What is a Financial Statement?

A financial statement is a formal record of financial activities of a person, business or an entity. It is a financial report which quantifies a company or a person’s financial strength, liquidity and performance.

There are four kinds of financial statements-balance sheet, income statement, cash flow statement and statement of changes in equity.

Balance sheet presents the financial condition of an entity at a specified period. It comprises of three elements: assets, equity and liabilities. The income statement reports the financial performance of a company or a person in terms of net loss or profit over a given time. Also known as profit and loss statement, it comprises of two elements: expense and income. Cash flow statement is the movement in cash and bank balances over a specified time. This movement is classified into different segments like operating activities, financing activities and investing activities. Last but not the least; is the statement of changes in equity, which is also called statement of retained earnings. It details the movement in the equity of the owners over a certain period. This movement is derived from the components like net profit or net loss during a given period as reported in income statement, dividend payments, share capital repaid or issued at that period, losses or gains recognized in equity and effects of change in the accounting policy.

A relevant financial report needs to be presented by every company, person or entity and proactive accountants can help companies and individual clients in preparing these reports. For big corporations, these reports may be a bit complex but professional accounts can present them in a structured way and in an easy to understand form.

How to Find the Right Tax Accountant?

To handle your taxes you need to hire a professional tax consultant. But many people think that they can handle their tax on their own. Actually no one wants to hand over his financial data to an unknown person just like that. After all, maintaining accounts is a tricky affair. 

So, if you are planning to prepare a perfect tax statement, then you have to hire a professional tax accountant in Auckalnd. He can advice you the ways to get rebates on your final taxable amount. If you are looking for a good financial consultant you need to check out some merits before finalizing the consultant.

Make sure you ask the following questions to your consultant.

What is the experience of his job?

It is important for you to know since how long the consultant is working in this field. An experience consultant will be able to give you trustworthy and effective advices.
 

Does he has a license?
 

To become a financial consultant you must have a valid license. A consultant without a license does not have any authority to prepare according to the financial law of New Zealand.
 

What kind of tax job you are specialized in?
 

There are several tax consultants in the country, but not all of them do the same work. Some are specialized in offering Mergers and Acquisitions services where as others may be Chartered Accountant or Solicitors. There are even many other kinds of tax related jobs which tax consultants provide. You need to find the professional who is best for your need.

Does he outsource any work?

If a consultant outsources his works then there is always a scope of mishandling of data. This phenomenon can be harmful for any individual or a company.

How long shall it take to finish your tax return?

A consultant will prepare the financial statements within a stipulated time period. Ask him how long shall it take.

As you have finalized your choices, make a quick background check of the tax consultant. Consultant should not make any false promise. If your consultant is saying about big deductions, you must be wary about that. After all you shall be responsible for all the accountant details to the tax authority. 

Remember one more thing. There is nothing wrong in changing a tax accountant but sometimes we restrict ourselves from doing it.

Interesting Facts about Tax Refunds in NZ

Tax refunds are basically refunds on taxes. This happens when tax liabilities are less than taxes paid. Here we are going to deal with some interesting facts on tax refunds in NZ. 

When working in the country of New Zealand, you might have noticed that you had to pay a part of your earnings as income tax. You can get back some or all of this money.  The amount, which you are supposed to get back in NZ depends upon many factors like the amount that you have earned, the time span you’ve been working in NZ, the kind of work you performed and the amount of tax that was withheld from your earnings. This money is usually paid back at the end of a financial year. 

You will find taxpayers flocking to sites which promise tax refunds at the end of each financial year. Earlier it only used to be the entrepreneurs who used to think about taxes at the start of every financial year. But nowadays it’s also the salary earners who pay PAYE pay attention to this because many have found that they are due a refund for the overpaid tax. 

However, you can claim the refunds for past 5 financial years. There are several sites that offer the service of simple tax returns for the PAYE earners and propose them to IRD when refund is actually due. These websites take their charge as a cut of that amount refunded. There is also another option that people use today. It is the online service of IRD. This is free but they charge huge commissions. Using their service means you will need to give them a quarter of your payout as their commission. 

We are a licensed tax agent in NZ authorized to prepare income tax refunds as per the rules and regulations of the Tax Authorities.