L2 Business Writing Letter Writing INTRODUCTION: In your professional capacity as an accountant much of the business communication you engage in will involve the writing of business correspondence ie mainly letters and emails, but also memos, faxes, notes and sometimes reports. Every time you write some form of correspondence it must always be written in clear, concise English, with no errors either spelling or grammatical, in a well laid out fashion, and clearly state exactly your purpose for writing. You must spell check it as well as proof read it. Check that all details are correct to ensure that prior to forwarding any written material that it is of the highest standard. Remember it represents not only the firm, but also you the writer. As in verbal communication, many of the skills used in conversation can be applied to written communication, such as the need to ask the right questions and to use the right tone. All Students must note: you must be clear in what you wish to ask the other party both in spoken and in written English, particularly if you require follow-up actions with time sensitive material, for example tax return documentation. With everything you write in business you must identify the audience, ie who will be reading your message eg the boss, a working team, a client, a group of accountants? This will define the formality, your tone and aspects of the content you will send. WRITING EXERCISES It is the aim of the ARC PY Communications Lectures to encourage students to write clearly the first time so that their audience will respond exactly to what is requested within the time line stated in the correspondence. If you get into the habit of doing this right the first time, you will have the potential of conquering one of the most annoying and time consuming aspects of the accountancy world. Not being able to finish returns because some of the information is missing!!! Writing this particular correspondence in this manner will greatly increase your chances that you will receive back ALL that elusive information you need, in order to complete an incomplete aspect of a return. In this session we will be attempting some Letter Writing Exercises which will help you create professional accounting business letters. The first example provides a guide to the components of a typical accounting letter which is requesting information from the Client in order to help process their returns for compliance purposes.
COMPLIANCE LETTER EXAMPLE: Business letter requesting information (a)19 September 2013 (b)ms Janice Anderson Director J Anderson Pty Ltd P O Box 1898 COLLINGWOOD VIC 3066. Campbell Rose Accountants Pty Ltd A.B.N. 73 164 436 345 P O Box 316, CLIFTON HILL VIC 3068 321 Queens Parade, Fitzroy North VIC 3068 Tel: 9481 7234 Email: crose@campbellrose.com.au (c)dear Ms Anderson, (d)re: Tax Return for J Anderson Pty Ltd for year ended 30 June 2013 (e)we are pleased to advise that we are currently preparing the above entity s return for the current financial year, as per your instructions received last week, that were attached to your MYOB data file. (f)however, we wish to advise that we cannot continue as a number of items are missing. Would you kindly forward all of the items listed below and ensure that they reach our office no later than 26th September 2013: (g)j Anderson Pty Ltd bank statements from 1 November 2012 to 1 March 2013 Your insurance receipts for your rental property Mortgage repayments for your investment property from 1 August 2012 to 1October 2012 Any receipts detailing extra repair work undertaken on your investment property. (h)kindly forward all of the above to our office to reach us by 26th September 2013 otherwise we will not be able to complete your return and have it lodged on time. If this occurs you will receive a late lodgement penalty from the Australian Taxation Office of approx. $350 which of course we wish to avoid. (i)we look forward to receiving this material at your earliest convenience prior to that date and if you have any queries concerning the above kindly do not hesitate to contact us. Yours faithfully Colin Rose Account Manager Campbell Rose Accountants Pty Ltd
EXPLANATION OF COMPLIANCE LETTER EXAMPLE: This letter is designed to achieve a number of very important actions in the hope that it is understood by the recipient the first time and no further action by the accountant will be required. Para (d) the Subject advises the client immediately the topic of the letter. Para (e) acknowledges receipt of the client s instructions and material and advises that we have acted on her instructions by commencing her company s tax return. The really important sections of the correspondence are next: (f)however, we wish to advise that we cannot continue as a number of items are missing. Would you kindly forward all of the items listed below and ensure that they reach our office no later than 26th September 2013: Para (f) advises we cannot continue: why because items are missing; action forward ALL items listed to reach us no later than 26th September 2013. (g)j Anderson Pty Ltd bank statements from 1 November 2012 to 1 March 2013 Your insurance receipts for your rental property Mortgage repayments for your investment property from 1 August 2012 to 1October 2012 Any receipts detailing extra repair work undertaken on your investment property. Para (g) Lists ALL THE ITEMS REQUIRED TO FINISH THE RETURN - Use DOT Points for clarity (h)kindly forward all of the above to our office to reach us by 26th September 2013 otherwise we will not be able to complete your return and have it lodged on time. If this occurs you will receive a late lodgment penalty from the Australian Taxation Office of approx. $350 which of course we wish to avoid. Para (h) re-states the request that ALL items are to reach us prior to 26th September: REASON FOR THIS IS: 1. If we don t receive ALL items we will not be able to complete the return 2. If we don t receive ALL items by 26th September 2013 it will not give us enough time to complete the return in the time it takes us to do this work and therefore we will not be able to lodge the return on time 3. Late lodgement fees will be incurred 4. DISCLAIMER: It will not be our fault i.e. the accountant s fault, as we have forwarded a letter stating all the requirements and why and when we need them and if the client does not comply then the client will be liable not the accountant and the accountancy practice!!!! (i)we look forward to receiving this material at your earliest convenience prior to that date and if you have any queries concerning the above kindly do not hesitate to contact us. Para (i) once again a gentle reminder of forwarding all the material prior to the stipulated date and most importantly the letter is closed with an open ended invitation to contact the accounting firm if they have any queries concerning the contents of the letter.
