What the actual fuck: Tax and accountants

On June 30 the Australian fiscal year ends, the tax reporting year, so it's time to gather receipts, collate income and deductions and either self-prepare or have have someone else prepare tax returns to the Australian Tax Office (ATO) but, because I'm me, I start the process three months in advance - I like being prepared.

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My tax is complex for reasons I'll not mention here so I do not self-prepare my tax return.

It's risky to self-prepare or use bargain-basement groups like H&R Block for tax preparation in complex situations like mine - A solid knowledge of tax law is required and there's little room for error; were I to do it myself, and if audited, the ATO come's back on me rather than going to my accountant and it's them who're best-placed to deal with that. I've been audited three times and didn't even know until afterwards when my accountant told me and each time it cost me nothing; they dealt with it and that's that, a nice buffer between me and the ATO.

It's for this reason I need a good accountant; no not a good one, a fucken really good one, which saves me complexity, stress and money. I'm happy to pay well, and have paid a lot, but the firm/accountant needs to be on-point; I'm uncompromising on that.

Again? What the actual fuck

Back a few years I was unhappy with the accountant I'd had for almost twenty years - he and his accounting firm had dropped the ball and I'd lost faith so located a new one, interviewed them a few times and subsequently appointed the new firm.

They were good, quite a bit cheaper, like about $3,500 AUD cheaper over a year and I was happy, but then the cracks started to appear. Phone calls were returned slowly or not at all, emails were not responded to and I began to feel like I'd made the wrong choice; I need my accountant to be responsive and interested, that's what they're paid for after all.

Three years later here I am, looking for a new accountant again. What the actual fuck!

I sought referrals from people I trust and with similar income, deduction and tax situations as my own, people who also own businesses and experience the same complexities at tax time as my own. I narrowed it down to three potentials and interviewed them all finally settling on someone I feel quite comfortable with.

I'm not one to enjoy advisors and representatives that work and communicate with me solely by digital means.

I don't mind it to some degree, but no face-to-face contact leaves too much to chance, miscommunication and misinterpretation; that's just my opinion. Others may be ok for AI to do their tax returns but not me, there's too much riding on it.

I also needed someone who understands property tax and specifically capital gains tax (CGT) as I will have a massive CGT issue in the coming one to three years when I offload some property. Sure, one can follow the bouncing ball, but I want to minimise my liability which will be significant and that will require a person who knows that aspect of tax intimately and is creative. An understanding of crypto tax was also a factor, but less so at this stage and I was happy to park that for the moment.

I've been working through this process for about a month or so now and with the FIN year ending in a few short days I've finally appointed my new accountant. I actually appointed another financial and investment advisor after a similar process in the last month as well.

There's some details to cover off such as signing forms that permit them direct access to the ATO on my behalf, access to my Xero accounting software and some other things but I've signed the instrument appointing my new accountant and feel good about it. I'm not sure if I've done the right thing yet of course, only time will reveal that, but I feel better about this one and am hopeful.

When I think about how complex things are for a person these days it makes me a little angry; why is life so annoying in this way and does it really have to be?

I don't know the answer but I know that because it's so complex a great deal of attention and effort needs to go into making it work as best as possible. Neglecting matters like this, finance, investment and tax, never goes well and is costly through failing to reduce taxable income effectively, capital gains and investment tax and other such fucken taxes the government impose - it ultimately affects life later on when people come to realise they simply don't have enough to sustain a decent standard of living through their own negligence.

Choosing the wrong advisors and financial partners can be damaging and after having changed accountants only a few years ago and doing so again sets me back at square one building a relationship all over again. At my age, 163 years old, I really want to establish a solid relationship with the right people for a long time to come; it's important as it's those people and I working together who will work towards the consolidation of my financial position into my next twenty or thirty years. After that I'll die and won't care.

Putting one's head in the sand when it comes to these matters is not a solution, it's actually the catalyst to a big problem.

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Have you ever had to change accountants or financial advisors and if so was it a smooth process or were there false starts and rocky paths to navigate? How did you choose the accountant, were you crazy and used a friend or family member? That's rarely a good idea. Do you use a firm or a one-man-show? Do you prepare your own tax return and if so do you think you're getting the best from it - do you really know enough about the tax situation to really take the best advantage?

Income, investment, capital gains and business/company tax is no joke and can be a noose to hang oneself from if done incorrectly, but what are your thoughts on this very important financial matter?