--- title: "ISSUE #71 - WILL YOUR BUSINESS BE AUDITED?" description: "Will your business be audited?\nHow the ATO identifies audit targets\n\nThe ATO is very upfront when it comes to their compliance activity. Every year they publish small business benchmarks that outline what a typical business ‘looks like’ in different industries. If your business falls outside of those benchmarks, the ATO is likely to take a closer look at why that is.\nFalling outside of the benchmarks might not indicate a tax related problem. It might mean that your business has a different business model to the norm or is performing poorly relative to others in the industry. If your business does fall outside of the benchmark however, it is important to ensure that the reasons why can be clearly articulated (preferably documented) and the reason for those differences is not tax evasion. If there is no proof as to why the business is outside of the benchmarks, the ATO is likely to simply apply the benchmark ratio and issue a revised tax assessment.\nThe ATO look at:\n·      cost of sales to turnover (excluding labour)\n·      total expenses to turnover\n·      rent to turnover\n·      labour to turnover\n·      motor vehicle expenses to turnover\n·      non-capital purchases to total sales, and\n·      GST-free sales to total sales.\nFor example, for a pharmacy business with a turnover of > $3.5M, the cost of sales to turnover ratio is expected to be between 64% and 69% (averaging at 66.5%), average cost of sales at 67% and average total expenses to turnover ratio is expected to be between 91 and 95%.\nThe benchmarks are also a useful tool for anyone wanting to understand what is typical in their industry and how they perform against the average. It might also indicate opportunities for improvement and where the business is falling behind its competitors.\nQuote of the month\n"The only way to do great work is to love what you do. If you haven’t found it yet, keep looking. As with all matters of the heart, you’ll know when you find it."\nSteve Jobs, co-founder of Apple Inc\" />" image: https://content.koustas.com.au/hubfs/14.c24c19.jpg --- [![Koustas](https://content.koustas.com.au/hubfs/Koustas_April2018/image/logo.svg)](https://koustas.com.au/) - [+613 8530 1600](tel:+613%208530%201600) - - - - - [Home](https://koustas.com.au/) - [About Us](https://koustas.com.au/about-us/our-mission-purpose-values.html) - [Our Mission, Purpose & Values](https://koustas.com.au/about-us/our-mission-purpose-values.html) - [Service Standards](https://koustas.com.au/about-us/service-standards.html) - [Careers](https://koustas.com.au/about-us/careers.html) - [Case Studies and Testimonials](https://koustas.com.au/about-us/case-studies.html) - [Awards](https://koustas.com.au/about-us/awards.html) - [Our Services](https://koustas.com.au/our-services.html) - [Accountants for Business](https://koustas.com.au/our-services/accounting-for-business.html) - [Accountants for high net worth Individuals](https://koustas.com.au/our-services/accountants-for-high-net-worth-individuals.html) - [Accountants for SMSF](https://koustas.com.au/our-services/accountants-for-smsf.html) - [Industries](https://koustas.com.au/our-services/accounting-for-business.html) - [Construction & Engineering](http://koustas.com.au/our-services/accounting-for-business/details/1/accountants-for-the-construction-engineering-industries.html) - [Retail & Wholesale](http://koustas.com.au/our-services/accounting-for-business/details/3/accountants-for-the-retail-wholesale-industry.html) - [International Business](http://koustas.com.au/our-services/accounting-for-business/details/4/accountants-for-international-business.html) - [Manufacturing](http://koustas.com.au/our-services/accounting-for-business/details/5/accountants-for-the-manufacturing-industry.html) - [Professional Services](http://koustas.com.au/our-services/accounting-for-business/details/6/accountants-for-the-professional-services-industry.html) - [Marketing & Creative](http://koustas.com.au/our-services/accounting-for-business/details/7/accountants-for-the-marketing-multimedia-online-creative-industries.html) - [Our People](https://koustas.com.au/our-people.html) - [Client Resources](https://content.koustas.com.au/blog) - [The Koustas Oracle](https://content.koustas.com.au/blog) - [Client Portal Login](https://koustas.com.au/client-resources/client-portal-login.html) - [Trust Assessments](https://koustas.com.au/client-resources/trust-assessments.html) - [Contact](https://koustas.com.au/contact.html) - [Home](https://koustas.com.au/) - [About Us](https://koustas.com.au/about-us/our-mission-purpose-values.html) - [Our Mission, Purpose & Values](https://koustas.com.au/about-us/our-mission-purpose-values.html) - [Service Standards](https://koustas.com.au/about-us/service-standards.html) - [Careers](https://koustas.com.au/about-us/careers.html) - [Case Studies and Testimonials](https://koustas.com.au/about-us/case-studies.html) - [Awards](https://koustas.com.au/about-us/awards.html) - [Our Services](https://koustas.com.au/our-services.html) - [Accountants for Business](https://koustas.com.au/our-services/accounting-for-business.html) - [Accountants for high net worth Individuals](https://koustas.com.au/our-services/accountants-for-high-net-worth-individuals.html) - [Accountants for SMSF](https://koustas.com.au/our-services/accountants-for-smsf.html) - [Industries](https://koustas.com.au/our-services/accounting-for-business.html) - [Construction & Engineering](http://koustas.com.au/our-services/accounting-for-business/details/1/accountants-for-the-construction-engineering-industries.html) - [Retail & Wholesale](http://koustas.com.au/our-services/accounting-for-business/details/3/accountants-for-the-retail-wholesale-industry.html) - [International Business](http://koustas.com.au/our-services/accounting-for-business/details/4/accountants-for-international-business.html) - [Manufacturing](http://koustas.com.au/our-services/accounting-for-business/details/5/accountants-for-the-manufacturing-industry.html) - [Professional Services](http://koustas.com.au/our-services/accounting-for-business/details/6/accountants-for-the-professional-services-industry.html) - [Marketing & Creative](http://koustas.com.au/our-services/accounting-for-business/details/7/accountants-for-the-marketing-multimedia-online-creative-industries.html) - [Our People](https://koustas.com.au/our-people.html) - [Client Resources](https://content.koustas.com.au/blog) - [The Koustas Oracle](https://content.koustas.com.au/blog) - [Client Portal Login](https://koustas.com.au/client-resources/client-portal-login.html) - [Trust Assessments](https://koustas.com.au/client-resources/trust-assessments.html) - [Contact](https://koustas.com.au/contact.html) - [Client Resources](https://content.koustas.com.au/blog) - The Koustas ORAcle # ISSUE #71 - WILL YOUR BUSINESS BE AUDITED? ![14.c24c19](https://content.koustas.com.au/hs-fs/hubfs/14.c24c19.jpg?width=960&height=420&name=14.c24c19.jpg)     **Will your business be audited? ** ## How the ATO identifies audit targets   **The ATO is very upfront when it comes to their compliance activity.** Every year they publish small business benchmarks that outline what a typical business ‘looks like’ in different industries. If your business falls outside of those benchmarks, the ATO is likely to take a closer look at why that is. Falling outside of the benchmarks might not indicate a tax related problem. It might mean that your business has a different business model to the norm or is performing poorly relative to others in the industry. If your business does fall outside of the benchmark however, it is important to ensure that the reasons why can be clearly articulated (preferably documented) and the reason for those differences is not tax evasion. If there is no proof as to why the business is outside of the benchmarks, the ATO is likely to simply apply the benchmark ratio and issue a revised tax assessment. The ATO look at: ·      cost of sales to turnover (excluding labour) ·      total expenses to turnover ·      rent to turnover ·      labour to turnover ·      motor vehicle expenses to turnover ·      non-capital purchases to total sales, and ·      GST-free sales to total sales. For example, for a pharmacy business with a turnover of > $3.5M, the cost of sales to turnover ratio is expected to be between 64% and 69% (averaging at 66.5%), average cost of sales at 67% and average total expenses to turnover ratio is expected to be between 91 and 95%. The benchmarks are also a useful tool for anyone wanting to understand what is typical in their industry and how they perform against the average. It might also indicate opportunities for improvement and where the business is falling behind its competitors. # Quote of the month "The only way to do great work is to love what you do. If you haven’t found it yet, keep looking. As with all matters of the heart, you’ll know when you find it." *Steve Jobs, co-founder of Apple Inc* --- [Back to The Koustas ORAcle](https://content.koustas.com.au/blog) You can find us on: [![Koustas](https://content.koustas.com.au/hubfs/Koustas_April2018/image/logo.svg)](https://koustas.com.au/) L9 636 St Kilda Road, Melbourne VIC 3004 PO Box 6750, St Kilda Road Central VIC 3004 [+613 8530 1600](tel:+613%208530%201600) [+613 8530 1616](https://content.koustas.com.au/blog/issue-71-will-your-business-be-audited#+613%208530%201616) - Quick Navigation - [Home](https://koustas.com.au/) - [About Us](https://koustas.com.au/about-us/our-mission-purpose-values.html) - [Our Services](https://koustas.com.au/our-services.html) - [Industries](https://koustas.com.au/our-services/accounting-for-business.html) - [Our People](https://koustas.com.au/our-people.html) - [Client Resources](https://koustas.com.au/client-resources/the-koustas-oracle.html) - [Contact](https://koustas.com.au/contact.html) ### Our Accreditations [![Chartered Accountants](https://content.koustas.com.au/hubfs/Koustas_April2018/image/chartered-accountants.png)](http://www.charteredaccountants.com.au/) [![Tax Institute](https://content.koustas.com.au/hubfs/Koustas_April2018/image/the-tax-institute.png)](http://www.taxinstitute.com.au/) [![Self Managed](https://content.koustas.com.au/hubfs/Koustas_April2018/image/self-managed-super-fund-association.png)](http://www.smsfassociation.com/) [![Australian Institute](https://content.koustas.com.au/hubfs/Koustas_April2018/image/australian-institute-of-company-directors.png)](http://aicd.companydirectors.com.au/) [![xero](https://content.koustas.com.au/hubfs/Koustas_April2018/image/xero-partner.png)](https://www.xero.com/au/) ### Newsletter + The Koustas Oracle Liability limited by a scheme approved under Professional Standards Legislation Copyright © 2018 Koustas+Co. 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