Looking for guidance through a business crisis?
Business: It's all fun and games until it isn't.
A business emergency isn’t too different from a health emergency. One moment everything’s going along swimmingly, the next you’re terrified and wondering how you’ll get through this.
Perhaps it was something you overlooked or maybe it’s an issue that’s been simmering for a while. Sometimes though it’s just plain bad luck.
Our business accountants work with clients to find a way through a crisis or tough time. We give you hands-on help to get your business back on track. There is nothing we haven’t seen before and we’re not here to judge. We just know that the sooner we get involved, the better the outcome is likely to be.
Have a read through some of the more common problems we come across and see how we’ve helped.
ATO audits are a very stressful time for a business owner. There is often a lack of understanding about the audit process and what the ATO is looking for. If not managed properly, audits can escalate and result in a poor tax outcome for the business. We also find that business performance suffers due to increased levels of stress in the management team.
Time is critical when dealing with the ATO. We recommend engaging with your accountant early so the issue doesn’t escalate further.
New clients Bill and Mark came to us after their business was audited. Unfortunately, they’d received some poor advice and the outcome wasn’t good.
We worked with them to re-examine the audit process, analyse the information they provided, and work out what could have been done differently. We then objected to the ATO assessments with different arguments and negotiated a new settlement which saved Bill and Mark $35 million.
Tax returns are a part of life and for most people this annual ritual gets checked off before the due date. Sometimes though this process falls away and people find themselves getting more and more behind. This may be because of an inability to pay the debt, forgetfulness, not being in the country or being worried about the unknown.
Tim hadn’t lodged a tax return for over 10 years. His fear of the mounting debt was so extreme he went to see a trustee in bankruptcy. Luckily, he was advised to meet with us first.
We helped Tim get all of his tax affairs up to date and minimised his liability as best we could within the legislation. Once we had the lodgements sorted, we worked out a cash flow strategy with Tim so he could pay down the debt. We were then able to negotiate with the ATO on Tim’s behalf and sorted out a payment plan they were happy with.
Mary came to us after her old bookkeeper left and she discovered her accounts were in disarray. She was worried there may have been some fraudulent behaviour.
The only way for us to detect this was to go back to base records and reconstruct the financials. Which sounds extreme but there are times when it is easier and cheaper to simply start over.
Luckily, we found no evidence of fraud – it was just a case of some very messy bookkeeping. With some education and training, Mary developed a deeper understanding of her business and understood her important areas to monitor.
It’s often said that revenue is vanity, profit is sanity, but cash is reality. Because cash flow is so crucial to business success, and such a common pain point for small business owners, understanding what drives your business’s cash flow is essential.
Clients John and Jodie were constantly in cash flow crisis mode. They had a heightened interest in controlling it when cash was really tight but relaxed their monitoring when their bank account looked a little healthier. Most often their focus was on the next 30 days and not beyond that. We did an analysis of their cash flow cycle and it was clear that the amount of time it was taking to turn their product into cash was leaving them out of pocket more often than not. This meant that, in order to bridge the cash gap, they were resorting to overdraft facilities and not paying suppliers or the ATO on time.
We worked with John and Jodie to educate them on what drives their cash cycle, work out what their magic numbers were and develop a cash flow improvement strategy for the business. In their case, two of the simplest strategies we focused on were reducing debtor days and managing the sales pipeline to stabilise revenue.
If you think your business is in trouble, contact us for guidance
We'd love to help you get back in control.
How we help when business isn't going to plan
Our business improvement experts work with you to get an accurate picture of what’s going on, then get the situation under control. Be assured, if there is a way through it, we’ll find it.
A business health check is a process to evaluate current business performance and develop strategies for improvement. We look at liquidity, solvency and profitability and make a plan to get you back on track.
We can negotiate on your behalf if you have tax or GST debts, need a payment arrangement, are under Audit, have outstanding lodgements or receive a Directors Penalty Notice. The sooner you get in contact, the better the outcome.
We have a large network of lenders and brokers we regularly work with and trust. Take advantage of our relationships to access finance or renegotiate a better deal.
You’ve built a business together but it’s time to part ways? Separating the finances of a business can be very complex and stressful. We can guide you through to a fair and agreeable outcome.
There are few things more stressful than a cash flow crisis. We can conduct a thorough analysis of your cash management processes then treat the contributing factors. As your accountability partners, we’ll make sure you stay on track in future.
One of the key aspects of business turnaround is profit improvement. We can do an analysis of your current margins and calculate what your margins should be. We’ll work with you to improve your bottom line and keep you on course.
We can prepare complex business budgets and cash flow forecasts that help you plan and manage your business finances. When you’re back in control, you’ll have the confidence to develop, improve and grow your business.
