Changing accountant: the procedure and what you are entitled to take with you

Changing accountant requires no filing with AADE, does not interrupt your business and does not lose your history. You revoke the previous accountant’s authorisation through myAADE, accept the new one’s authorisation request, and your file is transferred with a handover protocol. In practice it is done in two to three working days.

Even so, it is a decision most business owners put off for months — usually because they fear something will get muddled or that things will turn awkward with the previous accountant. Below we set out exactly what is provided for, what you are entitled to take with you and where there is a genuine risk of losing something.

When is the right moment

The cleanest moment is the start of the financial year, that is 1 January. The new accountant takes over a closed year, starts with clean balances and does not have to reconstruct work done by someone else mid-period.

That is a preference, though, not a rule. Legally you can change accountant at any time of the year. If your current arrangement is already costing you penalties or missed deadlines, waiting for January is usually more expensive than changing now.

What you should avoid is starting the process a few days before a deadline. A change at the end of the month, with VAT and the APD falling due, means somebody will hurriedly file returns for work they did not do. See the tax calendar and choose a period with some breathing room.

One peculiarity of 2026

From 1 October 2026 electronic invoicing becomes compulsory for businesses with gross revenue up to 1 million euro, with an adjustment period until 31 December 2026. In practice you will need to choose an electronic invoicing provider or use AADE’s free applications. If you are considering a change anyway, it makes sense to do it before the new invoicing system is set up, so you set it up once and properly — not twice.

The procedure in six steps

1. Notify the previous accountant in writing

An email is enough. You do not need to justify yourself or explain your reasons. Written notice protects you, because it fixes clearly the date from which their responsibility for your obligations ends.

2. Settle any outstanding fees

This is the point that blocks most changes — and it is not a matter of goodwill, it is written into the rules. We explain it in detail below.

3. Revoke the authorisation on myAADE

You log in to myAADE with your own credentials, go to Authorisation Management and click Revocation on the previous accountant’s entry. Revocation is immediate and does not require their consent.

4. Authorise the new accountant

The new accountant submits an authorisation request and you accept it from the same account. From that moment they have access to your tax data — without ever giving them your personal credentials.

5. Receiving the file with a handover protocol

The previous accountant hands the file to the new one. The handover is done with a handover protocol, that is a signed document listing exactly what was handed over. Ask for a copy. It is your only proof if something turns out to be missing later.

6. Review of outstanding items

The new accountant checks what has been left open: unfiled returns, documents not transmitted to myDATA, settlements in progress, pending certificates. Many people skip this step, and it is exactly where penalties appear six months later.

What the previous accountant must hand over to you

The business file does not belong to the accountant. It belongs to you. The handover includes:

• The books of the business, in electronic or physical form
• The physical documents and the invoice archive
• The submitted returns: VAT, income tax, withholding taxes
• The trial balance and closing balances of accounts as at the handover date
• The payroll registers, the APD returns and ERGANI filings
• The lease agreements and the corporate acts (articles of association, amendments, GEMI)
• Details settlements and outstanding items to AADE and e-EFKA

Your personal credentials (TAXISnet passwords, access key) is not something that is “handed over” — they are yours from the outset. If your accountant was holding them, that was already bad practice.

The question of outstanding fees

Here is a point few people know about, and it causes most of the misunderstandings.

The Code of Professional Conduct for Accountants and Tax Advisors (Ministerial Decision 57088/DIOE-1033, Government Gazette B′ 3314/2013) prohibits the new accountant from taking on a client while fees are still owed to the previous one, unless they have been paid in full or a settlement has been agreed. The new accountant is in fact obliged to contact the previous one and ask whether anything is owed.

If a settlement is agreed, a tripartite agreement between the previous accountant, the client and the new accountant.

The penalties for a breach are not decorative: a written reprimand, a fine of up to 3,000 euro, and in serious cases temporary or permanent withdrawal of the licence to practise.

So if an accountant tells you “what you owe the previous one is not my concern, come tomorrow”, they are not doing you a favour — they are breaching the code and starting your arrangement with an irregularity. Conversely, the rule does not give the previous accountant the right to hold your file hostage over fees you dispute; their lawful route is to pursue the fee, not to withhold your records.

Your credentials are not handed over — they are authorised

It is one of the most common mistakes: the business owner gives their TAXISnet credentials to the accountant and forgets them for years. The problem is not only that you lose control; it is that every action taken with your credentials counts as your own action, with everything that implies in an audit.

The correct way is authorisation via myAADE: the accountant acts with their own credentials, their access is logged separately, and you can revoke it yourself at any time — without changing a password and without needing their consent.

If you do not currently know your own TAXISnet credentials, that alone is reason to reconsider the arrangement.

Five signs that it is time

• You learn your obligations on the last day. A payment schedule is not a surprise — it can be planned.
• You have no picture during the year. If you only see numbers at closing, your accounting serves the state and not you.
• You have paid penalties for late filings that were not caused by any delay of yours.
• You do not get answers you understand. Someone explaining why you pay what you pay is part of the job.
• You do not know exactly what your fee covers. Without a written agreement, every extra task becomes a negotiation.

What does not change

To put your mind at rest: your Tax ID remains the same, your access key is unaffected, your your tax history at AADE is not deleted and does not reset, your debt settlements continue as normal and your your obligations remain exactly the same. The partner changes, not your profile.

Frequently asked questions

Do I need to notify AADE that I changed accountant?

No. There is no separate declaration for changing accountant. The change is made solely through authorisation management on myAADE.

Can I change accountant during the year?

Yes, at any time. The start of the financial year is simply more convenient, not compulsory.

How long does it take?

Usually two to three working days, depending on the previous accountant’s availability to hand over the file.

What if the previous accountant refuses to hand over the file?

Your books and records belong to you. Ask for them in writing, setting a reasonable deadline. If the refusal continues, you can turn to the Economic Chamber of Greece, which oversees the Code of Conduct and imposes sanctions.

Must I pay off the previous accountant before I leave?

You must either have paid the fees owed or agreed a settlement. The new accountant is not permitted to take you on with outstanding, unresolved debts.

Will my myDATA data be lost?

No. myDATA data is linked to the business tax ID, not to the accountant. What needs checking is whether there are undelivered documents as at the date of the change.

If you are considering a change

At our office in Giannitsa we regularly take over files from other colleagues, across the whole Pella region. Before we take you on we always do two things: we check what has been left open and we tell you in writing what putting it right will cost. We do not start an arrangement with outstanding items we have not seen.

See our our services or get in touch with us for a first conversation with no obligation.

This is for information only and does not replace individual advice. Deadlines and procedures change by decision of AADE and e-EFKA.