Bartons has a long history of servicing medical practitioners, in South Australia, interstate and overseas. We understand doctors require specialised financial services from advisors who really understand medical practice.
Bartons has identified a need for clients across a number of areas which include:
Clients come from the full range of specialties including, but not limited to:
Physicians -
Surgeons -
General Practice-
Over many years, we have built up trusted relationships with the several hundred medical practitioners in our client base. We know our clients generally are time poor, and they rely on us to be proactive and provide a wide range of solutions to their needs. Some clients have told us our services are similar to those of a private banker, although wider in scope.
Bartons preferred approach is to assign a senior service team to you, comprising a director of each of the accounting and financial planning divisions, together with a qualified senior assistant advisor to each. We work closely together to ensure proper, integrated financial services are delivered. Our range of services to doctors includes:
Practice Services
We look after the full range of practice structures, from large multidisciplinary practices to solo practitioners and salaried medical officers. Services include:
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Practice structuring – ownership, shareholder agreements, contractual advice, admission and retirement of participants |
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Service Trusts |
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Tax effective practice financing |
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Medical book keeping |
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Medical remuneration |
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Financial reporting models and templates |
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Medical Corporatisation |
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Practice sales, acquisitions and mergers |
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Flexible practice real estate ownership structures |
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Taxation and financial reporting services |
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Practice Management mentoring and assistance |
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Valuation services |
Personal Services
Medical practitioners often suffer from working with sub optimal structural and financial arrangements.
We review client arrangements to ensure the following key areas are in hand:
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Ownership and financing of practice, investment and personal assets (especially the family home) |
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Estate planning, including asset protection, wills and testamentary trusts (in conjunction with preferred specialist lawyers) |
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Risk management advice to ensure family priorities are not compromised in the event of incapacity of the breadwinner(s) – ie debt management, education and lifestyle funding, practice continuity, intergenerational wealth transfer etc |
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Taxation structures and optimisation |
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Salary packaging for public and private sector salaried medical officers |
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Specialist financing |
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Superannuation & Retirement planning |
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Investment advice |
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Dual professional couple client issues |
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Divorce, separation, child maintenance funding and negotiations |
Expatriate & Overseas Trained Medical Practitioners
Medical practitioners, whether inward or outward bound from Australia have a raft of professional, personal and cultural issues to deal with as a result of their relocation. In addition, there are some important financial considerations that should be dealt with from the outset to avoid problems emerging later. We assist our clients navigate the key issues in a timely fashion.
For inward bound doctors, including overseas trained doctors (OTD’s), some of the likely issues will be:
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Australian taxation status of assets remaining overseas |
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Maximising tax effective relocation allowances received, if any |
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Establishment of tax file numbers (TFN’s), Australian Business Number (ABN) and other relevant business registrations, as appropriate |
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Gaining an understanding of our relatively complex tax system |
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Establishing relationships quickly with banks to secure access to funding as required |
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Remuneration advice, including salary packaging |
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Pension transfer arrangements |
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Review estate planning, insurance arrangements |
For doctors leaving the country, the issues will vary according to the planned duration of absence, and whether you are an Australian national departing, or overseas national returning home. Common areas of concern include:
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Determination of taxation residency in Australia during absence |
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General understanding of tax issues in the destination jurisdiction |
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Planning the finances for commitments in both countries |
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Renting out the family home |
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Long term retention of assets and investments in Australia – tax and funding |
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Health and other personal insurance review |
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Pension transfer / encashment issues during and at termination of assignment |
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Estate planning review, including wills, power of attorney, guardianship |
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