Who are the best accountants in Wollongong?

CTK Accounting are the undisputed best accountants in Wollongong and surrounding suburbs.

Ok, we are kidding, although we are highly rated, have great customer retention and take pride in being proactive, well researched and detail orientated tax agents and CPA’s.

The truth is the ‘Best’ accountant for one person or business may be terrible for others.

If you are a person or business in Wollongong or surrounding suburbs looking for the best accountant for your situation, you should consider the following:

• Size and complexity of your affairs
• Future goals
• Budget

Finding the right business accountant in Wollongong

Wollongong City had 15,162 registered businesses in 2022 with the top sectors by number being construction, professional services, real estate,and health care.

Most of these businesses are small businesses with under 20 employees.

Small businesses may get better value from a Wollongong accounting firm which is not part of a national or global franchise/parent company.

Although franchises and national accounting firms might benefit some clients by instilling quality control and standardised procedures, they will disadvantage other clients by lacking flexibility and the ‘personal touch’ so to speak.

If you are a large business with over 20 employees then you might consider going for a larger nationally established accounting firm. Larger firms have the potential to deliver proactive, customised and tailored advice to businesses and high net worth clients, however will generally demand a much higher fee as the firm will have higher cost structures which will include high wage staff, admin support staff, office space, insurances and IT infrastructure.

Size and Complexity – The larger and more complex your business, the more expertise you will generally need when it comes to tax compliance. Not all accountants will have experience with unique situations such as double taxation agreements between different countries, exported goods and services or franchising.

Future Goals – If you are a relatively small business now but aspire to expand nationally or even internationally in the future, this will affect your decision making on finding the perfect accountant, as you will want to find a suitable accounting firm in Wollongong that can grow with your start-up business as it becomes more complex and established.

Budget – From our personal research at CTK Accounting, it is clear that accounting fee’s can vary drastically between accounting firms. Many times this will be justified, other times it is not. Ensuring your accountant is registered with the tax practitioners board and ideally with a professional accounting body such as CPA Australia or CA Australia & New Zealand is good start in ensuring your Wollongong based accountant has a solid foundation of technical skills and ethics.

Finding the best personal accountant in Wollongong

As of 2022 there were 94,554 local jobs in the Wollongong LGA, this means 94,554 personal tax returns to be lodged.

Out of this 94,554 roughly 35% or 33,000 will lodge their own tax return (and probably miss out on considerable deductions) the other 61,554 will be looking for a tax return in Wollongong by a trusted tax accountant.

As an individual based in Wollongong there are a three main points to consider when choosing the perfect accountant for your situation:

Size and complexity – If you have multiple rental properties or investments such as crypto or a considerable share portfolio you may opt to go for a more boutique accountant that you can contact regularly about the tax consequences of potential opportunities or changes in your situation, more along the lines of a ‘trusted advisor’. Franchise accounting firms may not be the best fit as they often hire staff around tax time and let them go afterwards, meaning you may not get the long lasting relationship that aids peace of mind.

Future Goals – If you want more from your tax meeting then a simple tax return then you would want to consider your accountants qualifications and prior experience more thoroughly to ensure it aligns with the direction in which you want to pursue. For example Accountants who specialise in property and real estate may not suit your goals of starting Wollongong’s freshest hipster bagel bar.

Budget – You can go two directions when choosing the right accountant whether it’s in Wollongong or anywhere else for that matter. You can go for the lowest price or you can go for the best fit. If you’re lucky the best fit will be the lowest price. As with many things in life though, generally you get what you pay for. If your personal tax return is under $100 in 2023 it’s hard to imagine your tax accountant is taking the time to understand your personal situation and digging deep to maximise your deductions.

Who are the best business accountants in Wollongong?

81 – the number of working days per year the average small business spends on admin tasks.

A good proportion of these admin tasks are accounting related activities which business owners try to take on to save money, however it ends up costing them dearly in the long run.

