How Much Should You Change During an Accounting Practice Handover?
Updated: Oct 24
GUEST AUTHOR | Blackhall & Co
Today’s guest post is by Blackhall & Co. Blackhall & Co helps buyers find businesses worth owning. Opinions expressed by guest authors are their own and do not necessarily reflect the views of Fairlane Finance.
During a practice handover, prioritise urgent service, security and legal requirements, then introduce larger improvements at a pace the team and clients can manage.
An accounting practice handover can make the incoming owner’s improvement list feel suddenly achievable. You now have authority to replace an awkward system, revisit old pricing or bring two offices together.
Yet the team still has returns to prepare, clients to support and unfamiliar ownership arrangements to absorb.
The question is how to turn those ambitions into workable decisions. Some changes deserve prompt action, while others need preparation or depend on an earlier step. For an Australian buyer, a useful transition plan considers the combined pressure on people and service, rather than judging each project in isolation.
The short answer
Address urgent service risks, security concerns and applicable obligations promptly.
Explain the problem each proposed improvement is meant to solve.
Assess staff capacity, client impact, cost and dependencies together.
Allow for advice, consultation, training and testing where required.
Review outcomes before adding the next substantial change.
What needs immediate attention during an accounting practice handover?
Start with what could prevent the practice from serving clients reliably.
An unallocated urgent job, missing authorised access or a known security weakness needs a response. Preserving continuity does not mean preserving a serious problem simply because employees are already managing a transition.
The findings from your data and cybersecurity due diligence should inform these priorities. Ask the relevant specialist to distinguish urgent controls from longer-term improvements and explain how essential work can continue while the issue is addressed.
The Australian Signals Directorate’s small-business cyber guide recommends measures including multi-factor authentication, software updates and backups. That guidance supports taking security seriously from the outset. Because the appropriate implementation depends on the environment, a technician should assess important integrations and operational effects before deciding whether a migration is needed.
Be clear about what the improvement will achieve
A proposal becomes easier to assess when it begins with a specific problem. ‘Modernise the practice’ is broad. ‘Reduce repeated data entry between billing and workflow systems’ gives you something to investigate, cost and measure.
Staff may also know why the current process developed and where an apparent shortcut would create extra work.
business.gov.au’s change-management guidance recommends identifying the purpose of change and preparing a plan with responsibilities and measurable milestones. For an acquisition, that helps separate improvements supported by evidence from preferences that can be reviewed once you understand the practice better.
Your technology review may show that the existing platform is workable but poorly configured. Training or a smaller adjustment could address the immediate issue while a replacement is assessed.
Equally, a genuine limitation may justify a larger project. Let the evidence determine the scope.
Consider the combined effect on the team
A software migration, new reporting arrangements and revised fees may each be reasonable.
Introduced together, they can require the same people to learn, explain and troubleshoot several changes while meeting client deadlines. Capacity is about attention and supervision as well as the number of available employees.
Review the staff structure and responsibilities against the implementation workload.
Who can provide training? Who will answer client questions? Who takes over ordinary work while a senior accountant tests the new process? Build those demands into the schedule instead of assuming everyone will absorb them alongside existing duties.
Where proposed changes affect employment arrangements, obtain appropriate advice before implementation. The Fair Work Ombudsman’s consultation guide explains that requirements arise through legislation, awards and enterprise agreements. You should check the provisions applying to the practice and the proposed change, because a general announcement does not necessarily complete a required consultation process.
Fair Work’s consultation and cooperation guidance also provides a useful framework for hearing staff views. Explain the purpose and practical effect, invite relevant concerns and consider them.
Their knowledge can reveal a busy period, training gap or client dependency that changes your implementation plan.
Look at the transition from the client’s perspective
Clients experience changes through appointments, invoices, requests for information and the people who answer them.
An internal system improvement may still require a client to learn a new portal. A relocation may alter access for clients who prefer an office visit. Include those effects when deciding what can reasonably happen together.
Your premises and lease review should inform any office proposal, including commitments, timing and transition costs.
If pricing changes are also planned, explain their scope and basis through the appropriate engagement process. Do not assume clients will accept several changes without questions merely because the underlying service continues.
Use clear messages about confirmed changes, their purpose and where support is available. Staff need consistent answers, particularly if different clients move at different times. Avoid promising a seamless experience before the process has been tested.
A practical framework for deciding the order
For each substantial proposal, you should be able to explain:
Urgency: what happens if action waits, and is an obligation or deadline involved?
Benefit: what specific problem will the change address?
Readiness: what advice, information, consultation or testing remains necessary?
Capacity: who will implement it and keep ordinary service running?
Dependencies: what must be completed first, and what contingency is available?
Cost: what expenditure and temporary operating effects need funding?
business.gov.au’s emergency-management guidance includes business-continuity planning for disruptions. Applying that continuity thinking to planned change helps you ask how essential services would continue if a migration or relocation takes longer than expected. The contingency should be appropriate to the project, rather than an assumption that staff can improvise.
An illustrative example: separate the urgent fix from the wider project
Suppose a buyer plans to replace practice software and consolidate offices. The vendor handover reveals a reporting problem, while a specialist identifies an urgent access-control concern.
The buyer addresses access promptly and arranges temporary reporting support, then assesses migration and relocation as distinct projects.
The key-person review shows that one manager would otherwise lead both projects. The buyer revisits resources and timing before proceeding. This hypothetical example illustrates prioritisation, not a recommended timetable: the appropriate response depends on the risk, deadlines, staff capacity and professional advice.
Check whether the change is working before expanding it
Give each project a review point based on observable results. For a workflow adjustment, that might involve checking whether jobs move through review more reliably and whether staff still perform duplicate work. For a new client portal, ask whether clients can use it and whether support requests are manageable.
A system being switched on is only part of the outcome.
Include temporary costs and workload in that review. Extra training hours, external support and slower billing can affect the forecast even where the eventual improvement remains worthwhile.
If problems emerge, decide whether to adjust the process, provide more support or reconsider the next planned change. Explain that decision to the people involved so a revised timetable does not become another source of uncertainty.
Frequently asked questions
Should I avoid all changes during handover?
No. Urgent service issues, security risks and applicable obligations need timely attention. Assess larger improvements according to their benefit, readiness and operational demands.
How long should I wait before replacing software?
There is no universal period. Consider system risk, migration readiness, supplier arrangements, training and client deadlines. Obtain specialist advice on the current environment.
Can several changes run together?
They may, where resources and dependencies support it. Assess the combined effect on the same employees and clients, including contingency arrangements if a project slips.
Does telling staff about a change satisfy consultation requirements?
Not necessarily. Have your adviser assess applicable legislation, awards, agreements and the proposed change before deciding the required process.
What if implementation costs more than forecast?
Update the forecast and reassess the project scope and timing. Discuss material funding implications with your acquisition finance adviser before relying on additional finance being available.
Let priorities determine the pace
A useful handover plan makes room for improvement while protecting the work clients already depend on. Know why each change matters, what must happen first and who will support it. Review what has actually improved before increasing the demands on the practice.
Sources and further reading
Contributor disclaimer: This article is contributed by Blackhall & Co and published on the Fairlane Finance website. The views, opinions and conclusions expressed are those of the contributor alone, not statements of Fairlane Finance’s position. Publication does not constitute Fairlane Finance’s endorsement of the contributor’s views, services or any proposed acquisition.
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