Sweet Success: 4 Years of Unknown Accounts - Fully Reconciled

That calls for a croquembouche.

Sweet Success 

Here at QBB we work with a diverse range of businesses, and one of them is a French patisserie. After reconciling some complex issues within the entity, the co-owner and Maître pâtissier gifted me a croquembouche - a famous French dessert. A croquembouche is traditionally shared at weddings and other significant events, built from a shortbread base, layers of choux pastry filled with pastry cream, and held together with caramel. To-die-for!  

Immediately I knew I could not indulge in this tower of mouthwatering deliciousness alone, so I asked if delivery could coincide with our QiBalance Bookkeeping (QBB) Training Day. Thankfully I could rally the team to support me - after all, we had worked on the accounts together, so it seemed only natural to celebrate together. 

The Backlog 

When we began working with the patisserie, there were several issues to resolve, the most urgent being the lodgement of four income tax returns from FY2022 to FY2025. After identifying the accountant best suited to their needs, we held a meeting to agree on the most efficient way forward. 

The first financial year was slow and steady, as QBB had not prepared the accounts. We were careful to sift through a large data set to ensure GST was recorded and reported to the ATO correctly. Next, we reconciled all payroll control accounts to ensure employee wages and superannuation had been reported and paid in full. 

At QiBalance, this is exactly what we do - we help 7-figure businesses gain clarity over their finances, increase profit, and create more time to focus on growth. But before you can look forward to that growth, you have to ensure the foundation behind you is completely solid.

The Reconciliation 

The accounting team were happy with our first submission and advised that, provided the bank accounts are reconciled, they would proceed with subsequent years. Bank reconciliation is always first on the checklist, as bank statements are a legal document - getting this right creates the foundation, the backbone, of true and correct accounts. 

Even though QBB had not done the work in Xero from 1 July 2021 to 30 June 2025, I could not allow this work to go through to the keeper without knowing that the GST, PAYGW, payroll and superannuation had been reported and paid correctly. I have made a commitment to uphold true and correct reporting with the Tax Practitioners Board, and I am not about to let this work be handed over to the accountant without it first being vetted by the QBB team. 

It is a fine line between knowing accounts are reconciled and practising cost-effective bookkeeping, especially when reviewing another professional's work. After completing the first accountant handover pack, we were able to offer a reduced cost to our client for the following three years - this was deeply satisfying, and worthy of celebrating. 

Cue the croquembouche… 

The Celebration 

The French word croquembouche means "crunch in the mouth," and this was my first time trying one. I prefer savoury over sweet food, so I approached this mountain of sugar with trepidation - and was pleasantly surprised. The choux pastry isn't sweet, and neither is the creamy custard. The caramel was sweet, but it had a burnt-butter bitterness that appealed to my fickle palate. 

As the QBB team savoured the many layers, the response to the flavours was as varied and diverse as the team's skill set and experience. Some didn't like the toffee at all; others wanted more of the shortbread. But one thing was certain - we all loved the pastry cream. It's scrumdiddlyumptious! 

A Common Thread 

The diversity in our team, and in our clients, has a common thread: we are all interested in growth - not only in profit, but in knowledge, experience, confidence and, ultimately, self-realisation. That would be an even sweeter success. 

Training Day was focused on growing our knowledge and thanks to the Patisserie we could grow our culinary experience too. 

Merci et santé!