Although here at CTK Accounting we consider ourselves among the best business accountants in Wollongong, there are a handful of reputable accounting firms in Wollongong who are qualified and skilled in the art of great tax outcomes for clients.

When choosing your business accountant, it is important to consider their:

• Capacity to take on new clients and complete work on time to avoid your business landing on the Australian taxation offices radar
• Availability to take calls and urgent requests
• Skill in the field or industry in which you operate
• Qualifications such as registration with the Tax practitioners board or CPA Australia
• Technology adaption and savviness

CTK Accounting are a local Wollongong based accounting firm with a growth mindset of our own. We are eager to engage new clients and create optimal business and tax outcomes for them, allowing our clients to reinvest more of their profits back into their business.

CTK Accounting offers fixed fee monthly compliance and advisory packages which involves taking care of the full accounting function of our clients businesses, freeing up the owners time and creating new opportunities for strategic thinking.

Many of our clients are in construction, manufacturing and service based businesses along with a huge client base of individuals.

If you would like to engage us for your accounting and tax needs, you can reach us on our contact page.

Is starting a business in Wollongong a good idea?

Starting your own business in Wollongong means joining the other 15,000 businesses in the local government area chasing their dreams.

Here are some important facts about Wollongong to consider before contacting your accountant and starting a business:

• Wollongong is the regional capital of the Illawarra and accounts for $11 billion of the Illawarra’s $19 billion economy, in other words 58%
• Wollongong’s unemployment rate was last recorded at 4.6% in 2018, which is below the NSW average of 4.8%
• As of 2016 33% of residents leave the Wollongong LGA for work, a good chunk of these people are highly skilled individuals, this has no doubt changed since Covid
• Wollongong city council’s current economic development strategy which will run from 2019 to 2029 has a focus on promoting the following industries: ICT/Tech, Financial and Insurance Services, Professional, Scientific and Technical Services, Public Administration and Safety, Electricity, Gas, Water and Waste Services
• Over 20,000 workers commute into Wollongong from other LGAs for work. Over three-quarters (77%) are from the surrounding Illawarra-Shoalhaven LGAs with the remainder from Greater Sydney
• Affordable living - Wollongong offers a generally lower cost of living, particularly with residential housing which is currently priced around 47% less than the Sydney median. Travel costs are also significantly lower due to reduced commuting times
• Coastal lifestyle - located immediately south of the Royal National Park, Wollongong’s spectacular natural environment includes 17 patrolled beaches
• Education infrastructure includes a major TAFE institute and world-class university in the UOW
• Wollongong’s local workforce is highly educated, with around two thirds of the workforce holding tertiary qualifications
• Staff turnover rates are only 8% in Wollongong compared to 19% throughout Australia
• UOW ranks among the top 2% of universities in the world with an enviable record in teaching and research. UOW has over 36,000 students, more than 2,400 staff and contributes around $2 billion to the region annually
• A business survey conducted by Wollongong City Council suggested even established businesses in the Wollongong LGA are cautious when it comes to expanding their business. 24 of The survey question,which received 248 responses, asked business owners about their plans for growing their business over the next year. Most (81%) said they were planning on either not growing their business at all (38%) or only modestly and without taking on risk (43%). Only 16% said they expected to experience strong growth (such as growing sales and workforce) and only 3% said they would aggressively grow their business (eg doubling the size of their workforce and turnover).
• Manufacturing jobs effectively halved over the decade from just over 12,000 in 2007-2008 to around 6,000 in 2017-2018
• Manufacturing now represents just 6.6% of employment in Wollongong, which is only just above the NSW average of 6.5%. It remains, however, an important sector in terms of its contribution to the local economy and is still the largest export sector.
• Jobs Growth target for Wollongong is 10,500 from 2019 to 2029

Looking for a Wollongong based accounting firm?

If you are in need of individual or business tax and accounting services you can find out more about CTK Accounting on our services and about page.

We are Wollongong business accountants who care about our clients and treat their businesses as if they were our own.

If you would like to reach us please contact us through our contact page.

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