Having trained and qualified in London, Kamal has gained significant exposure to servicing a broad range of clients and industries in different jurisdictions.

Kamal is a Registered Company Auditor and is experienced in providing audit and assurance services to publicly listed entities, international groups and not-for profits in a variety of industries. With a diverse portfolio of clients, Kamal is passionate about providing audit, assurance and advisory solutions that deliver forward thinking commercial, innovative and value add outcomes to help his clients unlock their potential and achieve their ambitions. Kamal advocates the use of smart technologies in the assurance service delivery so as to achieve a higher quality of output and allowing the team to focus on the objectives of an engagement.

His clients are from a diverse cross-section of industries and therefore his significant industry experience includes mining, technology, financial services, manufacturing, retail, hospitality and entertainment & media sectors.

Kamal’s experience includes:

• External audit and assurance services
• International Accounting Standards, Corporations Act and ASX Listing Rules interpretation and advice
• Accounting for complex transactions
• Financial reporting and financial statement preparation
• Corporate governance
• Risk advisory, systems and technical reviews
• Real estate & solicitor’s trust audits
• Internal audit & SOX
• CFO and outsourcing solutions

Kamal is a Partner of SW Audit and a Director of SW Accountants & Advisors Pty Ltd.

The post Kamal Thakkar, Partner appeared first on SW Accountants & Advisors.

Our Assurance and Advisory team embraces technology, including cutting edge data analytics software and other bespoke IT tools to ensure a targeted and robust approach. With relationships at the centre of what we do, our team is committed to fully understand your business resulting in a tailored solution that best meets your needs.

• financial statement audits and reviews
• compliance audits
• controls assurance reports, including GS007
• corporate governance
• data analytics
• information technology risk and security
• internal audit
• review of financial reports
• risk management and Corporate Governance systems and controls reviews
• technical IFRS, accounting advice and training
• preparation of financial reports
• other assurance engagements.

The post Audit & assurance appeared first on SW Accountants & Advisors.

Our suite of data analytics covers income tax, indirect tax, customs and superannuation. We also provide customised analytics solutions for specific requirements.

CTS GST data analytics

In-house tax, finance and accounting functions are increasingly using business data analytics insights to assist in managing their GST obligations.

Manage GST compliance risks

The Australian Taxation Office are increasingly taking an automated approach to tax audits using data analytical tests to identify errors and anomalies. Running analytical tests on your GST data regularly or prior to any ATO reviews has a number of potential benefits such as:

• Demonstrating good tax governance
• Identifying errors for voluntary disclosure to reduce the risk of potential penalties
• Draw attention to potential process deficiencies
• Identify potential overpayments or cash-flow opportunities
• Highlight potential anomalies which could otherwise trigger a GST audit.

In order to focus on potential anomalies within large volumes of transactional data our data analytical tool assesses your data against a number of automated tests including:

• Do the Business activity Statements reconcile to the P&L?
• Are transaction reversals consistent with the original transaction posting?
• Is the GST treatment of a type of supply (goods or services) consistent?
• Is there a significant delay between transaction date and posting date?
• Are supply types and customer and transactions treated consistently for GST classification?
• Are there any potential duplicate transaction postings?
• Is GST being charged when it shouldn’t be?

It is also possible to use CTS GST data analytics to form part of your regular BAS preparation process.

Maximise GST opportunities

We also find in practice that using GST data analytics tools and methodologies often identifies areas of significant opportunity for GST savings. In many cases, this arises in circumstances where the correct GST treatment is known, but is not followed in practice. This is because our data analytics approach is focussed on how transactions have actually been treated in reality, instead of relying on how you think they should have or would have been treated.

• Our GST data analytics approach has uncovered significant savings in areas such as the following:
• GST incorrectly charged and remitted on transactions within a GST group
• Import GST not fully captured and recovered
• Taxable purchases being incorrectly recorded as being GST free, meaning input tax credits were not identified and claimed
• GST input tax credits being missed where amounts have been ‘on-charged’ or reimbursed
• GST apportionment percentages not being appropriately followed or regularly reviewed
• Incorrect GST input tax credit calculations (e.g. GST not equal to 10%)
• GST on bad debts
• GST on journals
• Transactions not recorded through the usual sale and purchase process.

