Include non-tax debts in the ATO winding-up advice pack
The applicant is the ATO, but the company has other debts
An ATO winding-up application focuses attention on the tax account. Your advisers also need a complete picture of the company's other obligations. Prepare the supplier, employee, finance and other relevant records alongside the tax information. Do not assume that a proposal addressing the applicant's balance answers every question about the company's financial position or the appropriate response to the proceeding.
Build the non-tax schedule from evidence
Imagine a distribution company concentrating on its tax proposal while rent and supplier accounts are also overdue. Identify each creditor, outstanding amount and actual due date. Include relevant commitments not captured by the latest payable report, with the accountant's help. Keep disputed amounts clearly labelled rather than excluding them because management expects to negotiate them away.
Give the adviser the full payment problem
ASIC advises directors to seek qualified advice where insolvency is suspected and explains that insolvency concerns the ability to pay debts when due. That assessment is broader than one creditor's demand. Provide the non-tax schedule and supporting records to the accountant and lawyer handling the application so their advice is based on the whole position rather than a tax-only snapshot.
Show arrangements as they actually stand
Record accepted payment arrangements separately from requests still under discussion. In the distribution example, a supplier may have agreed additional time while the landlord has not. Retain the relevant correspondence. Do not replace every original due date with a convenient forecast date and imply that all creditors have consented to postponement simply because the company needs time to address the ATO.
Explain omissions and recent changes
Ask the accountant about accruals, unprocessed invoices and known obligations that may not appear in a current ledger extract. Keep the scope of the information clear. If a large bill arrives after the advice pack is prepared, tell the advisers promptly. Avoid describing the schedule as complete while knowing that significant items are still being reconciled or held outside the system.
Use the schedule for informed instructions
Let the qualified advisers assess the financial and court implications and explain the available steps. Keep hearing and response requirements under their direction while the records are assembled. A complete obligation schedule helps management understand what remains after any proposed tax payment, rather than treating the ATO application as an isolated account problem with no connection to the rest of the business.