Eventually, we will open up the tax professional directory. So that you as a customer can choose your own agent. We already have the code in place for it.
I'd recommend looking at how ServiceMagic does it.
They choose and list 3 professionals (which are chosen by area, which adds an artificial funnel to a natural one).
If I want more, I can request more, but often 3 is just right to compare prices/rates and professional knowledge/fit.
I would strongly recommend this approach if you aren't already doing it (have yet to sign up).
We actually call tax professionals and spend 30-45mins with them to go over our questionnaire starting from their experience, tax knowledge to the current prep software setup they have.
As I said in other comments, customer can call and make sure they are comfortable with the tax agent we assign. If you are not comfortable, let us know, we will assign a different agent.
SaneTax aims to be this marketplace between tax preparers and accountants. It's a good model.
Now, the question that I have is, how are the accountants verified and how do I know I (as a preparer) am dealing with someone I can trust?