In today’s digital age, government revenue authorities are increasingly using data matching, artificial intelligence, and even social media to compare the disclosures made in your lodged tax returns to those of other taxpayers or benchmarks. If a data matching check escalates to an official audit, inquiry, investigation, or review, the costs in defending your position can accumulate quickly, regardless of whether any adjustments are made to your returns. This is where HJC’s Audit Shield service steps in, covering those costs (up to predetermined limits). With our tax agents in Geelong, we ensure you stay protected.
How Does Our Audit Shield Service Work?
Our Audit Shield service covers the cost of our professional fees that you would otherwise need to pay when our accounting firm is required to respond on your behalf to an audit, inquiry, investigation, review, or examination (audit activity) of your lodged returns or financial compliance obligations initiated by the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) or other government revenue authorities.
Why Audit Shield Matters
Let’s start by understanding what audit insurance entails. Essentially, it’s an insurance policy tailored to handle the expenses linked to professional fees accrued during audits, investigations, or reviews conducted by government bodies like the Australian Taxation Office (ATO), the Office of State Revenue (OSR), WorkCover, and others. These costs can add up swiftly, particularly in cases of intricate or prolonged audits, highlighting the importance of being prepared with tax and consulting services from financial advisors in Geelong who can navigate these tax challenges smoothly.
Audit Shield is not just for business owners and SMSFs. The ATO has also identified individual taxpayers with rental properties, cryptocurrency assets, and those with excessive work-related deductions for special scrutiny. This makes Audit Shield relevant for a wide range of taxpayers.
Benefits of HJC’s Audit Shield Service
- Comprehensive Cover: Audits and reviews of Employer Obligations (PAYG/FBT/SG), Income Tax, and GST are just some of the areas the ATO is targeting.
- Retrospective Protection: Previously lodged returns are automatically covered at our HJC financial planning firm.
- Specialist Fees: Our business accounting services also cover the fees of any other external specialist (e.g., taxation lawyers) or relevant consultant engaged or instructed by us to assist in responding to audit activity.
You Have a Choice: Participation in the Audit Shield service is optional, so there is no compulsion to participate. It’s designed to offer peace of mind and financial protection in case of an audit.
Ensuring Audit Protection with Our Policy & Process
We hold a tax audit insurance policy in our business name. By proceeding with our Audit Shield service, we include you and your entities in our policy. The policy we hold is a group policy underwritten by AAI Limited (trading as Vero Insurance), a subsidiary of Suncorp Group Limited.
Payment is tax deductible, and included in your payment is a fee payable to us. This is used to recover our administrative costs for managing this service. Our accounting firm in Geelong manages every detail for your peace of mind.
HJC is Your Partner in Financial Security
You can benefit from the service as long as we are acting as your registered tax agent. Participation in this service is not automatic. Protection will commence on the next business day after we receive your payment and expire on the 30th September of the following year.
To be protected by our Audit Shield service, simply get in touch with our friendly staff at HJC Accounts in Geelong and we’ll provide you with an acceptance letter and payment details.,
If you have any queries with respect to this offer, refer to the below FAQs or contact our accounting firm in Geelong.
FAQs
What is our Audit Shield service?
Our Audit Shield service provides for the payment of our professional fees otherwise payable by you when incurred as a result of our accounting firm being required to respond, on your behalf, to an audit, inquiry, investigation, review or examination (audit activity) of your lodged returns or your financial compliance obligations instigated by the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) or other government revenue authorities.
What is the benefit of our Audit Shield service?
Data matching becomes more sophisticated each year. This makes it simpler and far more likely for previously untargeted tax payers to encounter audit activity, despite compliancy. With our Audit Shield service, you can rest assured knowing that our professional fees will be covered, and the accounting and taxation work will be undertaken, in relation to the audit activity, by our tax agents in Geelong. Often these fees can be greater than those we may charge you for completing the return(s).
What is included under our Audit Shield service?
