Business health check and legal audit lawyers
No matter how large or small your business, addressing its legal health is essential. The risk of not doing so is too serious to ignore. Stacks helps you ensure your business is fully compliant with all legal regulations and requirements.
It goes without saying that prevention is better than cure. You have regular checkups with your doctor to detect and diagnose issues with your personal health. It is just as important for you financially to have a regular business health check to assess the legal health of your business.
The day to day demands of your business can leave you with little time or energy to consider whether your underlying business structures are sound. A business health check is designed to diagnose, treat and avoid potential legal problems for you and your business.
A legal audit is, quite simply, good business. The costs of conducting a business health check are insignificant compared to the potential costs to your business of litigation, or running foul of government regulatory authorities. It’s a bit like paying your health insurance premium – if you become ill, it might be the best money you ever spend!
If you’re due for a business health check, Stacks Law Firm can conduct a full assessment of the legal health of your business, and "prescribe" any remedies that may be required.
A business health check can assist you to
- Minimise the risks associated with your business, such as by identifying any areas of legal non-compliance and thereby avoiding potential liability issues
- Add value to your business
- Build within your business a culture of compliance, helping to avoid the disruption and costs involved in legal proceedings
Stages involved in a legal health check up
There are three stages to a legal health check up:
- Stage One requires you to complete a questionnaire with us to determine the goals and scope of your audit
- Stage Two involves analysing your response to identify documents and other information that need to be obtained and reviewed
- Stage Three involves reviewing the documents and information to produce an audit report that:
- Sets out the legal health of your business
- Identifies areas that need attention
- Recommends action steps you can take to minimise risk and add value to your business
You can then decide what steps you want to implement with the assistance of the members of the legal health check up team.
Issues addressed by a legal health check up
- Is the structure of your business effective for taxation and estate planning purposes?
- Are your assets and your family’s assets (such as your home) protected from the risks associated with your business?
- Have you identified all relevant government regulatory requirements and does your business comply?
- Do the contracts your business routinely enters into (such as contracts with suppliers and customers/clients) adequately protect your business?
- Do your invoices contain words that increase the likelihood of you being paid if your customer becomes insolvent?
- Is the relationship between your business and its employees properly documented and compliant with statutory requirements (such as the Fair Work Act)?
- Is your business lawfully entitled to occupy and conduct business from the premises that it owns or leases?
- Is your business’ intellectual property (such as business names, trademarks, patents, website contents and your business ideas and processes) properly protected?
- Does your business comply with its legal obligations to financiers?
- Does your business have adequate and appropriate insurance?
- Is there current or threatened litigation against your business and is it being properly managed?
- Does your business have properly documented strategies to deal with the death, disability or retirement of you and other key personnel?
Need a legal health check up for your business? Call us today
