As far as choosing an accountant is concerned, I found the best way was to phone three and ask if I could have a ten minute appt to show them the volume of work involved in my SMSF tax return and audit. No charge to be made for this which would result in a firm quote for the work.
In that brief interview it's quite possible to get a good sense of how competent the person is and whether you believe you can work well with them.
I did this after having two dodgy accountants whose work was substandard and who (in the absence of a written quote) charged almost double what they quoted verbally.
I now have an excellent person who charges around $2000 including the audit, less for the current year because I've been all in cash for that period, and more if there are a lot of transactions. This includes ongoing contact via phone or email throughout the year, something that some accountants will bill you separately for.
