Accounting takeover for foreign-owned companies in Turkey
Switching your accountant in Turkey should not cost you a filing, a penalty or a month of your time. SYSTEMS CPA takes over your books from your current provider, reconciles the prior period, and moves your Turkish entity onto a clean, English-reported monthly rhythm — with no gap in your tax filings.
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Accounting takeover at a glance
| Who it is for | Foreign-owned companies already operating in Turkey that are unhappy with their current accountant |
| Typical timeline | 2–4 weeks from records handover to your first clean monthly close |
| Filing continuity | No gap — we align the switch to the Turkish tax calendar so no return is missed |
| What we take over | e-Ledger (e-Defter), e-Invoice setup, prior journals, payroll/SGK, VAT and corporate tax history |
| Language | Handover and all reporting handled in English |
| Handled by | Certified Public Accountant (SMMM), TÜRMOB Reg. No. 35675, Istanbul |
How do you change accountants in Turkey?
To change accountants in Turkey you appoint a new licensed accountant (SMMM), transfer your e-Ledger (e-Defter) and e-Invoice authorisations, and hand over your prior books and tax history. The switch is timed to the tax calendar so no VAT, withholding or corporate-tax filing is missed. A proper takeover also reconciles the opening balances so your new provider is not building on someone else’s errors.
Why foreign companies switch accountants in Turkey
Most foreign owners do not switch over price. They switch because the relationship stopped working:
- The accountant does not answer in English, or does not answer at all near deadlines.
- Financials arrive months late and never reconcile to the group’s reporting format.
- Filings are done, but no one explains what was filed or why tax is due.
- A cheap monthly fee turned into surprises — penalties, missed incentives, or an audit no one prepared for.
What we take over
- Statutory books and the electronic ledger (e-Defter) and e-Invoice (e-Fatura/e-Arşiv) authorisations
- Prior-period journals, trial balance and opening balances — reconciled, not assumed
- Payroll and SGK (social security) registrations and employee records
- VAT, withholding, stamp-tax and corporate-tax filing history and the tax-office login
- Fixed-asset registers, inventory records and any open incentive or exemption files
The takeover process, step by step
- Discovery call (day 0). We review your entity, current provider and where you are exposed.
- Records handover (week 1). We collect your ledgers, tax history and payroll data and take over the e-Defter and e-Invoice authorisations.
- Reconciliation (weeks 1–2). We check opening balances, prior filings and any compliance gaps, and flag anything that needs correcting.
- First clean close (weeks 2–4). We run your first monthly close and deliver a reporting pack in your group format.
- Always-on rhythm. Bookkeeping, payroll and tax filings then run on a fixed calendar with one English-speaking point of contact.
What happens to my filings during the switch?
Will I miss a VAT or tax filing while changing accountants? No. We time the handover to the Turkish tax calendar. Whichever provider is responsible for a given period files it; we make sure the boundary is clear so nothing falls between the two.
What if my previous accountant made mistakes? The reconciliation step exists exactly for this. Where we find errors in prior filings, we tell you the exposure and the options — including voluntary correction (pişmanlık) where it reduces penalties — before anything is filed.
Do I have to tell my current accountant? Yes, the appointment of a new SMMM is a formal step, but we guide the handover so it stays professional and complete.
Worked example: a delayed-reporting takeover
The situation. A foreign-owned software subsidiary came to us three months behind on management reporting; the local bookkeeper filed taxes but sent no financials the HQ could read.
The obvious answer. “Just ask the current accountant for the reports.” That had already failed — the books were kept only to statutory minimum, with no group-format mapping.
Why it failed. Statutory Turkish books and a parent company’s reporting pack are not the same output. Without a chart of accounts mapped to the group, no clean pack was ever going to appear.
What we did. We took over the e-Defter, rebuilt the chart of accounts against the group’s format, reconciled the year to date, and delivered a monthly pack from the next close onward — with filings never interrupted.
What does a takeover cost?
There is usually a one-off reconciliation fee for cleaning up the prior period, then a fixed monthly fee for ongoing work. Both depend on the drivers that create the work: transaction volume, number of employees on payroll, VAT status, how far behind the current books are, and how often your HQ needs reporting. We quote both after the discovery call. See what accounting in Turkey costs →
Verified local partner
Work is performed by Osman Evren Özmen, Certified Public Accountant (SMMM), registered with TÜRMOB — Reg. No. 35675, Istanbul. SYSTEMS CPA is the international practice of OZM Consultancy.
info@ozmconsultancy.com · +90 216 352 29 61 · WhatsApp +90 506 682 96 55
Ready to switch without the disruption?
Book a takeover call and we will map exactly how your handover would run, with no gap in your filings.
Book a takeover call → WhatsApp us →
“They are definitely the best accountant in Turkey for international business owners. They handle everything.”
“Finding a trustworthy, English-speaking CPA in Istanbul felt overwhelming at first — until I met Evren and his team.”
“Working with Evren has been the best decision for my business in Turkey.”