1. LETTERS Letters are becoming increasingly rare in the business world due to the speed and ease of email communication. However, in formal professions, such as Accounting, they are still in high use. It is usually more formally written and structured, when compared to an email or even a memo. Letters are usually written to people and organizations/firms outside your own. These include: clients, ATO, ASIC, State Revenue Office, lawyers, barristers, professional bodies, other accountants and accountancy practices, government departments, suppliers and other companies. Organisations have usually evolved their own style of formatting and layouts which the various forms of their correspondence may take. They may even use templates for routine letters that are processed on a daily basis. When to use a business letter : the most appropriate times are: To say something in an official capacity To direct action When there is a need for a (formal) written record of the message. To request information To reply to an enquiry or provide information To inform someone of a decision or an outcome To make a request for action To persuade someone of something To make a complaint To respond to a complaint To accept or decline an invitation To explain why you cannot carry out a request As a cover note for something longer, such as a report (letter of transmittal).
EXAMPLE 1: Business letter providing information: 11 September 2013 CTS Industry Super Pty Ltd A.B.N. 73 164 436 345 P O Box 316 CLIFTON HILL VIC 3068 321 Queens Parade Fitzroy North VIC 3068 Tel: 9481 7234 Email: Accounts@CTS.com.au Ms Maria Phillips 135 Punt Road COLLINGWOOD VIC 3066. Dear Ms Phillips, Re: Confirmation of account details, member number 8947132 We are pleased to advise that your membership with CTS Industry Super Pty Ltd has been finalised and your account transferred from the LCJ Super to CTS Industry Super Pty Ltd. As a member of CTS Industry Super Pty Ltd you will continue to enjoy the same low-fee, highperformance service you have received under LCJ Super. Your account balance, transferred from LCJ Super, is as follows: Investment option Opening balance at 20 June 2012 Balanced fund $25,276.85 Insurance cover Nil Enclosed is a booklet containing information on insurance cover options, as you requested in our phone conversation yesterday. If you decide to include insurance cover, I will be happy to assist you with adjusting your policy accordingly. If you require any additional information, please ring or email at your earliest convenience. Yours faithfully Steven Brown Policy Services Officer CTS Industry Super Encl. Keeping Covered booklet.
FORMAT of Business Letters: EXAMPLE 1 There are eight basic components found in most business letters: Letterhead: All formal letters are written on an organisation s letterhead paper. Letterhead displays an organisation s details which may include: a logo, as well as its name, address (both Postal and Street), ABN or ACN, phone and fax numbers, web address, email address. The letterhead is usually found at the top of the page, but may be placed elsewhere eg bottom of the page for a particular design effect. Date: always spell it out in full: e.g. 16th December, 2014 or 16 December 2014. Usually placed one or two spaces down from the letter head on the left side of the page. Receiver s name title and organisation: name of the person, his/her position title (eg if you know it - Managing Director, Partner, CEO etc), the organisation/company name and address of the person to whom the letter is being sent. Postal Address: Correspondence will either be sent via mail or by courier. If by mail always use the firm s Post Office Box address in your letter, if it has one. In many organizations the street address is simply not appropriate eg a 40 storey building with hundreds of businesses housed therein makes it difficult to deliver the mail to its rightful owner. These companies will always have a post office box address. They will often put their street address in as well so that if people need to courier material or make face to face contact they can make an appointment and go to the street address. Salutation: The salutation is a courteous greeting used to begin every letter. The type of salutation you use depends on the formality of the letter, although in the accounting profession we tend to address everyone Dear Sir or Dear Madam as accountancy still is a very formal and relatively traditional profession. However, fashion changes even in Accountancy so be guided by and follow the standard routine set up by your current organisation. Subject Lines: Subject lines indicate the subject of the letter. They are also part of the relationship you establish with your reader. Sometimes writer s write Subject: or Re: (which means regarding ) but this is not necessary - it once again will depend on the convention used by your employer, just follow suit. Body: The body of the letter contains your message and answers questions you may have been asked. It essentially consists of: Commence with an acknowledgement of the other person s correspondence, if applicable, or an introductory statement explaining why you are writing. Are you responding to a letter or a phone call, or even a very detailed email or faxed material, for example? A statement of the purpose of your letter. For what purpose are you about to provide information? Or ask for information?
