The dreaded Audit….whether it is by the ATO, Revenue NSW or other State or Federal government revenue authorities, it can be a very stressful time. Every accountant knows that reviews or audits of our client’s tax returns, or financial compliance obligations can sometimes be unavoidable.
Along with being selected for an audit, are the additional costs that can be incurred in preparing your information to respond to the audit enquiries and this can add further stress. They are unplanned costs and, in some cases, can be substantial.
Audit Insurance provides comprehensive, cost effective protection against the substantial costs that may be incurred should the ATO, Revenue NSW or other government revenue authorities conduct an audit, inquiry, investigation, review or examination of lodged returns or financial compliance obligations.
When an audit hits, its rarely a reflection of the work put into preparing your returns and is more often due to a specific crackdown by the Australian Taxation Office (ATO), Revenue NSW or other State & Federal government revenue authorities. These departments use a variety of data matching or other artificial intelligence sources to assist in initiating audit activity of your lodged returns. These methodologies have proven to work very well and there are no signs to show that the ATO or other State & Federal government revenue authorities with ease up on these.
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, 2020 saw a temporary lull in some of the ATO and other State & Federal government revenue authorities’ usual audit activity levels. Data shows that overall audit activity is still prevalent. It was also noted that a new audit category related to JobKeeper payment audits is accounting for a high proportion of audit activity.
If you would like to more information on Audit Insurance please contact John Kalachian or Henry Zhao at Fortis Accounting Partners on 02 9267 0108.
