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This period is traditionally busy for accountants as the days count down to the end of the March financial year.
Carol A. Rigby, the very experienced Howick-based chartered accountant, says the first thing businesses should be contemplating before Monday, March 31, is bad debts.
“People are thinking particularly about bad debts. In this situation, it’s when people don’t have the money to pay their bills.
“They [businesses owed money for goods and services] need to make sure they’re written off before the end of the year.
“There are things you need to talk to your accountant about before the end of the year, so it’s a smooth transition into the next, and the bad debt subject is prevalent at the moment,” she says.
“Preferably, if you deal with it before March 31, your profit is not as high, so you’re paying less tax.”
Many of Carol Rigby’s clients are using accountancy software Xero, and through her practice they can be taught in its use.
“One of the main emphasises I have is clients get their accounts done efficiently. If they’re a mess when they come here, we tidy them up and try and get the [accountancy] fees as low as possible,” she says.
“It’s an efficiency thing, then you understand what’s happening with your business, because a lot of people, even with Xero, they’re not actually looking at their profit and loss, working out how much tax they have to pay.
“That’s the whole point of having Xero. You should be in touch because of the economic uncertainty out there.
“It’s really making sure that you’re doing things efficiently, so you can use the results you’ve got. They understand things better, and the cost of accounting drops.
“When we identify someone who needs to go on Xero, then we set it up and train them and then they’re away.
“We’re seeing quite a few people with large provisional tax payments due in May, so they’ll be coming in April to potentially reduce those down.”
May 7 is the last date to pay provisional tax for the 2024/2025 tax year.
Chartered accountants such as Carol Rigby are more than experts with numbers and understanding tax and business laws and regulations.
They’re business advisors and often to people they’ve had long professional relationships with.
“I have a high understanding. What I want to do is quality. Service – you’re talking with me when the phone is answered. And the efficiency – the tidying up of accounts, that’s my philosophy.
“When I look at the business, I’m interested in more than getting the books done. I’m interested in their businesses, how they’re going and growing.”
- To contact Carol Rigby Chartered Accountant, phone 09 533 0520, email carol@carolrigby.co.nz or see www.carolrigby.co.nz.
