Author: Gavin Beretta

Dear All

Herewith our AUGUST newsletter for your information.

The 2016 tax season is well on its way, and e-filing opened for the 2016 tax year which ended February 2016 for most clients.

In addition, there is a provisional tax deadline for end August, for the P1 2017 tax year. ( ending February 2017 ) – Have you filed your submission yet ?

Finsolve has full services to assist you in preparing the information for filing of all required tax returns.

It is advisable to give urgent attention to and collect all your supporting documents to streamline the tax filing season.

Other Tax Services offered include:

• E-filing
• VAT Registration and Returns
• PAYE Registration and Returns
• Submission of Employee Tax Info
• Provisional Tax Returns
• SARS Disputes, Audits & Compromises

What is an Independent Review?

Owners of Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) have been obliged to bear the cost of an audit for years. The criteria changed with the implementation of the new Companies Act of 2008 ( effective May 2011) and now they may not have to.

While there are several factors to consider, the decision ultimately depends on the newly introduced Public Interest Score which is calculated in terms of Regulation 26 of the Companies Act.

Under this system, a company is allocated points according to the number of its employees, its annual turnover, its stakeholders and the level of third party liabilities at the end of the financial year.

The Public Interest Score is calculated thus:

• 1 point for each employee or the average number of employees throughout the year.
• 1 point per million rand of third party liability. This is the money owed in terms of loans, debentures, and other financing.
• 1 point for each million rand of turnover during the financial year. If the turnover is half a million rand, score ½ point.
• 1 point for every individual who, at the end of the year, is known to have a direct or indirect beneficial interest in the company. This will include shareholders, beneficiaries of a trust where a trust is a shareholder and other stakeholders.
• Companies scoring 350 points or more are required to have an audit.

Any company, whatever its points score, that holds funds of R5 million or more for a client in a fiduciary capacity, at any time during the year, is also required to have an audit.

Companies scoring between 100 – 350 points must have an independent review conducted by a registered auditor or an Independent review, conducted by a certified accountant.

Companies scoring less than 100 points are required to have an independent review conducted by anyone who qualifies as an accounting officer, unless circumstances indicate otherwise (ie owner manged).

The new system sounds complicated but knowing where the SME fits into the points system simplifies matters.

So does knowing the difference between the two options.

An audit is a thorough examination of a company’s financial status executed by a registered auditor. It involves tests of internal controls and substantive procedures and carries far more weight than a review in that it would result in the auditor expressing the highest level of assurance. This is referred to as ‘reasonable assurance.’ Companies seeking loans may be required by their bank to have an audit before their application is considered. Thus, the decision to not have an audit may very well impair an entity’s ability to obtain external funding.

A review on the other hand provides a lesser level of assurance that a company’s financial statements do not have any known errors or misstatements. It must be undertaken by an independent accounting professional who can be but does not have to be a qualified chartered accountant, unless otherwise required under the points system.

One thing is clear. SMEs with a Public Interest Score of less than 100, which are no longer required to have an audit, will save money!

Finsolve has full services in providing Independent Reviews as well as Audits for your business.

If you require any further information regarding any of the above services, please do not hesitate in contacting Melanie at our offices on 086 148 8883.

Content compiled by
Gavin Beretta – Financial Director
MBA, FCIS, CMT
FinSolve – Registered Accountants,
Business Valuation and Tax Practitioners

Regards,
Gavin
August 2016

Dear All

Herewith our MAY newsletter for your information.

Taxation

Please note we have recently launched a new service of Tax Dispute Management. There is a large demand from clients to have their tax affairs resolved, specifically referring to tax debt write offs and repayment of debt plans.

SARS is relentless in perusing its outstanding debt and this service will assist you in safely and professionally managing the issues around this.

Wendy Walters, has over 20 years’ SARS experience in dealing with, inter alia, compromises and repayments plans, and brings with her, the insight of how SARS operates when dealing with these requests.

Please note that this service is charged independently from your standard services fees.

Other Tax Services offered include:

• E-filing
• VAT Registration and Returns
• PAYE Registration and Returns
• Submission of Employee Tax Info
• Provisional Tax Returns
• SARS Disputes, Audits & Compromises

Accounting
Attached document, “Demystifying Accounting” that you can refer to as a guide to understanding financial statements. It’s an easy read and to the point. Please read through the document (only 15 pages), which covers the following areas:

• Importance of Cash Flow
• Cash Flow vs. Profit
• Working Capital Cycle
• Managing Debtors
• Managing Suppliers
• Managing Inventory (Stock)

The emphases is on cashflow.

