Business Advisory

We offer a full range of Taxation Services. Our proactive approach ensures we deliver a consistent service and build solid relationships which stand the test of time. Taxation can be a major cost to your business. We will work with you to minimise your tax and help you achieve your key objectives. We provide a complete service of help and advice in all of the following areas: 

• Preparation of personal, partnership, trust and company tax returns and advice on payment of tax
• GST/FBT and PAYE obligations
• Advice on and implementation of tax effective trust structures for asset protection and tax minimisation
• Management of any IRD Audits or disputes
• Management of your Tax Account with the Inland Revenue Department
• Tax planning
• Use of tax payment intermediaries

One of the best tools in producing a good business plan is having a good budget. It is one of the best business tools allowing you to set financial targets and measure your performance. If you need funding it may improve your chances. Financiers often require forecasts as a prerequisite for funding approval. Cashflow forecasting helps your business to have the cash it needs, by knowing when the cash cycles occur. Let us show you how a budget and a cashflow forecast can help prepare you for the future of your business. Have you ever wondered if you are holding too much stock? Is this the right time to expand your business? Are you going to have enough cash to pay all expenses every month? We can provide you with accurate, timely and informative cashflow forecasting reports

– allowing you to: 

• Realise and understand when cash is available
• Plan and prepare for expansion, taxes or other needs
• Analyse and anticipate key expenses

With this information, we'll work with you to develop action strategies to improve your bottom line.

Our aim is to ensure your business achieves the potential it's capable of. We have the know-how and experience to offer advice to help you run your business more effectively. We are practiced in acting as a sounding board for management, bringing to the relationship years of experience in business growth. We can identify key performance indicators in your business, so you can view your progress and measure your success. We are able to monitor whether your business is as competitive, focused, and profitable as it can be. We offer flexible strategies, designed to address the issues affecting your unique business. Let us give your business a health check. Take the practical advice we can give to ensure the continual success of your venture.

If you have a good idea for a new business venture but don't have the expertise in the legal and financial aspects of creating a new business, we can help you. 

 We can help you to: 

• Decide on the most suitable structure for your business – sole trader, partnership, or limited company
• Prepare a business plan, cashflow projections, budgets, and trading forecasts
• Assess your finance requirements, advise on the best sources of finance, and draw up the necessary proposals
• Establish a good working relationship with your bank
• Complete any registration procedures with Companies Office, Inland Revenue, or Customs and Excise
• Deal with company secretarial issues
• Set up a recording system for your internal use and for complying with statutory requirements

We have the necessary expertise to assist in a variety of areas in relation to residential and commercial property.

The services we offer include: 

• Advice on the purchasing of a property
• Advice on funding
• Guidance in tax minimisation
• Advice on ownership structure
• Periodic reviews to ensure returns are maximised

A trust provides a valuable way of protecting the assets you have accumulated for the benefit of others. We have extensive experience and so are able to offer specialist advice on Trust formation, ensuring all statutory requirements are met. Obligations for trustees can often be onerous, and our assistance in Trust administration will be invaluable.

 We are able to: 

• Discuss your requirements with you and liaise with your lawyer regarding the preparation and execution of the Trust Deed and execute the vital documentation involved in Trust formation
• Attend to special requirements involved in reporting for Trusts
• Trust administration
• Minute keeping service
• Annual accounts
• Taxation
• Asset management
• Investment monitoring
• Income distribution

In ensuring the long term success of your business, it is critical to establish a well-designed succession plan. Co-ordination of the transition of your business to your successors can be an arduous process. However, with our years of experience we can address the complex issues of business continuation.

 We have a process which will explore the possible solution for you: 

• The process is more important than the financial numbers or the tax structures
• The aim is to align the needs of the owner and the successor
• Good governance is an essential component of a successful succession plan
• Equitability is often not always the right answer but fairness probably is
• Your will is not your succession plan

In addition, getting your succession plan, or intergenerational transfer of your farming business is also very important.  

Farming families, where they have family who want to continue farming, often want to transfer the farm to one or several family members.  Getting this right, and treating all family members fairly, is critically impotant.  After all, no one wants families at war afterwards.

We have a structured process where we can assist farming families transfer the farm to the next generation.

Sometimes however, this is not possible and the best and sometimes only option is to sell the farm.

Governance going forward is also an important component in ensuring the intergenerational transfer of the farm is a success.

Selling a business can be a difficult, often a disheartening time. We are able to help relieve that stress for you. Our friendly and professional team is able to assist in such a way that a maximum return for your business can be achieved. The services we provide in relation to organising the selling of a business include: 

• Compiling information to provide to potential buyers
• Help establish a realistic sale price
• Help negotiate with potential purchasers
• Drafting a contract for sale and purchase

Technology enables us to enhance a wide variety of business processes. Effective use of software and hardware can provide enormous benefits to your business. We use and explore a wide range of systems, and as such, we are able to: 

• Discuss with you the best system to implement to best help your business
• Install and configure software to suit your purposes
• Recommend processes to make your computer system more secure
• Suggest accounting software applications suitable for your business
• Train Clients to be self-sufficient users of a variety of software
• Offer advice on electronic banking

Whether you are contemplating the addition of new computer hardware, or looking at completely changing your business systems, our team is able to assist you. Let us help you make the right choice when it comes to accounting software. A sound accounting system will help you keep track of your cashflow and give you the option to complete GST returns more easily. Choosing the right system for your business can be a difficult one – after all there are over sixty different accounting packages available in New Zealand, let us guide you to the right fit.

To achieve a comfortable retirement requires forward planning. You need to consider such things as when you will retire, how much income will be required to allow the retirement you desire, how to acquire that income, and what role the government will play. We can answer these questions and plan for the relaxing retirement you've earned.

The most valuable asset in your business is your staff. In recognition of this, and in line with our desire to help you make the most of your business, we can help with HR consulting. 

• Employment Relations - Includes advice on employment agreements, employment legislation, and employee policies and procedures.
• Health & Safety - Includes assistance with the implementation of systems to ensure compliance with legislation, training on health and safety, and assistance with ACC audits.
• Recruitment & Selection - Includes assistance with advertising for employees, short listing and interviewing, reference checking.
• Remuneration - Includes support in administering the payroll, advice on remuneration levels, and guidance with incentive and bonus schemes.
• Performance Management - Includes assistance in identifying performance measurement criteria, training in how to carry out performance appraisals, guidance for managers in dealing with non-performance problems.
• Strategic HR - Involves aligning HR strategies with business objectives to ensure the development of a team to drive the improvement of business performance.

Getting independent advice in relation to a business purchase is critically important.  Reviewing the past performance of a business is one of the components in assessing whether the purchase price of a business is fair to the purchaser, or whether the vendor has unreasonable expectations of what their business is worth.

We have a structured process for carrying out Due Diligence on a business purchase.

Call one of our principals to i=understand what we can do to help with a proposed purchase of a bsuiness.