For companies that want tax certainty: lawful optimisation of the position, opinions on specific matters, compliance and qualified assistance during a tax audit — in an ongoing or one-off relationship.
A company does not end up in a tax file overnight. It gets there through the accumulation of decisions taken without first checking the tax implications — a wrongly structured transaction, an insufficiently documented invoice, a risky classification repeated year after year.
Good tax advice intervenes precisely at this point: before the decision becomes irreversible. A tax treatment checked in advance, an operation correctly structured from the outset and documentation built to withstand an audit are worth far more — and cost far less — than the best defence in litigation that could have been avoided.
For companies that frequently take decisions with tax implications, an ongoing advisory relationship offers something a one-off intervention cannot: an adviser who already knows the business, its history and its risk appetite, and who can be consulted quickly before each important decision.
A retainer-type relationship: a tax adviser at the company's disposal for current decisions, with a fast response and knowledge of the business context. Ideal for firms with complex or growing activity.
A documented analysis of a specific matter — the tax treatment of an operation, a transaction or a structure, before implementing it. A written opinion you can rely on.
Presence and strategy during the audit: what is communicated, what is documented, how the taxpayer's position is formulated and how an audit is prevented from turning into litigation.
Assessment of the company's tax risk — an audit of the sensitive areas — and their correction before they become a problem with financial and, sometimes, criminal consequences.
How a tax audit unfolds depends, to a large extent, on the first decisions. Which documents you present, what explanations you give, how you formulate your position — all influence the final outcome, and some mistakes made at this stage are hard to repair later.
It is a retainer-type collaboration through which the company has access to tax advice for current decisions, without negotiating a separate fee each time. In practice, before a decision with tax implications, you can ask quickly and receive a documented answer.
The major advantage is that, over time, the adviser comes to know the business in depth — its history, structure and risk appetite — and can anticipate problems before they arise.
Lawful tax optimisation — using the means provided by law to reduce the tax burden — is perfectly legitimate and part of good management. It must be clearly distinguished from evasion, which involves concealing or falsifying reality.
The line between the two is sometimes thinner than it seems, and this is where competent advice proves its value: structuring operations so that the tax advantage is a lawful one, supported by a verifiable economic reality.
Before you start preparing documents or giving explanations, it is useful to discuss with a specialist what the audit targets and how to prepare. An audit well managed from the first moment has significantly greater chances of ending favourably.
Yes, especially preventively. Small firms are frequently the most exposed, because they take tax decisions without prior checking and without specialist internal resources. A one-off consultation before an important decision costs little and can prevent a disproportionately large problem.
A first conversation establishes where the risks are and what form of collaboration — ongoing or one-off — suits your company.