Content compiled by
Gavin Beretta – Financial Director
MBA, FCIS, CMT
FinSolve – Registered Accountants,
Business Valuation and Tax Practitioners

Regards,
Gavin
May 2016

Hello all

Please find below, our newsletter for this period.

Taxation

The 2015 tax season is in full swing and all taxpayers are reminded to send in their tax documents to enable seamless filing of tax returns.

Jacqueline is processing many returns and we thank you for your assistance with her queries.

Just an early reminder that non provisional taxpayer deadline is end of November, while provisional taxpayers the deadline is end of January 2016.

…and then straight into provisional tax mode which is end of February 2016.

I attach some tax saving strategies that we will be looking to either implement or re look during 2016 to ensure our clients are tax efficient.

Franchising

I attach an article on how to go about franchising as a method of expansion for your business. This is relevant to many of us and the article explains the process of how to implement.

Accounting

When you receive our financial statements, we tend to focus on the Income Statement and then maybe the Balance Sheet. However, arguably the most important document, the Cash Flow statement is the one that never gets looked at.

Review our article on how to read a cash flow statement – and then calculate the cash conversion ratio to see how effectively you are turning profits into cash.

Finally, from the Finsolve Team, we would like to thank you all for your support and assistance over the past year. Have a wonderful festive season over December and remember to drive safe!

Regards

Gavin Beretta

November / December 2015

Hello all

Please find below, our newsletter for this period.

Taxation

The 2015 tax season is now in full swing and all taxpayers are reminded to send in their tax documents to enable seamless filing of tax returns. Jaqueline, our tax accountant is hard at work preparing and filing your returns. Thank you for the quick responses we are receiving to Jacqueline’s request for supporting documents.

We attach a recent article on what being tax compliant means and the strides SARS has made into identifying those taxpayers which they believe require the dreaded audit.

Estate planning – read our article on the importance of planning for your death – the tax implications can be crippling on your descendants. If you require some guidance in this, contact us and we will ensure our specialist will make an appointment to meet with you.

Credit Management

We reiterate the process of credit management within the Group, and as you are now all aware, we are busy with the implementation of our credit collection process to speed up payment of outstanding monies. No business can sustain itself if its cash flows are under pressure, thus the need for our initiative – Melanie has been phoning and we appreciate your response to her calls…….please accept that this is a normal but important business activity.

Our policy in this regard is to be quite firm about receiving payments when they are due (normally 7 days from date of invoice).

Accounting

Inventory management – inventory in many industries is a large component of the Balance Sheet (new terminology for the Balance Sheet by the way, is “Statement of Financial Positon”).

In our training we share the importance of converting sales into profits and profits into cash – and these industries which carry inventory, a significant aspect of converting sale into profits and then cash, is the efficient management of inventory. Read the attached document on how to manage inventory effectively.

Regards

Gavin Beretta

September 2015

Hello all

Please find below, our newsletter for this period.

Merge of GPG Financial Services with that of the Finsolve Group.

We are excited to announce that over the coming months you will see the merge of GPG Financial Services with that of the Finsolve Group. This is a logical progression as GPG Financial Services grows and expands year on year. My role within the Group remains as always, one of consultation and client relationship management.

The benefits to you our client, is that you will be dealing with an established entity with an infrastructure that can support all of you accounting, tax and valuation requirements in a holistic manner.

Apart from one or two new faces, there will be very little outward change to you, but we anticipate that our service levels and our response times will be enhanced with our dedicated staff.

We look forward to this new development and assure you, that the impact on yourselves will be minimal from a transition point of view. If you have any queries or concerns, please contact me directly.

Taxation

See our article on the importation of electronic services and the vat impact – a new development that requires service providers to register for vat with SARS.

Also note that the 2015 tax season is now open, and we will be filing your tax returns for 2015. We are also providing tax courses to bring your up to date on the current tax environment – tax free savings, medical aid claims etc – see attached Tax Tracey flyer sent out by our Finsolve Group.

We will also shortly be announcing the process of compiling the 2016 provisional tax process – the first instalment in the process. This has to be completed by end August. We have employed Jacqueline who will be making contact with you regarding your tax liabilities during this period.  If you can start thinking about your 2016 February year end position!

Credit Management

As some of our clients are already aware, we are busy with the implementation of our credit collection process to speed up payment of outstanding monies. No business can sustain itself if its cash flows are under pressure, thus the need for our initiative – Melanie has been phoning and we appreciate your response to her calls…….please accept that this is a normal but important business activity.

Trusts

This month we have an article about bequeathing loans to your trust and the implications thereof. This is the position where the trust owes a loan to you as the individual – what happens on your death to these loans owed?

Regards

Gavin

July 2015