Can you recommend a good accountant in Melbourne?

Hi all,

I am looking for recommendations on good accountants in Melbourne that can assist with providing advice in the best structure for our portfolio. i.e. looking at our circumstances, future plans and then structuring our portfolio in the most tax effective way.

If you know someone who knows what they are doing and would fit the bill can you please pass me their details.

Many thanks!
 
I've used Trenton's for a couple of years. GREAT to deal with (Thanh & all of his staff) & they explain everything so well.

Thanh Tran, CA, M.Tax, FTIA
TRENTONS - CHARTERED ACCOUNTANTS
[A] 9 Sun Crescent, Sunshine VIC 3020
[P] PO Box 75, Sunshine VIC 3020
[T] 03 93118030 [F] 03 93118034
[E] [email protected] [E] [email protected]
 
A lot of members here use and recommend Bantacs which was set up by Julia Hartman.

Julia is a university educated accountant and is a member of both the Australian Society of CPAs and the Institute of Chartered accountants.

She also writes for Australian Property Investor Magazine (API).

In Melbourne she have offices in:
- Fitzroy
- Highett
- Geelong

Have a look at her website which has loads of free ebook downloads and lots of quality information.

http://www.bantacs.com.au/index.htm
 
If you're looking for someone who has investing knowledge, and know exactly what you need as an investor, i'd suggest House of Wealth accounting.

James is also a member of the forum, and i know that many people have suggested him on occasions, so i suggest you at least check him out.

http://www.houseofwealth.com.au/index.php

He has a blog going there too, and other useful resources, and an overall top guy.
 
Hi all - thanks for your recommendations.

Shuggy, thanks for the Bantacs link, I spent some time browsing the ebooks uploaded on their site - very informative.
 
If you're looking for someone who has investing knowledge, and know exactly what you need as an investor, i'd suggest House of Wealth accounting.

James is also a member of the forum, and i know that many people have suggested him on occasions, so i suggest you at least check him out.

http://www.houseofwealth.com.au/index.php

He has a blog going there too, and other useful resources, and an overall top guy.

James GG has my vote, too. He's a terrific guy and knows his stuff. Highly recommended.
 
Ditto for James at House of Wealth

James James he's the man; If he cant help you no one can! :)

Seriously tho, James walks his investment talk and is a top bloke.

So much so Im in Perth and he's been doing all my accountancy work from Melbourne for a number of years now.
 
MelbGal - a good accountant is a qualified accountant: one with membership of the ICAA or CPA Australia.

At the outset you should ensure the one you choose has such a membership. Unfortunately, members of this forum have been known to recommend those persons who lack the membership and backing of a professional body.
 
Hi GF

membership of a ltd organisation doesnt convey
a qualification per se.

CPA CA whatever, I dont know all the orgs that work with Accountants, but I know that just because a broker doesnt bother with say the MFAA doesnt make them unqualified, its just makes them NOT a member of the sock puppet society................

And in some ways, that may make them a better broker focussed on meeting client needs rather than focussed on looking after the associations needs.

I see this in many businesses, even medicine as an example. step outside of your sock puppets orgs ideas of "right: and you will be in trouble even if you are saving lives and helping people. The helping people bit wont matter much............if you upset the socks.
 
Hi Rolf,

Being a member of the ICAA or CPA Australia makes you qualified - you've completed the examinations and you're required to maintain an ongoing professional learning regime which is audited. That's the problem with many members of this forum - they just don't understand what "qualified" means and it's continually perpetuated (even with your sock puppet analogy). Sorry, but someone who has great knowledge in a particular area but without a peer qualification is not formally qualified.

I'll go with a qualified professional who has earned the right to be a member of their respective peak body over someone who's not every time. It's not a good sign that a forum that seeks to be respected deems it OK to have zero regard for professional bodies and their members by referring other members to those persons who don't have peer backing and saying that's OK. Credibility out the window stuff.

Why does ASIC and public financial figures like Paul Clitheroe only recommend those seeking an accountant go to one who's a member of the ICAA or CPA Australia? Because they understand and respect those bodies and what they require of their members and are happy to publicise this. Why do Somersoft members think they know more than ASIC, etc.??

Do you see Julia Hartman - a seriously truly qualified and published accountant and a real attribute to Somersoft - post here any more?? No, and what a loss. For many of the reasons above I understand she's started her own forum that only permits properly qualified professionals to post. And with the attitude of too many on Somersoft, good luck to her.
 
Hiya GF

Im not going to go into the accountancy or tax agent area.....truly I dont know enough about it.

I will restrict my comment to the areas I know a little about.

Qualified to practice in most cases isnt determined by a peer group, but by legislation of some sort. I dont believe you need to be a card carrying member of ACA or a CPA for the ATO to allow you to be a tax agent, thougn im willing to take advice here ? Nor do you need to be a fellow of the geological society of Australiasia to work as an exploration geo and make the biggest discovery of x in recent times.

One of the few areas where I know this not to be the case is the AMA. I would assume the law society is similar.

