23 In determining that question, the starting point is an appropriate assessment of the gravity of the offending in this case. The sentencing judge described the offending as "most serious". Counsel for the respondent recognised that the offending necessitated the imposition of a substantial term of imprisonment. In my view, those observations were well warranted. As submitted by counsel for the Director, and as demonstrated by the circumstances of the offences which I have summarised, the offending by the respondent involved careful and detailed planning, preparation and implementation. The respondent created and effected a sophisticated scheme, involving acts of deception on a number of levels. The offending took place over a substantial period of time. Throughout that period, the respondent had the opportunity to desist, had he wished to do so. Instead, he continued to exploit the scheme for his own financial benefit. The offending itself involved a number of repeated acts of dishonesty, involving the submission of 27 false business activity statements. It was only brought to an end when the respondent was detected and arrested. The amounts of money ultimately involved were substantial. The respondent was not motivated by any pressing financial need. Rather, his offending was designed to provide funds for a grandiose importing scheme, from which the respondent had hoped to derive very significant profits. The respondent used a sizeable portion of the money, which he obtained from the scheme, to pursue a lavish lifestyle, spending large amounts on expensive restaurants, nightclubs, hotels and air travel. An odious feature of the scheme was that the respondent involved other innocent parties in the wrongdoing, and sought to exploit the reputation of prominent accounting firms and financial institutions, in order to lend some credibility to his scheme.