Client Profiles
Our clients come from many industries and every single one requires a unique approach.
Aardent Dental Centre
Over the years, GeersSullivan has assisted Dr Richard Williams to become full owner of Aardent Dental Centre, purchase its premises within a self-managed super fund and restructure the business entities to be more tax-effective.
It has been very rewarding to help Richard achieve his goals.
Background
Established over 30 years ago, Aardent Dental Centre is based in Victoria Park. The name comes from the word ‘ardent’, signifying the team’s passion for helping to improve the oral health of people in their community.
Having previously worked with Director Chris Grieve, GeersSullivan was approached by owner Richard in 2013. His mentor and business partner was retiring and Richard wanted to buy the remaining half of Aardent Dental Centre. It was in his best interest to engage a separate accountant and we have been Richard’s accountant ever since.
Our Approach
As well as acquiring the outgoing partner’s 50% ownership of Aardent Dental Centre, the transaction also involved purchasing the commercial property that Aardent Dental Centre operates out of, which Richard’s business partner solely owned.
GeersSullivan helped Richard to set up a self-managed super fund to purchase the property while also simplifying the business’ accounting structure by rolling the two partnerships into a single entity; transferring employee contracts and entitlements and so on. We also transferred Aardent Dental Centre across to Xero’s cloud-based accounting software in conjunction with his internal bookkeeper.
With many years of experience helping in the purchase of sale and businesses, GeersSullivan really understands the logistical details and can advise on what needs to happen – everything from transferring the trading name to dividing up assets and even printing new business cards.
GeersSullivan continues assisting Aardent Dental Centre with their ongoing bookkeeping, superannuation and GST compliance, end-of-year financials, taxation planning and generally being responsive to the issues that arise from time to time with any small business.
Additionally, GeersSullivan has helped Richard to restructure the entities that Aardent Dental Centre operates out of, with the long-term view of accessing previously unutilised deductions and improving the overall tax position of the business and the family trust.
Outcomes
Since 2013 we have helped Richard and Aardent Dental Centre to:
- Smoothly transition business ownership while simplifying the business structure
- Purchase the Aardent Dental Centre premises within the self-managed super fund, which represents a good financial investment and more favourable tax environment
- Reduce Richard’s tax liability by restructuring the business entities more effectively
- Transfer to Xero’s cloud-based accounting software, which offers greater, real-time financial insight
- Proactively plan towards further wealth creation and Richard’s long-term retirement
“GeersSullivan has helped to refocus what needs to be done on the financial side of things. We work really well together and Chris and the team are always so contactable. GeersSullivan really know the rules and regulations and are prepared to think outside the box to figure out effective solutions. I feel really supported.” – Dr Richard Williams
Red Dirt Personnel Group
We’re proud of the longevity of our business relationship with Red Dirt Personnel Group (Red Dirt), and Greg and Lesley Hobbs.
GeersSullivan has worked alongside Red Dirt from when it first launched and it’s been very rewarding to see the business flourish over the years.
Background
Red Dirt is a recruitment company that specialises in supplying temporary and permanent labour to the resources sector. Amongst Red Dirt’s clients are Barto Gold Mining Pty Ltd, St Barbara Limited, Millennium Mineraly Pty Ltd, Regis Resources Limited, Wiluna Operations Pty Ltd and Steinert Australia Pty Ltd.
A family-owned business, Red Dirt was founded by Greg and Lesley Hobbs in 2002 and they’ve been personal and professional clients of ours since GeersSullivan was established in 2003.
Our Approach
GeerSullivan is always available to act as an honest sounding board for Greg and Lesley, offering proactive advice and working with them to maximise the financial and tax outcomes of any decisions they make for themselves and the business.
Our role has evolved from when we were first engaged to produce Red Dirt’s quarterly accounts and provide financial and tax advice as they needed.
In 2004, Greg started looking into purchasing the office that Red Dirt operated from. Through a considered process, Managing Director Andrew Sullivan determined that the most financially beneficial method was to establish a self-managed super fund and purchase the property via contributions to the fund.
To this day, Andrew remembers the exact sizeable sum that this approach saved Greg and Lesley in taxes both immediately and annually. It also marked the point at which GeersSullivan began advising on Red Dirt’s broader structure, including the financial systems and self-managed super fund.
Nowadays, Greg and Lesley’s son, Justin, and daughter, Nicole, take care of Red Dirt’s day-to-day operations while Greg oversees the finances.
Our personal work with Greg and Lesley has also transitioned towards retirement planning, superannuation and investment advice.
Outcomes
GeersSullivan has worked with Greg and Lesley throughout the lifecycle of their business and careers – from initially setting up Red Dirt to creating financial stability and, more recently, transitioning into planning, preparing and funding their eventual retirement.
The longevity in our business relationship, as well as our expert teams for business-related finance, taxation, superannuation and systems advice, has meant that GeersSullivan has:
- Advised Greg and Lesley on the best structure for establishing the business
- Ensured a significantly favourable tax outcome at the time the office was purchased by advising Red Dirt to form a self-managed super fund
- Continued to maximise the tax benefits of managing investments through the self-managed super fund (especially when considering the accumulative impact over more than 15 years)
- Transitioned Red Dirt to Xero, which enables a much more efficient and comprehensive snapshot of the business’ financial position
- Helped contribute to the success and increased financial stability of the business from when it started to now
“GeersSullivan are approachable forward-thinkers who have given us excellent advice during Red Dirt Personnel Group’s different business phases. They always put things in layperson’s terms, so we know we’re making informed decisions about what’s best for us and the business.
“We’ve built up a lot of trust with GeersSullivan over the years, and Andrew is even the executor of our estate. GeersSullivan is the all-round package for personal and business advice – and I sleep a lot better knowing things are taken care of!” – Greg Hobbs, Director