as the value of your customer base dwindles each day, and they deserve not to be too badly inconvenienced by this). The lawyer may also be able to negotiate the value of the firm on your behalf.

(I see a suggestion above to just shut down and tell everyone to find new accountants. While this is possible, you'd be throwing away what is probably a substantial sum of money. When doctors retire, for example, they *always* sell the practice to some up and coming young doctor.)
posted by jellicle at 9:08 AM on March 31, 2006

My accountant dad died two Decembers ago and my mother ended up having to do most of the work for the next tax season. I stayed out of it as much as possible so I can't give you practical advice, but I know what you're going through and I'm so sorry.
posted by Brainy at 9:13 AM on March 31, 2006

Does the will explain your father's plans for business continuity? Is there key man risk insurance? Find that out. In the meantime, send a letter to clients, letting them know that you are working to find a subcontractor to take them on for the remainder of the tax season and that transition issues will be forthcoming in a letter in X days. Depending on your jurisdiction, the clients may be able to ask their Revenue Service to give them an extension, if they provide a copy of the letter you sent out. Then contact your father's friends, see if they can help with finishing this stuff up. Your lawyer (again, check the will, letter of requests, etc) should be able to help you negotiate all this. Perhaps the lawyer could even send out the letter on your behalf.
posted by acoutu at 11:43 AM on March 31, 2006