Audit Prevention Program
The Solution – Pre Business Tax Audit review
The famous medical idiom, ‘Prevention is better than the cure’, has its home equally in the area of Tax Audit as it does in the area of Medicine. Vicca Chartered Accountants are registered tax agents and we conduct client specific audit reviews to
- Identify audit weaknesses and put procedures in place to correct the system defects
- Identify errors and work with the clients to make voluntary disclosures to correct them
Pre tax audit reviews are an efficient and penalty free way of identifying system errors, staff failure to follow procedures and or identify errors in the application of the TAX Law to both business and private transactions.
Once these areas of weakness are identified we arrange a client specific strategy to deal with them and where necessary negotiates a voluntary disclosure and settlement with the ATO.
When Audit activity has commenced
The engaging of an independent practioner creates an objective playing field and codifies a delineation of communications by the ATO away from you current tax agent and your staff.
Allowing your staff not to be embroiled in such process and focus on the business of making money for the company. When an audit activity has commenced time is of the essence. Often a new face with an untainted and objective analysis of the transactions and the relevant law provides the necessary impetus for a successful negotiation of an outcome. Allowing your staff not to become embroiled in the Audit process and focus on the business of making money for the company.
When an assessment has already issued
When assessments have already issued, ‘time is of the essence’.
Strict time limits apply to both the objection process and the capacity of affected taxpayers to amend Tax claimed or paid prior to new assessments being raised by the ATO against the taxpayer. Where the audit process is not managed, because of these time limits, the ATO can raise an assessments with 1 taxpayer with no capacity for the affected taxpayer to claim the corresponding credit adjustment back.
Further there is a 14 day time limit for a Judicial review of penalties, a 60 day time limit to lodge as objection to a Tax assessment and a time limit of either 2 years for an individual or small business or 4 years for other taxpayers to request an amended assessment if they are being inadvertently affected by the ATO decision.
Tax Audit Insurance
Clients of our firm have access to the benefits of Tax Audit Insurance. This covers our professional fees incurred from the inception of the audit activity to the completion of the audit process, subject to generous audit cost limits. Please press the link for further information. Please click here for further information.
