6 worked Trial Balance Cleanup for Audit case studies — the position a client typically comes to us with, what we do, and what it is worth. Each is an illustrative example built on the rules that apply to trial balance cleanup for audit work, not a specific client's file.
Case Study 1 · Deadline rescue
3-Week Turnaround Beat The Deadline And Saved $133,000 — Subscription Box Retailer, Guelph
The situation — A subscription box retailer, Guelph, Ontario
With the deadline for trial balance cleanup for audit weeks away, a subscription box retailer in Guelph, Ontario was carrying a receivables list that included invoices collected eleven months earlier. The exposure if the date slipped was around $133,000.
What we did for A subscription box retailer, Guelph, Ontario
We rebuilt sales from the processor settlement reports so gross sales, fees and refunds each landed in an account of their own. The filing went in complete rather than provisional, so there was no amended return to follow.
The result — A subscription box retailer, Guelph, Ontario
Filed with 8 days to spare. $133,000 in late-filing penalties avoided, and the working papers are ready for the following year.
Case Study 2 · Missed incentive claimed
$56,000 Credit Claim Filed And Accepted Without Adjustment — Home-Renovation Contractor, Burnaby
Client: A home-renovation contractor · Where: Burnaby, British Columbia · Engagement: 6 weeks, fixed fee
Claim value$56,000
AcceptedWithout adjustment
RepeatableAnnually
The situation — A home-renovation contractor, Burnaby, British Columbia
A home-renovation contractor in Burnaby, British Columbia assumed the credits did not apply to a business its size. Sales recorded from bank deposits, so processor fees, chargebacks and refunds appeared nowhere in the ledger meant they had applied all along.
What we did for A home-renovation contractor, Burnaby, British Columbia
We identified the qualifying activity, built the documentation to support it, and cleared the payroll and sales tax clearing accounts every month and tied each remittance to the liability it settled.
The result — A home-renovation contractor, Burnaby, British Columbia
$56,000 recovered. Because the eligibility analysis is on file, the same claim can be repeated each year with a fraction of the effort.
Case Study 3 · Records and systems rebuilt
Books Rebuilt From Source, $8,500 In Unclaimed Input Tax Found — Mobile Pet-Grooming Company, Vancouver
Client: A mobile pet-grooming company · Where: Vancouver, British Columbia · Engagement: 3 weeks, fixed fee
Unclaimed tax found$8,500
Records rebuilt20 months
ProcessDocumented
The situation — A mobile pet-grooming company, Vancouver, British Columbia
A mobile pet-grooming company in Vancouver, British Columbia could not answer basic questions about its own numbers, because meals and entertainment coded at full cost with the input tax credit claimed on the whole amount sat between the bank statements and the ledger.
What we did for A mobile pet-grooming company, Vancouver, British Columbia
We separated the owner’s personal spending out of the corporate accounts and cleared the resulting shareholder loan properly, then documented the process so the work does not depend on any one person remembering how it was done.
The result — A mobile pet-grooming company, Vancouver, British Columbia
Records rebuilt and reconciled, $8,500 recovered in input tax credits that the old file could not support, and a documented monthly process now in place.
Case Study 4 · Sale and succession
Share Sale Restructured, $415,000 Less Tax On Closing — Seasonal Food-Truck Operator, Red Deer
Client: A food-truck operator running two seasonal units · Where: Red Deer, Alberta · Engagement: 10 weeks, fixed fee
Tax saved on closing$415,000
PriceAs agreed
Post-closing adjustmentsNone
The situation — A food-truck operator running two seasonal units, Red Deer, Alberta
A food-truck operator running two seasonal units in Red Deer, Alberta was preparing to sell. Due diligence surfaced retained cash well above what the business needed to operate, which would have reduced the price or killed the deal outright.
What we did for A food-truck operator running two seasonal units, Red Deer, Alberta
We cleaned up the historical file, recoded the meals and entertainment accounts to the statutory limit and reversed the over-claimed input tax credits before the next return went in, and prepared the due-diligence package the buyer's advisers actually asked for.
The result — A food-truck operator running two seasonal units, Red Deer, Alberta
The deal closed at the agreed price. $415,000 of tax was saved against the structure originally proposed, with no post-closing adjustment.
Case Study 5 · Cash and remittance control
$68,000 Of Working Capital Freed From The Tax Cycle — Small Law Practice, Winnipeg
Client: A small law practice · Where: Winnipeg, Manitoba · Engagement: 6 weeks, fixed fee
Working capital freed$68,000
On-time remittancesEvery period since
Forecast horizon13 weeks
The situation — A small law practice, Winnipeg, Manitoba
A small law practice in Winnipeg, Manitoba was profitable on paper and short of cash every month. Eighteen months of unreconciled transactions and a shoebox of receipts explained most of the gap.
What we did for A small law practice, Winnipeg, Manitoba
We rebuilt the ledger from bank and card statements, matched every receipt to a transaction, and removed duplicated input tax credits before they became a review and built a thirteen-week cash view so tax payments stopped competing with payroll for the same dollars.
The result — A small law practice, Winnipeg, Manitoba
$68,000 was released back into working capital. Remittances have been on time every period since, and the forecast shows the tax outflow before it lands.
Case Study 6 · Backlog brought current
Collections Halted And $93,000 Cut From A 7-Year Backlog — Dental Hygiene Clinic, Barrie
The situation — A dental hygiene clinic, Barrie, Ontario
By the time a dental hygiene clinic in Barrie, Ontario called, 7 years were outstanding and the CRA had assessed on estimates. Underneath it sat input tax credits claimed on receipts that had already been claimed once.
What we did for A dental hygiene clinic, Barrie, Ontario
We reconstructed the records year by year and reconciled receivables and payables to source documents and wrote off the balances that were genuinely uncollectible, with support. Each filing replaced an arbitrary assessment with a real one.
The result — A dental hygiene clinic, Barrie, Ontario
The account is current. Filing on real numbers rather than CRA estimates reduced the balance by $93,000, and a relief application addressed part of the accumulated interest.
Reviewed for the 2025 tax year by Udit Gupta, Founder and Tax Accountant. These case studies are illustrative worked examples composed from the CRA rules that apply to this type of work, not specific client files; figures are representative and outcomes depend on your own facts.