Many clients have engaged us to undertake this analysis on a regular periodic basis, while some prefer to automate the analysis as part of their BAS preparation process.

Want to find out more? 

To learn more about how CTS can benefit your business, simply click here to email our CTS team and a team member will be in touch with you within the next business day.

The post CTS Data Analytics appeared first on SW Accountants & Advisors.

Hayley is a Partner and leader of the Assurance and Advisory Division. She was the previous Head of Audit Quality and Risk for the National practice. She has over 16 years’ experience and takes a proactive approach to working collaboratively with her clients to create solutions that deliver real value.

Hayley works with a diverse portfolio of clients from listed companies to large proprietary companies. Her expertise means that she has an understanding of the trends and regulatory changes affecting a range of different sectors. She leverages this knowledge on every engagement, assisting her clients to make strategic and commercial decisions with confidence.

She takes pride in keeping her clients informed at every step of an assurance process. A testament to her passion and expertise in the technical aspects of auditing and accounting is her appointment to the Education Board of Chartered Accountants of Australia and New Zealand.

Hayley’s experience includes:

• Undertaking external audits that deliver real value and are focused on continuous improvement
• Providing technical accounting and auditing advice
• Expert witness engagements
• Member of the accounting firms’ forum group for AASB for the NFP sector – this is a working group set up by the AASB to get insight from accounting firms on the issues facing NFP entities when applying accounting standards
• Hayley has served as Board Director on the following NFP organisations: Spectrum Migrant Resource Centre, McClelland Sculpture Park and Gallery, Brookville Kindergarten and the Education Board of CAANZ.

Hayley is a Partner of SW Audit and a Director of SW Accountants & Advisors Pty Ltd.

The post Hayley Underwood, Partner appeared first on SW Accountants & Advisors.

On 1 July 2021 wage theft became a crime in Victoria.

The Wage Theft Bill 2020 creates new employee entitlement offences, comprising wage theft offences and new record keeping offences. It is designed to capture employers who falsify or fail to keep records for the purposes of concealing wage theft.

The key objective of the Bill is to ensure that employers who withhold employee entitlements dishonestly are held to account and protect vulnerable employees from exploitation.

The new law states that employers who dishonestly withhold wages, superannuation or other employee entitlements could be fined up to $198,264 for individuals, $991,320 for companies and be sentenced to up to 10 years’ jail.

As a director, you have a legal responsibility to ensure your company meets its Pay As You Go (PAYG) withholding and Superannuation Guarantee Charge (SGC) obligations. If the company does not meet these obligations, you may become personally liable for a penalty equal to these amounts.

Payroll health check

In light of these new laws and given the number of organisations that have been publicly identified to have underpaid employees we urge all businesses to undertake a payroll health check. The health check will ensure that all entitlements, including superannuation, are accurately determined and paid in compliance with the current ATO requirements to avoid any penalties.

• Underpayments to casual and permanent staff for ordinary pay, overtime and leave loading
• Inconsistencies and incorrect interpretation and payment of payroll entitlements under various Awards
• Underpayment of Superannuation entitlements.

What is the impact?

Financial risks

• Underpayment to employees
• Payroll tax underpayment
• Superannuation underpayment
• WorkCover underpayment
• Annual leave loading underpayment
• Penalties arising from underpayments

Reputation risks

• Staff morale
• Community expectations
• Adverse media attention
• Criminal prosecution

Opportunity

• Self report to avoid potential financial and/or criminal actions
• Meet your social and legal obligations to act in the best interests of your employees
• Be able to potentially claim a corporate tax deduction for the payment of underpaid superannuation
• Receive a reduction of potential penalties that can be up to 200% of the total underpaid superannuation.

Get in touch

Through the use of sophisticated data analytics and a review of your current awards, enterprise agreements and payroll processes, SW can assist you to manage your organisation’s payroll and superannuation risks efficiently, as well as identifying potential savings opportunities.

We use our customised data analytics tool to review your payroll records to identify any shortfalls or disclosure concerns.

Rest assured that whilst the Government’s social distancing guidelines are in force, we are able to assist you remotely during this period and are able to provide the full benefits of these services.

Reach out to one of our SW experts below to discuss how we can support you.

 Contacts

The post Wage theft criminalised in Victoria appeared first on SW Accountants & Advisors.