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A second look at your business tax file.
Up to four years of records. A written report of what we notice, what deserves a closer look and what appears in order. Free, no obligation, with the scope agreed before we start.
Over the years we have helped clients recover a meaningful amount of money, in some cases a great deal of it, that had been sitting in their own files: GST credits never claimed, fuel tax credits claimed at the wrong rate, tax overpaid because a concession was never applied. Almost all of it came from years nobody had looked at since they were lodged.
A file can be lodged and still contain something worth a second look. A missed claim. A treatment nobody revisited. A balance that stopped making sense. We check what the records support, then explain whether anything needs to change.
So we offer to look again. We can look back over up to four years of your records. That is the scope of the review, not a promise that every period can still be changed: income tax, GST and fuel tax credits each have their own deadline for correcting a period or claiming a credit, and part of the work is checking which are still open before anything is recommended. The oldest records are usually where we start, because a deadline may be approaching.
What you get is a report, in writing, that says what we noticed, what we think is worth a closer look, and what looks fine. We look for missed claims, tax positions worth checking and cash tied up where it need not be. We also tell you where the review points to more tax to pay. Sometimes the answer is that everything is in order, and we say so. Either way, the report is about getting the position right, not manufacturing a refund, and what happens next is your decision.
The kinds of things that have turned up before
Every file is different. This is what experience tells us to look out for, not a checklist we promise to work through.
How it runs
Anything beyond the report is a separate engagement, agreed in writing before it starts. The report is yours to take anywhere.
Why we do it
What a second look can reveal.
A review is not always about finding a refund. Sometimes it finds money worth pursuing. Sometimes it finds a risk that needs dealing with. Either way, the useful result is knowing where you stand.
A claim worth checking. Equipment purchases and finance repayments can leave a file with missed credits, or the same credit claimed twice. We check the documents before deciding whether a correction is needed.
Cash tied up unnecessarily. An instalment may no longer reflect the business’s current position. We check the estimate and the consequences of changing it, rather than treating a lower payment as a permanent tax saving.
A balance nobody can explain. An owner loan or related-entity balance can carry forward for years without anyone revisiting what it represents. We trace the transactions and set out what needs attention.
These describe the kinds of things a review looks at, not results for a particular client.
Questions
Before you invite us in.
Is it really free?
Yes. The review and the written report cost nothing, and the engagement letter says so. If something comes out of it that you want done, that is a separate engagement, agreed in writing before it starts, and you are free to take the report to your current accountant instead.
What do you need from us?
Adviser access to your accounting file, prior financial statements and tax returns if they are not already in it, and a short conversation so we understand how the business actually runs. We look; we do not change anything.
Is this an audit?
No. It is a look through your file for money that may have been left behind and risks that may be building. It is not an audit, it is not an assurance opinion, and it does not replace either.
What if our books are a mess?
Then the review is probably worth more to you, not less. We look at what is there and say plainly what we think it would take to make it reliable. Nobody is judged for the state of a ledger they didn’t keep.
How far back can you review?
We can look back over up to four years of your records. That is the scope of the review, not a promise that every period can still be changed. Different taxes have different deadlines: many corrections and credit claims have a four-year limit, some individual and small business amendments have two, and the clock starts at different points. We check which periods and claims are still open before recommending a correction, and we start with the older records because a deadline may be approaching.
Do we have to become clients?
No. The report is written to be acted on by whoever you choose. Plenty of people who ask us to look go on to work with us, which is the whole idea, but it is a decision you make with the report in your hand, not before.
Where it usually leads