Supporting details elaborate, use one paragraph per supporting idea. Use bullet points for lists, for clarity. If you are requesting action, state your request clearly, unambiguously and politely. If you are informing or acknowledging, state the information or acknowledgement clearly and courteously. Sate what action you are going to take, or what action you wish to take. Conclusion and/or further action to be taken: Important paragraph as here you re-state the action you are requesting, giving a time line and also possibly stating (if applicable) that if ALL the material listed is not received by the due date at your office there can be no guarantee that the time sensitive item eg a tax return, ASIC letter can be lodged on time thus the client may incur late lodgement fees which are costly.
CLASS ACTIVITY 1: Please get into pairs and write a professional letter of approx one page concerning the situation described below. Write in full sentences watching your spelling and grammar. Situation: A highly valued client of your accounting firm has been sent three letters regarding his outstanding account for his taxation returns. He replied to each one of these letters that he had paid the account on time. However, your firm could not locate the payment and so sent him a letter of demand threatening him with legal action if he did not finalise his account in full within seven days. The next day after the letter of demand was sent, a junior accountant discovers the payment was made by the client on time but credited against the account of a similarly named client. Your firm has made a dreadful mistake. The client is absolutely furious it is your task to send a very delicate well written letter of sincerest apology, with a professional explanation of what occurred and persuasive terms in order to try to stop this long term highly valued client form leaving your practice. [40 minutes] Five will be randomly selected to be read out.
PREPARING ROUTINE LETTERS: Routine letters are written as part of everyday business practice. Because these types of letters are written frequently, many organizations may carry them as masters/templates. Masters/templates of different letters are stored on an organisation s computer system and reused with minor alterations to suit a particular situation. If you use a master/template letter, make sure that its wording is appropriate for the receiver and that the receiver has not already received the same letter. Your organisation will show you the type of master/template letter that is available and where you can locate them. Please read them very carefully for content and context prior to use. Once you have adapted a master/template letter for your purposes please read through it carefully to ensure you have taken out any redundancies so that this letter fits with the reason you are writing. Routine letters in Accountancy may be written as: Ethical letters Respond to a client s enquiries Inform clients about new services and products Forward client s Notice of Assessment re their income tax returns Confirm an agreement Ask for payment of late invoices Ask for information Thank or acknowledge someone. However not all routine letters are carried as masters/templates. Here are some strategies for writing effective routine business letters when required. Listed below are some effective strategies you can use to write a well-crafted business letter: Always begin with a positive message even if you are writing to give the receiver bad news Use the middle paragraphs to explain or give details After the explanation or details provide an alternative, if applicable The last paragraph will state what action you want the receiver to take Always endeavour to inspire goodwill Read the letter aloud to yourself to check you have the correct tone Edit, revise and proofread.
ETHICAL LETTERS: It is a time honoured ethical tradition that accountancy practices forward, receive and reply to ethical letters when, a client moves from one accountancy practice to another. NB Each practice will have its own style of ethical letter. For example: Ethical letter to old accountant: A new client has met with a new accountant. The new accountant prior to taking on this client forwards an ethical letter to the client s previous accountant. This is an example of an ethical letter sent by a newly appointed accountant to a previous accountant: [obtained from the CPA WEBSITE and is a good example of a routine letter master/template]: EXAMPLE 2: ETHICAL LETTER FROM NEW ACCOUNTANT TO OLD ACCOUNTANT: [Insert DD Month YYYY] Dear [Insert Previous Accountant s Name] Re: [Insert name of client] [Insert Previous Accountant s Name] [Insert Previous Accountant s Position] [Insert Company Name] [Insert Address] [Suburb State Post Code] We have been requested by the above-named to: [Select one of the following] act as accountant and tax agent provide assistance with [insert reason for engagement] provide advice with respect to [insert reason for engagement] Please advise if there are any professional or ethical reasons why we should not accept this appointment. On the basis that there are no such reasons, would you make all client records available for collection, advising when they are ready, and provide a copy of any relevant information per the attached listing. It would also be appreciated if you left the relevant [entity/entities] on your lodgement program for the time being, to allow time for the relevant notification to be lodged with the Australian Taxation Office. Thank you in anticipation of your early reply - your assistance is most appreciated. Yours faithfully [Insert Name and Title]
EXAMPLE 3: Response from previous accountant to ethical letter: [Insert DD Month YYYY] [Insert New Accountant s Name] [Insert New Accountant s Position] [Insert Company Name] [Insert Address] [Suburb State Post Code] Dear [Insert New Accountant s Name] Re: [insert client name] We have no objections to you completing the taxation and accounting requirements for the above named entity. There are no ethical reasons for you not to take this appointment. If you require any further information please do not hesitate to contact our office on [insert telephone number]. Yours faithfully [Insert Name and Title] Encl.
