Case Study 1
Share Sale Restructured, $205,000 Less Tax On Closing — Family Enterprise, Brampton
Due diligence at a family enterprise in Brampton, Ontario surfaced retained cash well above what the business needed to operate. Restructuring the sale saved $205,000 against the original terms.
A family enterprise in Brampton, Ontario was preparing to sell. Due diligence surfaced retained cash well above what the business needed to operate, which would have reduced the price or killed the deal outright. We cleaned up the historical file, consolidated the work into a single engagement so the corporate, sales tax and payroll filings finally reconciled to each other, and prepared the due-diligence package the buyer's advisers actually asked for. The deal closed at the agreed price. $205,000 of tax was saved against the structure originally proposed, with no post-closing adjustment.
Case Study 2
$45,000 Reassessment Reduced To Nil On Review — Multi-Location Operator, Victoria
A $45,000 reassessment was proposed against a multi-location operator in Victoria, British Columbia following positions taken on prior returns that nobody could explain or support. The documented response reduced it to nil.
A review notice arrived at a multi-location operator in Victoria, British Columbia covering notice to reader for two tax years. The auditor's working position was an adjustment of $45,000, driven by positions taken on prior returns that nobody could explain or support. Rather than negotiate, we rebuilt the record. We brought the outstanding filings current and negotiated an arrangement that stopped the interest from compounding further and submitted a point-by-point response that answered each proposed adjustment with the document behind it. The auditor accepted the documented position and closed the review without adjustment, protecting $45,000 and leaving the prior filings undisturbed.
Case Study 3
Remuneration Review Saved $21,500 Across Corporate And Personal Returns — Service Business with Seasonal, Kelowna
A remuneration review at a service business with seasonal revenue in Kelowna, British Columbia found a balance that had been accruing daily compound interest for two years and saved $21,500 across the corporate and personal returns.
Nothing was wrong at a service business with seasonal revenue in Kelowna, British Columbia — the filings were on time and accurate. What they were not was planned. A balance that had been accruing daily compound interest for two years had never been reviewed. We rebuilt the supporting records, corrected the affected filings, and set a compliance calendar covering every deadline the business actually carries, and ran the numbers across both the corporate and personal returns so the saving was real rather than deferred into someone else's hands. $21,500 came off the combined corporate and personal tax bill, and the structure holds for future years without further work.
Case Study 4
Month-End Close Cut From 6 Weeks To 9 Days — Independent Retailer, Calgary
Closing the books at an independent retailer in Calgary, Alberta took 6 weeks because of deadlines tracked in the owner’s head rather than on a compliance calendar. It now takes 9 days.
The accounting file at an independent retailer in Calgary, Alberta was built on deadlines tracked in the owner’s head rather than on a compliance calendar. The year-end had taken 6 weeks each of the last three years. We documented the positions taken, retained the supporting analysis, and prepared the file so a review could be answered in days rather than weeks and moved the reconciliations into the monthly cycle, so the year-end stopped being a rebuild. The file reconciles. Month-end closes in 9 days instead of 6 weeks, and the year-end is a review rather than a reconstruction.
Case Study 5
Desk-Review Assessment Of $52,000 Vacated — Growing Small Business, Ottawa
A desk review assessed a growing small business in Ottawa, Ontario $52,000 over records that could not support the positions already taken on filed returns. Producing the records vacated it.
A growing small business in Ottawa, Ontario was carrying $52,000 of penalties and interest arising from records that could not support the positions already taken on filed returns, much of it accumulated during a period the CRA itself had delayed. We consolidated the work into a single engagement so the corporate, sales tax and payroll filings finally reconciled to each other and framed the relief application on the specific grounds the CRA guidelines recognise rather than on general hardship. The assessment was vacated. $52,000 came off the account, and the documentation now on file makes the same position straightforward to defend next time.
Case Study 6
Collections Halted And $38,000 Cut From A 4-Year Backlog — First-Year Startup, Halifax
Collections had begun against a first-year startup in Halifax, Nova Scotia over 4 years of unfiled returns. Bringing them current cut $38,000 from the balance.
By the time a first-year startup in Halifax, Nova Scotia called, 4 years were outstanding and the CRA had assessed on estimates. Underneath it sat filings handled by three different providers with no continuity between them. We reconstructed the records year by year and brought the outstanding filings current and negotiated an arrangement that stopped the interest from compounding further. Each filing replaced an arbitrary assessment with a real one. The account is current. Filing on real numbers rather than CRA estimates reduced the balance by $38,000, and a relief application addressed part of the accumulated interest.