Accountant Melbourne CBD | Small Business Tax & Advisory
Accountant Melbourne CBD
Strategic tax and business advisory for CBD professionals and business owners
The Melbourne CBD is home to thousands of high-performing professionals and small business operators who need more than compliance — they need strategic financial advice at a senior level. Pinnacle Accounting & Advisory works with CBD-based consultants, professional services firms, company directors and corporate SMEs who want an accountant that understands complex structures, communicates at their level, and helps them build genuine wealth alongside a demanding business.
Serving Melbourne CBD Business Owners & Professionals
Collins Street, Bourke Street, Southbank, Docklands — Melbourne’s CBD and inner-city precincts are home to some of the country’s most driven small business operators. Lawyers running their own practice. Management consultants billing through their own company. Financial advisers building their own client base. Architects, engineers, creative directors and technology specialists who have packaged their expertise into a business that competes at the highest level. These are smart, capable people with demanding financial situations — and they deserve an accountant who can match their pace and deliver advice at their level.
Pinnacle Accounting & Advisory works with CBD-based professionals and business owners who are tired of generic, once-a-year accounting. We operate entirely remotely via video call and cloud accounting platforms — so you never need to fight CBD traffic or block out half your day for a meeting. You get direct access to Mina Baselyous, CPA and Chartered Tax Advisor, who will engage with the complexity of your situation rather than referring it down to a junior or outsourcing it offshore. The Melbourne CBD is part of our broader Melbourne accounting practice serving businesses across inner Melbourne and the wider metropolitan area.
The Complexity Is in the Detail
CBD professionals often deal with financial complexity that basic compliance simply doesn’t address — Division 7A loans and Unpaid Present Entitlements, income splitting across family trust structures, investment portfolios held alongside operating businesses, international clients or income, complex employment and contractor arrangements, and company director tax obligations that span multiple entities. These situations need an accountant who has seen them before and knows exactly what to do.
Mina Baselyous holds both CPA and Chartered Tax Advisor designations — a combination of qualifications that is rare in the market and that translates directly into sharper advice, fewer ATO surprises and a more sophisticated tax strategy for high-performing CBD professionals.
Our Services for Melbourne CBD Businesses
From high-income sole traders consulting through a company to professional practices with multiple partners and complex structures, here’s what CBD clients engage us for most.
Tax Planning & Strategy
Proactive, sophisticated tax planning for high-income professionals and business owners. We look at your income profile, entity structure and personal circumstances and build a strategy that legally reduces your tax burden — not just at year end, but throughout the year when the meaningful decisions happen.
Business Structuring
For CBD professionals, the right structure often involves a company, a family discretionary trust and potentially a holding entity — all working together to protect assets, distribute income and minimise tax. We design and implement the right setup for your specific situation, risk profile and long-term goals.
Virtual CFO Services
For growing CBD professional practices and corporate SMEs that need regular financial oversight without a full-time hire. Monthly reviews, management accounts, KPI dashboards, cash flow forecasting and strategic input delivered at a senior level — remotely, efficiently and on your schedule.
Bookkeeping & Management Accounting
Clean, current accounts that give you a real picture of your business performance — not just compliance-ready numbers. We support CBD clients with Xero-based bookkeeping and management reporting that feeds directly into strategic decisions.
BAS Lodgement & Compliance
Accurate quarterly BAS lodgement for CBD businesses, including service businesses with complex GST treatments, mixed supplies and international transactions. We keep you compliant and your cash flow predictable — without the last-minute scramble.
Business Budgeting & Forecasting
For CBD professionals managing both business and personal financial complexity, forward-looking financial planning is essential. We build rolling budgets and forecasts that give you a clear view of your financial position across both your business and personal affairs.
Why CBD Professionals and Business Owners Choose Pinnacle
Proactive Advisory, Not Annual Compliance
CBD professionals often have high-velocity financial lives. We don’t wait for June 30 to think about your tax position. We engage with your situation throughout the year and flag structuring opportunities, ATO risk areas and planning moves when they can actually be acted on.
Responsive. Direct. No Runaround.
