Working with your tax advisor without broken handovers
A good handover is a repeatable monthly process, not a file bundle assembled at year-end.
Quick answer
A smooth tax-advisor handover needs clear responsibilities, a fixed monthly readiness definition, and tested export parameters. Keep questions with the record or posting so decisions remain traceable.
Key takeaways
- Agree chart, identifiers, fields, and export format early.
- Hand over a month only after bank, open-item, record, and tax checks.
- Test DATEV exports throughout the year.
Agree on the target workflow
Agree with your tax advisor on who reviews records, who assigns accounts, who posts, and which exceptions go directly to the advisor. An unclear division creates duplicate work and conflicting versions.
Confirm the chart of accounts, advisor and client identifiers, fiscal year, document fields, and expected transfer formats. A real test month exposes differences earlier and more safely than the first year-end handover.
Define monthly handover readiness
A month is not ready simply because every file was uploaded. Define a shared completion state that covers the ledger and the unresolved exceptions.
- Import bank activity and resolve material differences.
- Reconcile open items and partial payments.
- Link source records to the relevant postings.
- Collect unclear tax cases in a dedicated question list.
- Generate and sample-check the technical export.
Keep questions with the transaction
Questions in a separate email thread quickly lose their relationship to the record and posting. Keep status, comments, and decisions with the business transaction so the reason for a coding or tax choice remains traceable.
Automation can prepare context but should not imply a professional decision. The reviewer, approval, and resulting change must remain clear to both the business and the tax advisor.
Use exports as a recurring control
Test DATEV EXTF exports throughout the year. Regular trial transfers show whether accounts, posting keys, document fields, and periods remain consistent after configuration changes.
Depending on the engagement, the advisor may also need record files, open-item information, or process evidence. Agree on the package and naming convention rather than relying on assumptions at year end.
Sources and further information
Related workflows in accuno
These product pages show how accuno supports the workflows described in this guide.
Sources and further information
Editorial note
Prepared by the accuno Editorial Team and reviewed against the listed primary sources and the implemented product scope.
These articles provide general guidance and do not replace legal, tax, or business advice. Confirm your specific situation with a qualified professional.