Professional fees otherwise payable to us that have been incurred in responding to audit activity until the completion of the matter, or until the level of cover as stated on your Client Acceptance Form is exhausted, will be covered under our Audit Shield service. Fees of any other external specialist (e.g. taxation lawyers) or relevant consultant engaged or instructed by us to assist us in a response to audit activity are also covered. Both during (interim payments) and/or upon conclusion of the audit activity, we will present for payment our business accountant fees on your behalf to the insurer for recovery against the policy. Should a difference arise between our fees and the amount available to be covered against the policy, we may need to seek the shortfall payment of our fees from you. Your protection begins from the next business day after our receipt of your participation fee (see the attached Client Acceptance Form for further details).
Will my professional fees be covered?
Yes. Costs (professional fees) which are directly related to the work our business services accountants are required to undertake as a result of audit activity will ordinarily be covered (up to the prescribed cover limit). The cost of these additional fees can be considerable depending on the amount of time required to attend to the audit activity. Standard fees associated with any typical compliance or other work conducted throughout the year are excluded.
Is the cost tax deductible?
Yes. A tax deduction should ordinarily be claimable for your participation fees.
Important information:
Please note that any ATO or other government revenue authorities official inquiries, investigations, reviews or examinations that subsequently change or increase in scope or continue, progress, expand, escalate or evolve into an official audit are always considered to be the one claim matter under our Audit Shield service that commenced on the date of first contact made by the ATO or other government revenue authorities to either our clients or to our accountants in Geelong.
Will my professional fees be covered?
Yes. Costs (professional fees) which are directly related to the work our business services accountants are required to undertake as a result of audit activity will ordinarily be covered (up to the prescribed cover limit). The cost of these additional fees can be considerable depending on the amount of time required to attend to the audit activity. Standard fees associated with any typical compliance or other work conducted throughout the year are excluded.
Is it possible to arrange a pro-rata fee for our Audit Shield service?
Yes, depending on your date of payment, a pro-rata fee may be available. Please speak with us to discuss the specifics of this option.
What audits, inquiries, investigations, reviews and examinations are covered?
- Capital Gains Tax
- Employer Obligations
- Fringe Benefits Tax
- GST/BAS
- Income Tax
- Land Tax
- Payroll Tax
- PAYG
What is not included?
We have carefully selected our Audit Shield policy to provide the widest possible coverage for us and our clients. However, we do remind our clients that such items or circumstances as listed below are not covered:
- Actions in regard to any notices or communications from the ATO or any other government revenue authorities that are educational or advisory in nature or merely suggest, invite or propose actions to be taken by you; or act as a warning to you that you may be selected for
- audit activity at a future time; or do not compel you to take any action.
- Any ATO audit (with the exception of an audit of compliance with the Superannuation Guarantee
- (Administration) Act 1992) where the auditor has imposed a final shortfall or culpability penalty of 75% or more, and any ATO audit of compliance with the Superannuation Guarantee (Administration) Act 1992 where the auditor has imposed a final shortfall or culpability penalty of more than 100% of the superannuation guarantee charge.
- Any matter in relation to applications, assessments or reviews of government benefits, entitlements, grants, and/or subsidies and any form of activity involving a review relevant to you maintaining industry status, licence compliance, membership or any form of application, registration or re-registration process.
- Any fine or penalties imposed or for any amounts payable pursuant to an amended notice of assessment or adjustment including but not limited to any additional tax, duty, government impost or similar payments.
- Costs for work incurred which should have been undertaken prior to the audit activity (e.g. outstanding lodgements).
- Audit activity where notification was given prior to the inception of cover (i.e. prior to our receipt of your participation fee).
Who is Vero Insurance and how can they be contacted?
Audit Shield is underwritten by AAI Limited (trading as Vero Insurance), a subsidiary of Suncorp Group Limited.
Postal Address: GPO Box 3999, Sydney NSW 2001
Telephone: 13 18 13
Email: veroinformation@vero.com.au
Dispute Resolution
In the event that you are dissatisfied with this service, please contact Vicki Allitt on Tel (03) 5244 3007 or in writing to HJC Accountants & Financial Advisers, PO Box 1023, GROVEDALE DC VIC 3216.
