Harbour & Associates

I have been assisting two companies with their tax affairs. They are both in the same group. The first one’s 2019 tax return did not reflect the rental expense, despite the fact that the bookkeeping, financial statements and tax return had all been prepared by the same firm of “Professional Accountants (SA)”. No one had bothered to check the tax calculation against the one at the back of the financial statements which showed a tax liability of a mere R8 000, so the company had been hit with a tax assessment of R144 000! We submitted a revised tax return…

When anyone mentions his “auditor”, I always ask “Is he a CA?”. The answer is invariably something like “I assume so”. What?? My last article was prompted by a new client who’s auditor had been guilty of several mis-conducts. I knew he was a registered auditor because he had performed and signed off audits every year on the client’s financial statements. In frustration, the client was considering reporting him to the Independent Regulatory Board for Auditors (IRBA). I went on to the IRBA website and found that neither he, nor his company were registered. I checked on the SAICA website…

Every company needs a bookkeeper and a Tax Practioner (to file its tax returns). There are lots of them out there and most of them haven’t a clue what they are doing. The problem is the cost of entry into this game is practically zero. All you need is a computer and some software and away you go. You work from home between feeding the baby and doing the shopping and you’ve got no overheads. But what are you, the client, getting for your money. You may be paying as little as R200 an hour. Great price for quality, expensive…

CA(SA)

Beware the cowboy accountants

If you want a CA, get a CA

Beware the unqualified bookkeeper

Do you want to leave your cart?