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Thread: New Companies Bill

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    New Companies Bill

    Having attended a seminar on the new companies bill; nope, I'm definitely not up to scratch with the disclosure requirements.
    I've requested info from my auditors regarding the FA register.
    1 of the items mentioned was fixed asset registers; we like most companies have the basic FA register. date, item, cost, depreciation, acc depr and NBV.
    It was advised we extend the registers (stop being lazy) to include..........
    Our auditors are very happy with our FA register, and have no knowledge of the "full" register.
    Please could someone advise me what the "full" register consists of?
    The interesting part of this is, we've got until April 2009 to get financials in order - and our auditors (not a small company) have no idea of the requirements.
    any comments would be appreciated and helpful.
    thank you

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    Site Caretaker Dave A's Avatar
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    We're in the same boat. But my view is if my auditors are happy, I'm happy.
    Quote Originally Posted by Peace View Post
    It was advised we extend the registers (stop being lazy) to include..........
    That sounds more like a suggestion than an actual requirement. But there are a couple of things that wouldn't hurt, like the serial number (if any), from whom purchased, and to whom sold. It's hard to think of any other traceability issues off the top of my head for smaller companies.

    In large companies additional data to track could be location and who is responsible for the equipment (think of all those disappearing government assets ).

    The whole PITA to my mind is that so often these practices are driven by discovered needs for huge corporations, and suddenly they're thrust on smaller enterprises as an expectation too. They're barely relevant to smaller organisations, but it is so damn hard to argue against "best practice."

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    An article I read, thought I would share this with everyone:
    "Now considering that the Bill won't require private companies (currently CC's and PTY LTDs) to be audited, have an accounting officer or comply with any disclosure requirements.... the question is will SARS accept unaudited financial statements from such companies? Unlikely. Meaning your obligations under the Bill and your obligations to SARS could, inconveniently, be worlds apart."

    and another thought:
    " Another change we're all still waiting for is the withholding tax regime set to replace STC. As a shareholder, you won't have to pay tax on dividends at your marginal tax rate but will instead pay a final tax of 10% on the dividend. This will be withheld by the company when it pays you the dividend."

    and another thought:
    " outlining the effects the Companies Bill will have to directors liability. For instance, as a deemed director, you'll have no voting rights but will carry the same liability as other members of the board."

    "Interesting, and worryingly, SARS hasn't commented on the Bill at all."

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    Site Caretaker Dave A's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Peace View Post
    "Now considering that the Bill won't require private companies (currently CC's and PTY LTDs) to be audited, have an accounting officer or comply with any disclosure requirements.... the question is will SARS accept unaudited financial statements from such companies? Unlikely.
    SARS already accepts unaudited financials from CCs, so why not for private companies?

    And the accounting officer bit as it stands doesn't mean too much either - quite often it really came down to pinning an individual with the responsibility for the accounts being drawn rather than assuring any kind of quality.

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    Diamond Member wynn's Avatar
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    A small business shouldn't hold any assets anyway, liabilities, yes.
    Assets should be in your or your wifes private name or in a trust so that when the 'Boogeyman' comes to clean you out, there is nothing for him to take.

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