At Walker Townsend director Richard Somerville and the staff are all knowledgeable, experienced and enthusiastic individuals.
We are proactive, customer service focused and are dedicated to helping you achieve your business and personal goals.
Positive people with a good sense of humour and a can-do attitude, we manage to maintain a happy team atmosphere while working in a deadline driven and sometimes high pressure environment.
PEACE OF MIND
And a better bottom line.
Walker Townsend take the worry out of business by trying to make sure your back is always covered. To this end our goal is to see you with more money in your pocket at the end of the day.
Technology
And no worries.
As a firm we are committed to evolving as technology evolves. To this end we use up to date computer systems, back up systems, electronic communications and storage.
As a natural extension of our technology use we can also assist with some support in this area.
We are strong users of and therefore supporters of Excel, MS Word, MYOB (all versions) and of course XERO, together with other integrated accounting packages.
Be Part
Of Our
Story!
Services
Our services include, but are not limited to:
Taxation Accounting
Preparation of all types of taxation returns (Income tax, GST, PAYE, FBT etc), tax planning and structuring and use of tax minimisation methods.
Taxation Issues
Advising of provisional and terminal tax payments due and handling of all types of Inland Revenue audits. Setting up arrangements to clear outstanding taxes and preparing applications for write off of taxation (e.g. under humanitarian grounds).
Management Accounting
Regular monthly/quarterly/6 monthly reporting. Preparation of annual financial accounts, projections (profit & loss, cash flow, balance sheet), budget development, bank finance applications and management advisory roles.
Business Administration
Maintaining cash books, issue sales invoices, receipt of debtor payments, recording creditor invoices, payment of creditors, payroll etc.
Corporate Structuring
Companies, trusts, trading trusts, sole trader and partnerships.
Directorships
Corporate secretarial roles, attendance at monthly board meetings, delivery of reports, minute taking and drafting resolutions etc. Professional directorships can be undertaken.
Purchasing a Business - Due Diligence
Review of business pre purchase to identify if what the vendor is selling meets with your expectations. This might be a light overview or an in depth review, depending on your requirements. We can also provide training and coaching through to launch of your business.
Negotiations
As we are not emotionally involved we can assist with negotiations in most aspects of business.
Systems Development
We can assist in the building and refinement of your accounting systems to assist with information flows, document flows, reconciliation points etc. Also the development of tailor made reports accessing your databases and designed to suit your particular business.
Training and Education
We are happy to provide training in the use of accounting programs within your organisation. We enjoy the opportunity to up skill our clients in their understanding of accounting concepts and the various types of reports that are available to them. In this way we can assist you in making informed business decisions.
Trusts
We are able to form your family trust and deed of wishes. If you already have a trust that needs updating, we can take care of this for you. We can also prepare annual gifting documents and file these with the IRD. Finally, if you require a professional trustee for your trust, this is a service that Richard is very experienced in and is proud to be able to offer.
Post: PO Box 147600, Ponsonby, Auckland, 1144 Physical Address: 24 Augustus Terrace Parnell, Auckland 1052
Asset Management - Planning
Reducing the Risk
Asset Management
Business carries risk. Part of our job is to minimise that risk. This is done in a variety of ways including protecting major assets from trading risk. This can be done for example by holding the major business assets in one entity and leasing these to the trading entity thereby minimising the exposure of the asset to the risk.
Business Planning
You have a business and at some stage will wish to exit that business. This may be due to a desire to retire or its simply time for a change. Selling a business is not like selling a house. There is not a ready market for businesses.
There are a number of barriers to selling any business, these may include:
High investment price
High technical barrier for potential investors
Lack of systemisation
Personal goodwill (as compared to business goodwill)
All of these issues can be mitigated with good planning. Grooming a business for sale is not a quick process and could take around 1 to 5 years. It is best that you know about the issues so that they can be addressed during the whole ownership phase, rather than leaving these until the point where you want to exit the business.
Business Structures - Tax
Business Structures - Paying Tax - Shareholder Agreements
Business Structures
There are several different structures used in New Zealand. Each has its own set of advantages and disadvantages. There is no 'one size fits all' so it is important to discuss these structures in light of the business type, size, style and risk profile see next page - Trading Structures.
Remember, a business is a big investment and it may be around for a number of years. Correcting structures part way through the ownership lifecycle is not only expensive and difficult, it may be impossible due to taxation considerations. Do it once and do it right.
Paying Tax
Paying tax is necessary and it is important to plan for your various tax payments, e.g. provisional tax, terminal tax, GST etc. If you understand how this works it minimises the stress and you know what to expect and when to expect it.
We aim to arm you with the knowledge of how the various tax systems work. You certainly do not have to become an expert (that's our job), but having this knowledge helps remove the mystery and puts you back in charge. Link to IRD Important Dates:
Shareholder Agreements
Over time people change and disagreements arise. We believe that it is important to have a set of rules to follow that cover a variety of situations.
For example, if there is a shareholder disagreement or one or more shareholders wish to sell out. It is best to address this agreement at the commencement of any business relationship.
Trading Structures
Types of Trading Structures governed by New Zealand law
Companies
Probably the most commonly used structure. This limits the personal liability of the individuals involved. This structure involves one or more directors and one or more shareholders.
You may wish to elect the company into the Loss Attributing Qualifying Company regime (LAQC). This has several distinct advantages and not many disadvantages. If there are five or less shareholders (measured by identifying the ultimate individuals if holding companies are used), then the company can enter the regime. This is best done on formation of the company, or during the first year of trading.
LAQC
LAQC's are favoured for use with investment properties in particular. However, there are no problems with using them for normal trading businesses as well.
Partnerships
A group of two or more individuals coming together to form a business. Again, due to the trading risks being borne by the individuals, we discourage this structure.
Special Partnerships
Not very common these days. These are a special form of partnerships used in unique situations. It is possible to build these structures while maintaining limited liability.
Trading Trusts
This is the new kid on the block, although in reality they have been around for many years. Essentially this is a trust that has the power to trade (which is quite normal), and typically uses a company as the 'corporate trustee'. This is a good structure that incorporates the benefits of trusts with the limited liability of companies. Not particularly favoured by Inland Revenue as they are very flexible, but nonetheless quite legitimate. Somewhat complex to quickly get your head around, but worth a look.
Family Trusts
Not really a trading structure, but certainly an excellent structure to protect family assets (the home for example). This provides further protection of equity in a very long term structure. Reasonably easy to operate, these need a Settler (the person who sets up the trust), the Trustees (those who administer the trust) and Beneficiaries (those that may / will benefit from the trust). It is important that the trust is administered correctly to ensure that it stands up. There must be annual accounts done, trustee resolutions etc.
Sole Trader
Trading in your own name - a very simple structure. We actively discourage our clients from using this format unless there is a legal reason to do so, as this structure carries very high personal risk.
Combination of the Above
It is very common for our clients to have a combination of various structures. This is done for a variety of reasons and can be explained in more detail by one of the members of our team.
Typically this may be:
Holding and subsidiary entities
Partnerships between entities
Family trusts holding shares in companies
Management services companies, providing services to trading entities
Asset holding entities, leasing business assets to trading entities
Project specific companies/trading trusts
Please talk to director Richard Somerville for more information.