OTHER ROUTINE LETTERS IN ACCOUNTANCY Accountants also have to deal with annual activities that relate to ASIC etc. These can be dealt with via routine letter templates/masters that are available on the CPA website. A selection have been downloaded below as examples of what to expect: EXAMPLE 4: ASIC Annual Company Statement for Companies & Minutes [Insert DD Month YYYY] Dear [Insert Salutation] [Insert Client Name] [Insert Client Position] [Insert Company Name] [Insert Address] [Suburb State Post Code] Re: ASIC Annual Company Statement for [insert Company Name] We hereby attach the company statement for [insert company name] issued by the Australian Securities & Investment Commission, as well as a Solvency Statement that is required to be signed by the directors of the company declaring that the company can pay their debts in full and when due. I have checked through the statement and confirm that all details recorded match with the company details that we have on record. Can you please now review the Statement and if you are satisfied that it is correct, arrange for direct payment to the ASIC? Please arrange for the Solvency Statement to be signed by the Chairperson and the Company Statement and Solvency Statement to be filed in the Company Register. If we have the Company Register, please return the Company Statement and Solvency Statement to our office for filing. If there are to be changes made, can you please contact our office so that the necessary forms can be lodged with the ASIC? If you wish to undertake any changes yourself, please contact the ASIC on [insert ASIC phone number] and send us a copy of the updated details so that we can update our records accordingly. Please note that any changes made outside of the required lodgement period will attract automatic late lodgement fees. In regards to the $[insert lodgement fee amount] lodgement fee, this can be paid via Bpay, Internet, mail or at Australia Post. Please note that you only have 2 months from the Review Date in which to pay the lodgement fee so please ensure this is done on time to avoid automatic late payment penalties. If you have further queries on any details contained in this letter or on any other matter, please do not hesitate to contact us on [insert telephone number]. Yours faithfully Insert Name and Title Encl Company Statement
EXAMPLE 5: Standard letter template re ASIC LATE PAYMENT FEES: This letter template can be used any time this situation occurs. (CPA WEBSITE) [Insert DD Month YYYY] [Insert Client Name] [Insert Client Position] [Insert Company Name] [Insert Address] [Suburb State Post Code] Dear [Insert Client Name] Re: ASIC Late Payment Fee The Australian Securities & Investment Commission has issued the attached notice in relation to the non-payment of your Company Statement which we have previously sent to you. As the fee was not paid by the due date, the ASIC have now imposed an automatic late fee, bringing the total payable up to $[insert new total fee amount, usually $277]. Can you please ensure that you pay this amount ASAP, as the next step the ASIC will impose is an additional fee of $[insert additional late payment fee, usually an additional $205]. If you have further queries on any details contained in this letter or on any other matter, please do not hesitate to contact us on [insert telephone number]. Yours faithfully [Insert Name and Title].
CLASS ACTIVITY 2 and 3 Students please write a maximum of one page only for each of these Activities. Think clearly, be precise and straight to the point. Remember write always in full sentences, watching your spelling and grammar. ACTIVITY 2: Mrs Beatrice Klugerman [address: Unit 157, 316 Queens Parade, Fitzroy North, Vic. 3068] is a new taxation client to your practice. You have been allocated her file. She has rung the practice to tell you that she would like to transfer from her current accountant to your firm. She would like to know what services you are offering, what benefits she may gain by transferring to your firm and your pricing structure. Kindly write her a formal letter covering the above queries. You will need to think through these carefully. Obviously I have not given you any details of your firm s organisational or charging policies because I want to see how you can think creatively and provide a creative solution. Layout and attention to detail is very important. ACTIVITY 3: Please write an ethical letter to Mr Joel Macintosh, BMA Accountants Pty Ltd, PO Box 338, Clifton Hill Vic 3068 regarding Mrs Beatrice Klugerman transferring to your practice. Her taxation returns consist of Mrs Beatrice Klugerman individual, BK Nominees Pty Ltd her company, and BK Superannuation Fund. Do not just copy the proforma from this lesson I want you to put it into similar terms which are your own terms to the best of your ability. Some areas will be similar if not the same as the proforma but once again show your creativity and initiative. Layout and attention to detail is very important.