It is not an uncommon practice to outsource some of the functions of running your business to reliable suppliers.  When this turned pear-shaped for one business owner, OBT quickly mobilised resources to stem damage and negotiate a favourable outcome with the ATO.

A client was operating a small transport business and employed a third party bookkeeper to look after the accounting records and quarterly business activity statements (BAS).

Due to either inexperience or, sadly, dishonesty by the bookkeeper, BAS returns were not lodged for six quarters despite the bookkeeper’s reassurances to the client that they had been lodged and the GST paid.  This came to light when the client received a call from the ATO enquiring as to why the activity statements had not been lodged.

As you would imagine, this turned out to be an urgent recovery matter to get the client up to date and back on track.  OBT’s first step was to quickly and correctly process and submit all outstanding and current BAS returns and have the client pay the required GST.  We then contacted the ATO and explained the situation – we negotiated for the remission of all penalties and interest thus saving the client approximately $2,600. OBT then took over the bookkeeping functions ensuring all records were accurate and all BAS returns were kept up to date.