78% of Aussies love their accountant – really!

(July 4, 2016) It’s officially tax time and officially the worst time of year for half of Australia with 49 per cent admitting they loathe completing their return.

But getting Aussies through the taxing time are their amazing accountants, with nearly 80 per cent outsourcing their tax return to a professional and 78 per cent admitting they love their accountant.

ServiceSeeking.com.au CEO Jeremy Levitt said it was refreshing to see the old stereotype surrounding accountants getting a facelift. “Rightly or wrongly, accountants have often been labelled boring geeks without people skills. So it’s great to see they are breaking through that mould and showing off their personalities to capture and grow their business.”

More than half of all jobs listed for an accountant on ServiceSeeking.com.au are posted between the peak tax months of July and September. But interestingly, quotes during that period actually fall with July being the cheapest month to get a tax return completed at an average price of $95. The price stays under $100 for August and September before jumping to $105-$122 during other months of the year.

“The interesting thing here is that the quoted price actually falls for July through September, which runs counter to most normal markets; high demand usually pushes prices up,” says Mr Levitt.

And with only 22 per cent of Aussies completing their own paperwork, those accountants with solid people skills and great attention to detail have a lot of work coming their way right about now. Forty-seven per cent of respondents were lucky enough to find the love of their tax lives right away, while 53 per cent have shopped around – sometimes up to six times – to find the person who understands their receipts and deductions best.

It seems we’re generally a nation of people willing to get their paperwork in on time, with 61 per cent of those surveyed completing their return in the first two months of the new financial year, with 82 per cent completing it by the end of October deadline for individuals.

Some other interesting details include:

• 51 per cent are happy with the rate of tax they pay
• Only 16 per cent have been audited in the past
• Less than 10 per cent have been fined by the ATO

The survey collected the responses from more than 4,000 ServiceSeeking.com.au customers.