How Do You Manage Outstanding Client Work 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.
Outstanding work needs a clear incoming owner, a verified deadline and a documented next step so the change of ownership does not become a gap in client service.
Outstanding client work rarely arrives in one tidy queue. Some jobs are awaiting a final review, others need information from the client, and a few may exist mainly in the vendor’s memory.
Settlement does not make those differences disappear.
For an Australian accounting-practice buyer, the immediate task is to understand what each client is waiting for and who will now deliver it. A clear handover helps the team keep promises, make sound decisions and turn completed work into correctly issued invoices.
Outstanding client work: the short answer
Reconcile open jobs against workflow reports, relevant records and staff knowledge.
Verify deadlines and client commitments rather than assuming an ownership change extends them.
Give each job a responsible person, a reviewer where needed and a practical next step.
Identify missing information, unresolved technical matters and any required vendor input.
Connect completion and billing with the purchase agreement’s treatment of WIP, debtors and advance fees.
Keep clients informed and escalate work that cannot be completed safely or on time.
Build a reliable picture of what remains unfinished
Start with the practice’s current workflow report, then compare it with other evidence.
Staff may know about work requested by telephone, a draft waiting in a document folder or a client who sent information without a job being opened. The aim is to bring those matters into view.
The client information reviewed before the purchase helps explain the service relationship, but it may no longer describe the current workload. Ask the vendor and relevant staff to confirm the latest position, including commitments made during the period around settlement.
Describe status in terms that lead to action: awaiting specified information, preparation underway, technical question unresolved, ready for review or approved for the next step.
‘Nearly finished’ can conceal several hours of work or an important judgement that has not been made.
The Tax Practitioners Board’s proper client-record guidance explains the obligation to retain records that explain tax agent services provided. During handover, useful job records also let the incoming team understand what was done, what remains open and where supporting information can be found.
Check which dates matter and what they mean
A statutory due date, an internal review date and a promised delivery date are different commitments. Record them separately, with the source of each date.
That distinction helps you see whether a job needs immediate action, an earlier review slot or a conversation about the client’s expectations.
The ATO’s guidance on how lodgment deferrals work describes arrangements for eligible obligations affected by exceptional or unforeseen circumstances. An acquisition should not be treated as an automatic extension. If a deferral may be needed, the authorised practitioner should check the applicable process and confirmed outcome.
Identify who will monitor each deadline and verify that the responsible practice has the registration, client authority and system access needed for the service. Buying the business should not be treated as transferring every permission automatically.
If access or authority is unresolved, raise it while there is still time to arrange a response.
Give every job an owner and an appropriate reviewer
A named job owner keeps the work moving, follows up missing information and tells the client about progress. That person may need a separate technical reviewer.
Agree both roles so a preparer does not finish a job only to discover that nobody has capacity or authority to approve it.
The TPB’s supervision and competency guidance explains that services provided on a practitioner’s behalf need to be directed, overseen and checked. Build the applicable supervision into the incoming practice’s arrangements rather than assuming the vendor will continue reviewing work informally.
Your review of owner dependence and key staff risk can help identify jobs likely to need extra support. A staff member who prepared a file previously may still need the vendor’s explanation of an unusual treatment or a new supervisor’s judgement on an unresolved issue.
Allocate work against actual capacity.
Staff are often completing their ordinary workload while answering handover questions and learning new arrangements. If everything is labelled urgent, discuss priorities and additional support with the relevant manager rather than leaving employees to choose between competing deadlines.
Capture vendor input before it becomes harder to obtain
For jobs needing vendor knowledge, prepare focused questions with the relevant records available. Ask what decision is outstanding, why a particular approach was taken and what information would change it.
Record the answer in the approved client file, distinguishing established facts from matters requiring further assessment.
Connect these requests with the agreed vendor handover arrangements so the vendor understands the priority, expected contribution and timing. If support is insufficient, discuss the gap promptly and seek advice about any contractual change.
Informal availability can be difficult to rely on once competing commitments arise.
The team also needs to locate and use the supporting files. The questions raised during technology due diligence now become practical access checks: whether authorised staff can open the current version, identify completed review work and preserve an appropriate record of subsequent changes.
Separate responsibility for service from commercial treatment
A client’s unfinished job and the purchase agreement’s accounting treatment need to connect, but they answer different questions.
Someone must deliver the service, while the agreement determines who benefits from or bears the relevant WIP, invoicing and collection arrangements. Check both before issuing an invoice.
The guide to debtors and WIP when buying a practice explains why recorded balances should not simply be equated with recoverable cash. During handover, confirm who completes the work, who invoices, which entity collects payment and how any agreed allocation is recorded.
Advance fees need particular attention because cash may already have been received for services still to be delivered. Confirm the engagement scope and agreed purchase treatment with your advisers.
Do not assume a change of ownership permits another charge for the same service or removes the obligation to finish it.
Disputed fees, suspected errors and work requiring correction also need a documented response. Establish who communicates with the client and who seeks appropriate advice.
If buyer and vendor disagree about the commercial allocation, keep the service issue visible rather than allowing it to disappear between their positions.
Keep the client informed and review the queue
Clients should know their incoming contact, what information is needed and the next update they can expect. Explain confirmed arrangements plainly.
If timing becomes uncertain, discuss it early rather than offering a delivery date that depends on unresolved access, information or technical review.
Review the open-work list frequently enough for the workload and deadlines. Pay attention to jobs that have stopped moving, repeatedly missed internal dates or generated new client concerns.
Escalation should identify the obstacle and decision needed, whether that means more information, technical advice, capacity or a revised client commitment.
An illustrative transition job
Suppose an annual return is prepared but awaiting information about a transaction and final review. The incoming manager confirms the current due date, assigns a staff member to request the missing evidence and reserves reviewer capacity. Vendor input is documented where relevant, and billing follows the agreed treatment.
This example illustrates how the team can coordinate the work, while the actual service and timetable depend on the client’s circumstances.
Frequently asked questions
Does an acquisition extend a client’s lodgment deadline?
Do not assume so. Verify the applicable date and any confirmed deferral through the relevant process. An internal handover schedule does not change the client’s obligation.
Should the vendor finish all existing jobs?
That depends on the agreement and service arrangements. Clarify completion, review and billing responsibilities for each job instead of assuming one rule applies to the whole queue.
Can staff rely on the vendor’s previous review?
Understand and document what was reviewed and what remains unresolved. The responsible practitioner should confirm the further review needed under the incoming practice’s arrangements.
What if the client has already paid?
Check what the payment covered and the agreed treatment of advance fees. Confirm who must provide the remaining service before considering any further invoice.
When is an outstanding job complete?
Use the service’s actual requirements, including appropriate review, client approval where needed, delivery or lodgment and records. Track billing and collection separately so unfinished financial steps remain visible.
Make continuity visible
A useful open-work list lets you explain what each client needs next and who will act. Keep it current as questions are answered and work progresses. Clear ownership, sound review and reliable communication give the practice a practical foundation for serving clients through the transition.
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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