Once you provide power to a "peer" group(s) as to who is or who is not "qualified" you immediately stifle any idea of free thought. Let government decide who is a qualified to practice, and keep the "grey coat" clubs out of it.

In my still quite unregulated industry, practicing as a sole broker does require membership of the sock puppet and half a dozen other things. However if your skill set is sufficient you can work under someoenes licence...........you dont need the acknowledgement of your peers, I dont see an issue with this and would encourage it. Many industries operate the same way ?

While I understand that in theory the idea of peer group association is to rid the industry of rogues, the associations of most industries have a dual focus. That of survival and expansion.................better advice and client service isnt often the true number one motivation of these things.

I reiterate, in my view that we need the elected regulators take care of who is qualified for whatever, and not some competitve peer organisation trying to expand its base against the other organisation in that same industry.

If you are qualified at law to provide plumbing services then non-membership of the plumbers guild doesnt make you a bodgy operator, it just makes you a non-conformist, which often is a good thing.

ta
rolf
 
I will also add, just from my own experience, that membership of some of these associations adds nothing whatsoever, except costs and sometimes bragging rights. Of course, I am not an accountant, so really don't know from an accounting standpoint, this is just my general observation over the years from working in, and having skills in, different industries.
 
The debate as to who is qualified and who is not and the different degrees thereto has been done to death in the past, I know.

A tax agent is not an accountant, they just prepare tax returns. It's like comparing someone who works at a Big 4 firm with someone from H & R Block. And geologists and plumbers don't advise people how to spend their money, they're not fair comparisons.

I'll continue to maintain that SSers should not be referring others to the services of other members who are not truly qualified.

Like I said, why do ASIC et al advise that only CAs and CPAs be engaged? Is it all one giant conspiracy?
 
I understand what you are sayng

As an aside, one of the folk that does that most of my tax work is nether a CA nor a CPA..................but he works under the direction and "licencing" of someone who is. I have no hesitation recommending the person to a client or a friend.

ta

rolf
 
I'll continue to maintain that SSers should not be referring others to the services of other members who are not truly qualified.

FWIW, SSers are well within their rights to recommend the services of someone that they have had dealings with. To me, a recommendation is worth a great deal. It usually means that the person doing the recommendation has been impressed by the quality of the job as well as the attitude of the person performing the job.

I am sure there are a lot of people from all fields (accountants included) that have the right to have all the fancy titles under their names that do a shocking job and/or just have a bad attitude to their clients.

Just for the record, I do not use either Bantacs, Trentons or House of Wealth. My accountant has only a small practice in a Regional area, and is a family friend. He does not have both of the aformentioned qualifications. I do not have first hand knowledge of how any of the three practices are run, nor the service received, however, if forumites are willing to stand up and tell others that they recommend the services of these three, then I would presume they have been happy with their services. I know that I have used several other accountants who did have the aformentioned qualifications and was not happy and would surely NOT have continued to use this friend of ours if the quality of the work was not first class.
 
FWIW, SSers are well within their rights to recommend the services of someone that they have had dealings with. To me, a recommendation is worth a great deal. It usually means that the person doing the recommendation has been impressed by the quality of the job as well as the attitude of the person performing the job.

Exactly. The initial post asks for a recommendation. Clearly, the recommendation requested is expected to be based on personal and professional experience.
That type of recommendation is worth a great deal and gains increasing weight when it comes from someone that the requestor respects.
If the question was "recommend to me an accountant who has the following professional association memberships" then that would be a different matter.
I've let all my professional body memberships lapse. My skill level and ability to do my job remain unaffected. Some of them are over rated.
 
I will also add, just from my own experience, that membership of some of these associations adds nothing whatsoever, except costs and sometimes bragging rights. Of course, I am not an accountant, so really don't know from an accounting standpoint, this is just my general observation over the years from working in, and having skills in, different industries.

I've let all my professional body memberships lapse. My skill level and ability to do my job remain unaffected. Some of them are over rated.

Which is exactly what I was trying to say above, but of course, worded in a better way. Hubby has one at the moment paid for by his work and from memory, I think the annual fee is $750. As soon as he changes employers (unless they are paying it) this membership will lapse.
 
Who is who?

The BAN TACS forum does not require posters to be qualified only to state their area of expertise and have that and their identity verified before they can post. This allows viewers to know how worthy their comments are in particular fields and to stop one person having more than one identity. Did you ever consider that these Melbourne accountant recommendations are just one person having a conversation with themselves through various entities they have registered? Food for though.
 
The BAN TACS forum does not require posters to be qualified only to state their area of expertise and have that and their identity verified before they can post. This allows viewers to know how worthy their comments are in particular fields and to stop one person having more than one identity. Did you ever consider that these Melbourne accountant recommendations are just one person having a conversation with themselves through various entities they have registered? Food for though.

Interesting, since out of your 7 posts only two of them are not promoting Bantacs. Are you Julia, or do you work there perhaps?:rolleyes:
 
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