I've had two accountants go south on me in the past year or so, and I'm beginning to wonder if the problem is me.
(Yes, I pay an accountant. And a bookkeeper. I'm an independent contractor, and I work in several states. I'm planning to retire in 4 years, and it's just not worth it to me to learn all this stuff for the next 4 years. I'll do my own taxes post-FIRE.)
The first one just completely disappeared not long before my quarterly taxes were due. I had worked with him for several years, and I thought I was pretty easy to work with. I sent him all required information as soon as I got it, and I asked maybe 4-5 questions via email over the course of each year. The only slightly sour point in our relationship was when I expressed my irritation with him for doing my taxes so late that I had to rush to the post office on April 14 despite having given him all of my information by early February. He was very apologetic, never did it again, and things went smoothly for the next few years. Until he disappeared. I emailed him a couple of times, a few days apart. Then I called his office a couple of times, a few days apart. Nothing crazy or obsessive, and of course I kept my emails and voicemails professional and polite. Even his secretary didn't answer. Then I started checking obituaries. Then I asked my bookkeeper for a recommendation for a new accountant.
The new accountant has been great until recently. He was able to give me a quarterly tax estimate at the last minute after the other accountant bailed on me. (I still have not heard from him, almost a year later.) In September, he said he wanted to touch base in October to make sure I'm on target for taxes, etc. for 2016. So I emailed him about a week into October to remind him, and he said he'd like to discuss it at the end of October because he was working on quarterly taxes for other people and then would be out of town for a week. So I emailed him in the last 2-3 days of October (because I take a quarterly distribution and wanted to be able to get that money and invest it on October 31 rather than having it sit around not earning interest... which is what is happening now), and he said he'd probably be able to get to it "early next week," which was early last week now. I left him alone all this past week and didn't hear a word. Now I suppose I'll have to try to get in touch with him tomorrow.
Am I being too much of a pest? I feel like he should be more proactive. I don't mind if things need to be delayed a bit, but I'd appreciate a quick email just to say he hasn't forgotten about me and will get back to me by X date. Is there something I'm doing that's very irritating to accountants that I'm just unaware of? I don't want to burn bridges without even realizing what I'm doing wrong.
On the other hand, in case he doesn't resurface, or when I move in about a year and need a new accountant anyway, what should I look for to improve my odds of finding a good one?