The list, before giving notice
| What | Why |
|---|---|
| Annual accounts with trial balances and account schedules | the basis for every subsequent set of accounts |
| Tax returns together with assessments | loss carry-forwards, open points, assessment position |
| VAT and VIES filings | evidence of what was filed, and in which period |
| Receipts and bank statements | the retention duty falls on you, not on them |
| Portal logins for Tax For All and TAXISnet | without them you depend on third parties |
| Bookkeeping data as an export | a PDF is a picture, not a data set |
The last point decides whether the new accountant can build on what exists or has to re-post it.
Who owns what
The rule of thumb:
- Your documents belong to you: invoices, receipts, bank statements, contracts.
- Their working papers generally belong to them: audit notes, internal calculations.
In between lies the grey area, and in it sits precisely what you need most urgently: trial balances, account schedules, the bookkeeping file. That is why it stands at the top of the list and is requested before notice is discussed.
The timing
The most favourable moment is immediately after a set of annual accounts has been filed.
A closed position then exists that has been audited or reviewed, and the new accountant builds on a figure somebody has answered for. Changing mid-year means somebody takes over half a period they did not post themselves.
The deadlines run on
A change stops nothing. In the transition the following still applies:
| What | When |
|---|---|
| VIES filing | 15th of the following month |
| Payroll tax filing | end of the following month |
| VAT return | quarterly |
| Social insurance | last day of the following month |
The typical mistake in a transition is an assumption in both directions: the old accountant thinks the new one takes over immediately, the new one thinks the old one still did the current month. Who does what by when belongs recorded in writing. All the dates are in the overview of tax deadlines.
The retention duty falls on you
Six years, since 2026 counted from filing the return. That duty falls on the company, not on the accountant.
Anyone who does not take documents with them on a change and is asked to produce them three years later cannot rely on a third party having had them. Details in the guide to keeping records.
What we could not substantiate
- The legal boundary between client documents and working papers under Cyprus law and the ICPAC professional rules. The rule of thumb is widely held; we did not check a source.
- Whether a right of retention exists for unpaid fees. Several jurisdictions have one. Whether and to what extent Cyprus does we could not establish, and it would be decisive in practice.
- Deadlines for handing things over. We found no statutory deadline.
If fees are outstanding or the separation is not amicable, the question belongs with somebody who can answer it: Cyprus setup from one place.
Bookkeeping: who holds the data
Most problems on a change arise because the books sit with the accountant and not with the business. Then changing accountant is also a data migration.
In Volk Accountant the books sit with you. Your accountant gets their own access to the same position through the accountant portal, and a change becomes a setting rather than a move. What comes out of the old system is taken in by data import.
Anyone arriving with a backlog will find the approach in the guide to the monthly close, and what shows up in reconciliation in the guide to bank reconciliation.