Money & Legal

With the countdown to the end of Financial Year officially on (just 52 sleeps to go!), it’s time for business owners around the nation to ensure all their books and accounts are in order so they start off FY2012-13 in tip top shape.  It’s also time for many to get prepared for the year ahead, and that includes preparing for several changes to tax compliance.

So are we ready?

It appears not.  During our recent business owner and management insights panel, we found that Australian business owners have significant knowledge ‘black spots’ about the many compliance updates being introduced in the new financial year (that’s right, the one that kicks off in under two months!), putting relationships with their employees and the ATO at risk. Read more

As readers are aware, the ongoing review by the government in the provision of financial services continues.

One of the issues is the removal of exemption that permits accountants to discuss issues relating to pros and cons and the establishment of self managed superannuation funds. It appears that the only way a practitioner could have the holistic discussion is to ensure that they will be licensed by either establishing their own licence or operating as an authorised representative of a dealer.

However, it is not as simple as that. A financial services licence requires a different process to be adopted. We think this will create a confusing situation for both accountants and clients. Read more

It’s cash rate time again, and this month we’re calling on the Reserve Bank to support the innovation dreams of small to medium sized enterprises by announcing a cash rate reduction tomorrow.

According to our latest Business Monitor research, a key priority for SMEs in 2012 is innovation through diversification. One third of our respondents nationally planned to introduce new products this year and/or extend their business activity into other geographical horizons.

CEO Tim Reed says, “A solid reduction in the cash rate – if passed on by lenders – will visibly impact these important GDP contributors. They will have more confidence to follow their desire to broaden product sets and explore new markets, bolstering their ability to compete globally.” Read more

I had power. But no will.

Time for another confession.

By examining the gulf between a high ideal and a low act, I hope we’ll gain insight into our business ethics.

Alternatively, we may find there’s no gap at all.

Margin call

Decades before I thought of starting a business, I decried the retail tactic of pricing a few cents short of a whole dollar (e.g. $9.95). Read more

How petty is your cash?

If you read my terms and bad debt rants, you won’t be shocked to hear I was wary of a client’s request to pay in parts.

The outcome, however, was surprising.

Little fish

I’d only been serving this client a few months.

We’d done good groundwork, but my expert rate had exhausted her newbie budget. Read more

Do you have a Chief Financial Officer (CFO) in your business?  If you’re a small business, chances are, no.  Few small or medium businesses have a CFO.

A CFO’s role in a business is to use the financial information of a business to drive and improve it.  The financial information of a business is the key to the strategic direction and improvement of every business. Read more

Grim news from the financial sector yesterday, as the World Bank flagged a potential new economic downturn, which looks to be uglier than the rollercoaster we’ve just endured.

Dubbed ‘GFC Mark II’, the World Bank has cut is 2012 economic growth forecast in high economic countries, and is predicting negative growth for countries that use the Euro.  Australia wasn’t specifically mentioned in the report, but a large scale economic downturn would still have ongoing implications for our own market, most specifically in terms of consumer confidence, decreased commodity export prices and a lock down on credit from financial institutions.  Read more

Don’t you love this time of year, it’s all about spend, spend, spend, shop, shop, shop and worry about it next year.  I am sure it is not just us girls who feel like this.

The pressure to purchase goods for ourselves and others is huge at this time of year.  All our children or grandchildren need the latest toys; men need the latest gadget, and every girl regardless of age need jewellery, that’s what the advertisers seem to tell us… Read more

After toughing it out through a year-long stretch of higher-than-average interest rates, business owners applauded November’s decision by the Reserve Bank to drop the cash rate by a quarter of a percent.

This second drop in Australia’s official interest rate, just 19 days out from Christmas, is sure to bring even more joy to the engine room of our economy – SMEs. Read more

Consider claiming for Research & Development (R&D) Incentive

The changes to the R&D concession effective 1 July 2011 are intended to make the incentive more attractive for small & medium sized companies and can result in a refund of 15 cents for every dollar of eligible R&D expenditure.  Eligible R&D activities can occur in a wide range of industries.  Where your company conducts activities which have an objective of generating new knowledge regarding improved materials, products, devices, processes or services and the outcome of these activities cannot be determined in advance, it is worth considering this incentive. Read more