We looked up every active accountancy, bookkeeping and tax company registered in Northern Ireland on the Companies House register on 2 November 2026: 833 companies and the 1,280 directors who run them. In 169 of those companies (20%), every director is aged 60 or over. In 94 of them (11%), every director is 65 or over.
What the Companies House register shows
Companies House publishes the month and year of birth of every serving company director. We took every active company with a registered office in a BT postcode whose nature-of-business code is 69201 (accounting and auditing), 69202 (bookkeeping) or 69203 (tax consultancy), and worked out the age of each serving director as at November 2026.
The useful measure for a client is the age of the youngest director, because that is the person who would carry the firm on when the others retire.
| Age of the youngest director | Companies | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Under 40 | 156 | 19% |
| 40 to 49 | 285 | 34% |
| 50 to 59 | 223 | 27% |
| 60 to 69 | 111 | 13% |
| 70 and over | 58 | 7% |
| All active companies | 833 | 100% |
Three further figures from the same register matter for clients:
- Of the 386 companies set up at least ten years ago, 103 (27%) have no director under 60.
- 543 of the 833 companies (65%) have a single director.
- 139 companies have a single director, aged 60 or over, who is the only person on the register able to take over the client list.
The register covers limited companies only. Partnerships, limited liability partnerships and sole practitioners do not record a director's age at Companies House, and many long-established local practices trade in one of those forms, so they are not in these numbers.
What happens to your accounts when your accountant retires
An accountant who retires has three options for the practice, and each one lands differently on the client.
The practice is sold or merged. Another firm buys the client list and writes to each client. You receive a new engagement letter from the buying firm, your HMRC agent authorisation moves to them, and your records go with the practice. The buying firm needs a signed engagement letter from you before it acts for you, and you are free to move elsewhere instead.
A younger director or a member of staff takes over. Your file stays with the people who already know it. In 169 Northern Ireland firms the register shows no director under 60 to take it on, so check whether there is a qualified member of staff who could.
The practice closes. Clients are told to find a new accountant, usually with a few months' notice. Your own records belong to you and the professional bodies require the outgoing firm to cooperate with a clearance request from your new accountant. The firm can keep its own working papers while a final bill is unpaid, so settle it promptly to avoid a delay.
Deadlines for a Ballymena company whose accountant retires at Christmas
Take a Ballymena limited company with a year end of 31 March 2026. Its deadlines run as follows:
| What is due | Rule | Date |
|---|---|---|
| Accounts filed at Companies House | 9 months after the year end | 31 December 2026 |
| Corporation tax paid to HMRC | 9 months and 1 day after the year end | 1 January 2027 |
| Company tax return (CT600) filed | 12 months after the year end | 31 March 2027 |
| Directors' personal tax returns filed and tax paid | Self Assessment deadline | 31 January 2027 |
Say the company's accountant writes in early November 2026 to say the practice is closing at Christmas. The accounts are due at Companies House eight weeks later, the corporation tax a day after that, and the directors' own tax returns at the end of January. A new accountant needs the clearance letter answered, the agent authorisation in place and the year's records in hand before any of that work can start. Most outgoing firms answer a clearance request within a couple of weeks, which still leaves time if the business acts on the letter the week it arrives.
The same company asking the questions below in the spring, with no deadline in sight, can make the same move with months to spare.
Questions to ask your accountant this year
- Who looks after my file if you are ill, on holiday or retire?
- Is there a second qualified person in the firm who knows my business?
- Do you have a plan for the practice, and would you tell clients in good time?
- Is my bookkeeping software in my name, so that I keep access whatever happens to the firm?
- Can I have copies of my last two years' accounts and tax returns now, for my own records?
Do the last two whatever the answers to the first three, because they make any future move quicker.
What Buzz Accounting Ireland is doing
Our Northern Ireland office is in Galgorm, Ballymena, and the accounting work runs through the wider Buzz Accounting team. We are talking to Northern Ireland practice owners who plan to step back, about taking on their clients and staff so that the businesses they look after have continuity. If you are a business owner whose accountant is retiring, our switching guide sets out how the move works, and our Northern Ireland page has the Ballymena office details.