Tax Accountants

Can't help with the accounting, but happy birthday Geoff!Just Do It!

Same for me but Happy Birthday Geoff.
Next year, can you let Wombat know as he's the unofficial EO Birthday Fairyne cede malis

Hi Jen,

As a financial/project accountant married to a tax accountant, perhaps I can answer your question. Firstly, as in every profession there are good and bad accountants. You need to find a good one. Secondly, don't discount experience...a good experienced accountant will be far more knowledgable than a recent graduate. Thirdly, the field of tax has NEVER been more complicated (despite talk of a "simplified tax system"...what a joke!) and accountants are constantly having to undertake training. Some points of tax legislation are so difficult to interpret that you can talk to several different ATO employees and get a different answer each time (no, I'm not kidding). You should be using the services of Chartered Accountants or CPA's as distinct from some from some firms who are just registered Tax Agents specialising in completing bulk numbers of individual and small business tax returns. In general, these latter type of firms do not provide ongoing business advice or tax planning. Basic rule is you get what you pay for.

You don't say whether your problem is with tax or whether what you really need is some good sound financial advice with regards to how you run your business in general. Either way, you should start by having a good talk to your existing accountant. If you're not satisfied with the response, find another one. Also have you spoken with your local Small Business Development Corp. office. Their services are generally free and are a great place to start if you are looking for general business advice.

Hope this helps.

:o) MelissaPetrol 4.5L GU Patrol &
Camprite TL8 offroad camper

My accountant said it all - "This year we are the highest taxed people in Australia's history". I know what you mean about the struggling taxpayer, we are in the same boat - heaps of hard work and no gain. I reckon the Tax Dept sgould pay us more for being their GST bloody agents. Then we are being hit with mounting provision taxes and the like. It always seems to make the accounts go backwards. Then as for the Gov having a huge surplus from over taxing us - Give it back you bastards.

Anyway we keep struggling on I guess - what else can we do. (Should not ask that I know of thousands of things I would rather do).Regards
ExplorOz Team - David
--------------------------
Always working, not enough travelling ;-)

gday geoff &jenn.
first off happy birthday geoff.
now i cant help with question but the bit about trying to get ahead a little bit so as to exploroz got me thinking .
actually im here to whinge.lol.
i got really anoyed today at work with this young guy who came in to get a full suspention job done on his commodore lowered/new shocks struts ect.
also a few other things for his roadworthy.
total of job was around $1400 so he pays me in cash.
we get to talking about things and how its good to save a bit and do the things want like his car and how hard it is to save while working and kids ect.
he turns around and says no mate i dont work never have done a couple of cashys and the dole thats all i need to do.
so dosnt it give you the bleep es when we work our butts off.
save half the year so we can have a week or two away.
and back to work again ect ect ect.
well thats my whinge lol
back by popular demand
:-)

try getting an accountant to do your tax around july / august...
Last August I rang 3 CPA registered Accountants (from the phone book)...
All 3 of them said.... "and who referred you?"
when i replied "the yellow pages" all 3 of them said...
"sorry we're so busy at this time of year we don't take any new clients unless they are referred to us"
there seems to be an undersupply... which is great for the accountants (more demand = more $$), but pretty sh|thouse for joe public who just wants his tax done.
when you analyse it, it's a crazy system.... the entire country lodging returns at the same time! what does an accounting firm do with the staff for the other 9-10 months of the year? business and day to day accounting only generate so much revenue. result - not enough accountants at tax time.
these days i wait until november before getting my tax done (and if you're lucky you get your refund just before xmas)
ymmv

cheers,

KG

LOL - the question of taxation never fails to fire us up. It is the universal question really. How can I get a few more dollars so that I can live my dream....? It's everything to do with explor oz really. One of the things that has impressed me about 4wding is that you can do it really cheap or if you are one of the lucky ones on mega $$, like Truckster, and have just as good a time as the next bloke.

Clearly there is some concern that you could be doing better accounting wise. I think that for business people, the more tax you are paying, the more options you would have for structuring your business. I went down this road some time ago and sought the advice of a different accountant. He suggested restructuring the business to save on tax. My accounting fees went up so I now have a bigger tax return.... Ahhh. But the new accountant helped me set up a great structure that is much more tax effective, a family trust, self managed super scheme. It has been worth it many times over. Only problem is I am now spending more...... and am back to where I started!! Isn't that some law of economics - that spending always increases to match income. (Like work always expands to fill the time is another law).

I would recommend that when you get to the point of asking the question about your accountant, it is time to talk structure with two or three accountants and find out what suits you. It has saved me lots of $ and helped me with a long term financial plan. Ask around with other business people in your industry for recommendations about an accountant - be upfront and ask for their advice as a potential client - I got that advice for free and then chose to switch later. Better to do that rather than to sit where you are and be uncertain of your current structure.

Andrew

PS. Only joking about Truckster - he is really a modern day Robin Hood.

Jen

I am an accountant primarily tax have been for ten years, I work in a public practice. To answer your question about new graduates having better ideas about tax deductions etc etc the answer is definitely no, we don’t let new guys do much more than bank reconciliations for the first year and would certainly not let them offer tax advice to business clients for several years without consulting a more senior member. Your current account with 40 years behind him may be a little old but to work full time in public practice it is not really possible to be “out of date” there is such a large volume of reading and seminars etc that we all do and go to that you are constantly updated. You wouldn’t be able to do the work without doing them. Having said that it doesn’t mean that he is good at his job and you may get a better service elsewhere.

Definitely use a CPA or Chartered accountant. Avoid the large firms as they will slaughter you with their bills and don’t use the nationwide individual return preparers like ITP and H&R Block for your business return.

The structure of your business is particularly important and there are many different consequences of using different structures particularly when you take into consideration the capital gains tax aspect. Have a meeting with your current accountant, express your thoughts and see what he comes up with. Speak to a financial adviser but any tax advice he may give you check with your accountant also as from my experience they are often wrong. Finally remember this, we all have to pay tax - its law. Next time you are at the pub and someone is telling you they don’t pay any tax there is two explanations, 1) they are cheating and don’t declare all their income or 2) they don’t make any money....
Hope this helps

Agree with above. In a Partnership there are many possible structures. You should make sure that you get advice from several CPA's regarding the structure and then choose what you feel is best for you. Obviously the current accountant is going to think that what he has recommended is best to stay with but it may not be the best option. The financial planner (who I think are a joke most of the time) comes after you have got the structure right. The investments have to fit the structure. If you can save $5000 a year in tax, it is like a $10000 per year pay rise and can give you a great holiday every year.

Firstly happy birthday for the other day Geoff.
As to your problem I suggest you go to www.count.com.au and click on "find an adviser" then follow your nose. All members of Count are qualified accountants and are "experts" (if there is such a thing) in both accounting and financial planning. You will not go wrong with a Count member. Depending on where you live you should have a choice of a few.