Tax · Advisory · Disputes

Your accountant should know tax. Ours wrote the thesis on it, and is a lawyer too.

As cited inAustralian Financial ReviewThe Sydney Morning HeraldMacquarie University
What we do

Any firm can file a return. Far fewer can tell you, before you sign, what a sale, a restructure, or passing the business to your children will really cost you. That is the question that matters most. Most accountants answer it last. We answer it first.

Are Capital Gains Equitably Taxed in Australia?

Dr Maheswaran Sridaran · his first book, 2012

A quiet study at dusk: a brass desk lamp, leather-bound law reports and soft Sydney light through a tall window.
The principal

Why an accountant and lawyer chose to run a small firm.

People with his background usually end up in a corner office at a global firm. He built the opposite: a practice small enough that his own eyes pass over every piece of work that leaves it.

You get the technical depth of a global firm and the access of one adviser who knows your business by name.

Doctorate
A doctorate in Australian tax law.
CA + Lawyer
A chartered accountant who is also a lawyer.
45+ years
Over 45 years, across more than five countries.
The bench

He reviews every file. These are the people who build them.

Meet the whole team

Ms Niroshi Rathnayakage

Senior Accountant

CPA (Aust) · Registered Tax Agent

Ms Lakshika Subramaniam

Accountant

CPA (Aust) · ACMA (UK)

Ms Eshani Rathnayake

Assistant Accountant

CPA (Aust) · ACA (Sri Lanka)

Ms Lakshika Senaviratne

Assistant Accountant

CPA Australia (Assoc.) · MPAF, Deakin

Ms Anne Tran

Practice Manager

BCom (Accounting), Macquarie

A case in point

When the ATO and the Office of State Revenue both opened audits, the response had to be comprehensive, correct, and cost-effective.

Sri assisted us to manage our dealings with the Australian Taxation Office and NSW Office of State Revenue in relation to audits they had initiated of our two colleges. Sri most competently oversaw the work required, providing comprehensive, appropriate and timely responses to both authorities. He also ensured that work was carried out in a manner that was cost-effective to us.

Ms Neda Morris

Principal Executive Officer, Director · Caprock International Pty Ltd

Sri has taken care of the tax work for our company, Quikstar Pty Ltd, for several years. He has always generously given us his time to address any concerns and has always advised us of what we should do; mindful of what is best for us. We have always had complete confidence of his professional competence and reliability and would highly recommend his services to any company.

Ms Anne Truong

Quikstar Pty Ltd

His published record
  • Tax reform for the best and fairest” · Australian Financial Review · 2008
  • High Court gets it right on GST” · Australian Financial Review · 2008
  • There's a different way to view takeover concerns” · Australian Financial Review · 2007
How it works

One principal. On your file, start to finish.

01

You speak with the principal.

Not an account manager, and not a rotating cast. From the first conversation, you deal with Dr Sridaran.

02

The position is modelled before you commit.

The tax consequences of a sale or restructure are worked out in advance, as the courts would read them, with no surprises after you sign.

03

He stays on the file.

The team prepares the work; he signs off on all of it. Even compliance-only clients receive senior time on the strategic issues each year.

The promise

You hired the expert. You should get the expert.

Elsewhere, a partner wins the work and a junior does it. Here, Dr Sridaran reviews the quality on every engagement himself. That is the whole point of a boutique. The person whose name is on the door is the person on your file.

A considered move, played slowly and deliberately.