The key to successfully reducing your overall tax liability is purposeful tax planning. While we encourage you to understand your tax situation, we take it upon ourselves to be proactive on your behalf. Simply put, if we weren’t advising you in advance on tax issues we wouldn’t be doing our job. We plan ahead to ensure you pay as little tax as possible.
A vital function of most advising and accounting work is to assist in the preparation of taxes. To provide you with the greatest value for service and to ensure your tax return is filed accurately and on time, we adhere to a strict system of checks and balances that is systematic but personalized.
The income tax act is an incredibly complex piece of legislation. That’s why we invest heavily in training and education to ensure that all of our team members are up-to-date on every aspect of the tax code.
The objective of a compilation engagement is, typically, to produce year-end financial statements and tax returns. In completing such an engagement we follow standard procedures to help ensure your financials are presented without error, however, no level of assurance is provided. While the responsibility for accuracy is yours, we understand the unlikelihood of your awareness of current reporting and tax standards. Lockhart therefore, takes the time necessary to prevent you from exposure to future liabilities caused by errors in your financial statements.
The objective of a review engagement is to produce a report that indicates, in our opinion, whether or not your financial statements are materially plausible. A review engagement is often required by a lender, shareholder, or potential purchaser.
Our approach to a review engagement is based on accounting industry standards. Since we provide some level of assurance that your financial statements are without error, we use professional judgement and due care to ensure an accurate opinion is expressed.
The objective of an audit engagement is to produce a report that indicates, in our opinion, whether we believe your financial statements are a true representation of your underlying business activities.
For an optimal audit engagement we work with you to add value for the readers of your financial statements. We want them to rest assured the information being provided is accurate and reliable.
To provide you with maximum value we save time by focusing our auditing efforts on the areas in the financial statements that are at the greatest risk of misstatement.
The most common use for a strategic business plan is to obtain financing. Many lenders require small business owners to provide a detailed business plan before they will approve financing. Without proper training and experience, it is difficult to know what elements to include in a business plan and how to present them. With over 20 years of experience working with businesses in most major industries, we provide a high level of expertise while providing assistance preparing strategic business plans.
Your exit strategy from a business could be just as just as important as your start up strategy. Yet, succession planning is often overlooked. The decisions you make relating to buying or selling a business may have significant tax consequences.
Succession planning becomes even more important when family is involved. At Lockhart we can help you navigate the sensitive emotional dynamics that can be a factor as you transition from running a business to retirement.
Good cash flow management can enable the growth of your business – and bring you peace of mind. Poor cash flow management can land your business in bankruptcy quicker than you might expect. Money in the bank today can provide a false sense of security if long and short-term liabilities are not considered.
It can be difficult for larger accounting firms to provide these services at a reasonable cost, which is why many not-for-profits (NPOs) turn to Lockhart. By focusing on areas of greatest risk we improve audit efficiency and often find ourselves doing the same work for far less than a larger firm would charge. At Lockhart we understand the value of NPOs and take pride working with them and helping them achieve their operational goals.
Most NPO organizations are required to file an annual income tax return. Registered charities are required to file an annual information return. At Lockhart we are current on the standards for NPOs and charity organizations.
