Changing accountants is one of those jobs owners put off for a year longer than they should. It feels risky because your whole financial history lives with the current firm. It is less risky than it feels, if you ask the right questions first and time the move well.
This guide is for Upstate companies doing somewhere around $1M to $5M a year that are outgrowing a tax preparer, or are unhappy with a firm they have outgrown in the other direction. The list of firms is here when you are ready to start calling.
Why are you switching CPA firms?
Write down the reason in one sentence before you talk to anyone. It shapes every question after it. The usual ones:
- You only hear from them at tax time and want someone thinking ahead.
- Your returns keep going on extension, or come back with notices.
- A bank or buyer now wants reviewed or audited statements.
- You are selling in more states and sales tax got complicated.
- The partner you knew retired and you are now a file in a stack.
Is the CPA firm the right size and fit for your company?
A firm that mostly serves $50M companies may treat you as small. A firm that mostly serves individuals may not have seen your problems before. Ask:
- How many clients do you have around our size and in our industry?
- Who will actually do our work, and who signs off? Will we meet them before we sign?
- How long has that person been with the firm?
- What happens to our account during the filing-season crunch?
What work do you need from a CPA firm?
Firms bundle services differently, so list what you need rather than accepting a package:
- Business tax returns, federal and South Carolina, plus any other states you file in.
- Tax planning during the year, not only preparation after it. Ask whether they will look at entity structure and South Carolina's elective pass-through entity tax with you, if you are an S corporation or partnership.
- Financial statements: a compilation, a review or an audit. These are different levels of work at very different prices.
- Monthly accounting: bookkeeping, payroll, closing the month, or an outsourced controller or CFO.
- Specialty work: multi-state sales tax, R&D credits, cost segregation, succession and sale planning.
If a lender or buyer wants reviewed or audited statements, 12 of the 23 firms on our list say on their own sites that they do audit or assurance work (as of October 24, 2026): Arthurs & Company CPA, LLC, Cherry Bekaert, Elliott Davis, Forvis Mazars, Greene Finney Cauley, LLP, GreerWalker, HELM, Jennings Cook & Co., CPAs, Kochenower Blake Blake Arango & Co., PA, Love Bailey CPAs, Mauldin & Jenkins and Payne, White & Schmutz CPA, PA. If you want the books handled too, 16 of 23 list bookkeeping or outsourced accounting, and 6 of 23 mention outsourced CFO or controller work: Arthurs & Company CPA, LLC, Blumer CPAs, Cherry Bekaert, Forvis Mazars, Love Bailey CPAs and Mauldin & Jenkins.
Also ask which accounting software they work in day to day. If you run QuickBooks Online, Xero or NetSuite, you want a firm that lives in it, not one that exports it to a spreadsheet.
How do CPA firms charge, and what does the fee include?
Some firms bill by the hour, many now quote a fixed annual or monthly fee. Either is fine as long as the edges are clear. Ask what happens, and what it costs, when:
- You get a notice from the IRS or the South Carolina Department of Revenue
- You call with a question in July
- Your books arrive late or need cleanup before the return can start
- You add a state, an entity or a new line of business
Get the engagement letter before you commit. It is the real scope. Read what is excluded the same way you would read a lease.
When should you move to a new CPA firm?
The cleanest window is soon after a filing season wraps. Prior returns are final, the new firm has a full year to learn your business, and the old firm is not in the middle of your work. If you have to move mid-year, get the new firm involved before any estimated payments or year-end planning.
What has to transfer from your old CPA firm?
Ask the new firm for its onboarding checklist. Most will want:
- Three years of federal and state business returns
- Fixed asset and depreciation schedules
- Loss, credit and other carryforward details
- Payroll filings and sales tax filings
- Access to your accounting software and bank feeds
- Any open notices or correspondence with tax agencies
Tell the old firm in writing, ask for what you need, and keep it short and cordial. You may need them for a question later.
What should you ask a CPA firm at the first meeting?
- How many clients do you serve at our revenue and in our industry?
- Who will do our work day to day, and who reviews it?
- What will you do for us between April and December?
- Do we need a compilation, a review or an audit, and why?
- Which accounting software do you work in most?
- How do you price, and what falls outside the fee?
- What do you need from us, and from our old firm, to get started?
- How quickly do you usually answer a client email?
Ask every firm on your shortlist the same eight questions. The one that asks you good questions back is usually the one to keep talking to.
Common questions
When should we switch CPA firms?
Soon after a filing season wraps, so the new firm has the whole year ahead of it and your prior-year returns are final. Switching in the weeks before a deadline puts both firms in a bad spot.
Do we need reviewed or audited financial statements?
Often only because someone outside the company asks for them: a bank under a loan covenant, a bonding company, an investor, or a buyer. Check your loan documents before the first meeting, so the firm quotes the right level of work.
Can the same firm do our books and our audit?
Independence rules limit how much bookkeeping a firm can do for a client it also audits. If you need an audit, ask the firm how they handle this and whether another team or firm would need to keep the books.
Will the old firm hand over our files?
Your own records and the returns you filed are yours. The old firm's internal workpapers generally belong to that firm. Ask for copies of prior returns, depreciation schedules and carryforward details early, in writing.