A landscaping company operating in the Brisbane and the Gold Coast areas came to us for assistance. Its financial controller had been with the company for several years, and had held many responsibilities without much oversight or risk management.
When that financial controller left, the company experienced substantial losses.
We reviewed the company’s documentation and met with the directors and new financial controller. The company’s accounting databases were analysed to assess the internal controls and procedures in order to identify areas of risk. Procedures have now been put into place for administrative staff with accounting procedures and managers/sales staff with store budgets and monthly meetings; each department now takes on its own responsibility.
As a result of the circumstances and substantial losses, a full GST audit was conducted by the ATO. We met with the ATO officers and the client. The audit, which was significant, satisfied the ATO that all was now in order.
The client is still with us today and values our input. We meet with them as required and are in constant phone and email contact. It is their appreciation of how their company has turned around that acknowledges the work we do. Profits are now being generated to the delight of the owners.
One of our clients, Brian, owns and operates a small financial planning practice. He and his wife were frustrated by eleventh-hour tax returns and constantly looking backwards. One problem was that Brian was trading under a partnership structure. Anyone who is open to negligence, malpractice or public liability should avoid trading as a sole trader or partnership.
Fortunately, Brian actually already owned a company that was underutilised, so we transferred the business into that company to take advantage of the tax benefits associated with a company structure. We also set Brian up with Xero.
Some of the most positive results included converting non-deductible debt to deductible debt, increasing protection of personal assets, and putting Brian back in control.
Using Xero has also helped Brian access more information faster. Now, we’ve got time to review and plan, and their tax returns are one of the first we finish.
Brian feels much more comfortable knowing his company’s books are organised at the end of every lodgment period. He was pleased to say goodbye to the mad rush before the final lodgment date. With a more informed position, Brian is now budgeting his cash flow as well.
We hope you have learned something about our firm and enjoyed your time visiting our website. If you are interested in talking to us, we would encourage you to contact us.
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