Business accounting services across Australia

An audit of financial reports is a regulatory requirement for the following:

• Large proprietary companies
• Registered schemes (Managed Investment Scheme)
• Disclosing entity (A body that holds enhanced disclosure securities)
• Medium-sized charities with annual revenue of more than $250,000
• Large charities with more than $1 million of annual revenue

Another factor that causes an audit is whether a company or charity receives a government grant. The audit proves to the government that the figures in the financial reports are true and fair.

First, you need to consider why you're hiring a business accountant over any other type of accountant.

• If the books take up too much of your time, you probably need a bookkeeper rather than a business accountant.
• You may need an internal or external business accountant if you have cash flow and financial management issues.

Internally, business accountants are usually a significant expense and are only employed in large-scale established businesses. However, if you’re a small business owner, you’ll find a dedicated business accountant just as necessary. We recommend assessing whether the tasks could be better delegated internally before hiring an external business accountant. Liston Newton Advisory is an expert small business accounting service; get in touch with us today for a free strategy session.

Liston Newton is a highly experienced small business accounting firm. We can help you achieve your financial goals by preparing budgets and managing your cash flow effectively. Our cloud-based accounting technology will allow you to get invoices paid faster, collaborate remotely with accountants, and protect your data with multilayer security.

We've been a small business ourselves, so we know what it takes to grow a successful small business.

According to legislation, it is the business owner's responsibility to record and report how much GST your business has received and paid.

If your business revenue is over $75,000 per annum, you must lodge a BAS every quarter. If your revenue is over $20 million per annum, you must lodge a BAS every month.

Yes, you can. However, we don't recommend this for growing businesses. It's easy to make costly mistakes if you aren't up to date with legislation and don't have the correct training.

As a business owner, handling your own BAS isn't the best use of your time. Instead, you could be focusing your time and energy on running and building your business.

If you cannot pay your BAS lodgement when it is due because of cash flow issues, you may be able to organise a payment plan with the ATO. We can speak to the ATO on your behalf and arrange this for you.

Firstly you will need to determine the appropriate structure for your Australian business. Most foreign-owned entities opt for a company structure – and when setting up a company in Australia, at least one director must be an Australian resident for tax purposes.

Once the structure is in place, you must get your registrations in order. This means getting an Australian Business Number (ABN), investigating if you need to register for goods and services tax (GST), and registering for a tax file number (TFN).

Read more details on setting up an Australian company here.

This is an important question, as non-resident businesses will generally be taxed on income with an Australian source, while Australian resident entities are taxed on their worldwide income.

Most non-resident businesses operate in Australia through a company structure. A company only becomes a resident if it's incorporated in Australia, conducts its business in Australia and is controlled by Australian residents, or has Australia-based management.

For full details, visit the ATO website.

A thinly capitalised entity is funded by a large amount of debt and very little equity. Due to the large amount of debt, there is potential to claim large tax deductions for interest payments on that debt.

Some foreign-owned entities will attempt to lower their taxes in Australia by creating loans to Australian businesses and using the interest payable as a deduction. The interest income is then recognised in another tax jurisdiction.

Like transfer pricing, the ATO closely watches thin capitalisation to ensure that profits are not shifted away from an Australian entity to another country with lower tax rates.