CBD business owners work fast and expect the same from their advisers. When you have a question — about a deal structure, a loan account, a property decision — you get a direct, informed answer from Mina. Not a generic response from a junior who has to ask someone else.
Dual-Qualified at the Highest Level
Mina Baselyous holds both CPA and Chartered Tax Advisor designations — two of the highest qualifications in Australian accounting and tax. For CBD professionals dealing with complex structures, investment portfolios and high-income personal tax, that depth of expertise delivers materially better outcomes.
What Our Clients Say
Switching to Pinnacle was one of the better business decisions we’ve made. Mina understood our industry quickly, restructured our affairs and we came out significantly ahead come tax time. The advice goes well beyond what our previous accountant ever provided.
Our business had grown significantly but we’d outpaced our old accounting setup. Mina came in, got across our structure quickly and put in place a proper tax strategy. The difference in what we’re paying has been substantial — and we now feel like someone is actually looking after the financial side of the business.
The responsiveness alone puts Pinnacle ahead of most firms I’ve dealt with. I run a fast-moving business and I need answers quickly — Mina consistently delivers that. It’s a professional relationship where I feel genuinely supported, not just processed.
Industries We Commonly Work With in Melbourne CBD
- ✓ Professional services & management consulting firms
- ✓ Legal practices & professional partnerships
- ✓ Financial advisory & mortgage broking businesses
- ✓ Technology, software & digital services companies
- ✓ Creative agencies, media & marketing firms
- ✓ High-income sole traders & company directors
Frequently Asked Questions — Melbourne CBD
Do you work with CBD-based businesses and professionals?
Yes — we work with a number of clients based in the Melbourne CBD and inner-city precincts including Southbank, Docklands and the immediate surrounds. We operate entirely via video call, phone and cloud accounting platforms, which means there is no need to come to us for meetings — we fit into your schedule and work to your pace. Geography is never a barrier; our clients come to us for the quality of the advice, not our proximity.
What is your approach to structuring for high-income professionals?
For high-income CBD professionals — consultants, lawyers, financial advisers, specialists — the right structure typically involves a company to carry on the business, combined with a family discretionary trust that receives trust distributions and allows income splitting within the family. Where there is a property portfolio or investment assets alongside the business, we look at whether a holding entity or investment trust adds further asset protection and tax benefit. The goal is always a structure that minimises tax today while positioning you well for wealth growth and an eventual sale or succession.
Can you help with Division 7A and trust loan accounts?
Yes. Division 7A and Unpaid Present Entitlements are among the most common complex issues we handle for CBD business owners. Division 7A bites when money moves out of a company to its shareholders or associates without a complying loan agreement, and that has not changed. Where a trust owes an unpaid entitlement to a corporate beneficiary, the law moved in 2026: in Commissioner of Taxation v Bendel [2026] HCA 18, decided 10 June 2026, the High Court held that an entitlement the company simply leaves outstanding is not a loan under section 109D. Subdivision EA and section 100A still apply, and an entitlement already converted into a complying section 109N loan still has to be serviced. We work out which of those actually applies to you, document what needs documenting, and build a management strategy that avoids the tax consequences.
Do I need to come into an office to work with you?
No — we are fully remote-capable and most of our CBD clients prefer it that way. We use video calls for meetings, cloud accounting platforms like Xero for your books, and secure document sharing for everything else. Onboarding is smooth, ongoing communication is fast, and you never have to leave Collins Street for a tax meeting.
How much do your services cost?
We use fixed-fee pricing for most ongoing engagements — so you know exactly what you are paying before we start, with no billable-hours surprises. Fees for CBD professionals and business owners depend on the scope and complexity of your affairs — the number of entities, the nature of your income, and how frequently we engage. We begin every new client relationship with a no-obligation consultation, where we understand your situation and give you a clear, itemised proposal with no obligation to proceed.
Pinnacle Accounting — Also Serving Clients In
As a cloud-based practice, Pinnacle Accounting & Advisory works with business owners across Australia. We serve businesses across Melbourne CBD and inner Melbourne. Book a consultation regardless of where you’re based.
Ready to Pay Less Tax and Grow Your Business?
Book a complimentary consultation. We’ll look at your current situation, identify what’s costing you, and give you a clear picture of what’s possible.