Cooper Grace Ward Lawyers partner Sarah Lancaster provides an update on the payroll tax issues continuing to plague medical practices and the critical planning needed in this area.

In this episode, Lancaster shares some of the highlights from her upcoming presentation at the ACE Accounting Conference & Expo next month.

She discusses the potential audit risks facing medical and allied health practices following the rulings that were issued by various revenue offices last year and what firms need to be doing now to manage these risks.

Lancaster also sheds light on other payroll tax issues being audited by state revenue offices and where businesses need to improve their record keeping.

A bids and tender specialist has seen a dramatic increase in small to medium accounting firms bidding for government contracts in the past year. In this episode, Jason Cooney, director at The Tender Team, explains why smaller accounting firms have become more courageous with bids for government contracts more recently and some of the reasons for their success. Cooney discusses the types of contracts that smaller accounting firms are winning and how they can stand out from other competing firms. He also offers tips and considerations for the tender process and how firms can prepare to make the process smoother.

Michael Fingland explains the vital role that stress testing can play for businesses in an economy "teetering on the edge of recession".

In this latest episode, Vantage Performance chief executive Michael Fingland gives a rundown on the concept of stress testing and how businesses can utilise this strategy to prepare for further headwinds in the year ahead.

Fingland explains that with consumer spending pulling back and the economy softening, businesses should be analysing what outcomes might arise with a dip in cash flow, a drop in revenue or with other, more specific, challenges.

Businesses can then put in a place a “rapid-fire turnaround plan” that can be implemented if any of these scenarios happen, he says.

He also provides his predictions on business conditions for the remainder of 2024 and what the main challenges will be. 

Heather Smith and Tyler Caskey delve into the latest technology transformations and feature and functionality updates for the start of the year.

In this episode, accounting apps specialist Heather Smith and Tyler Caskey, partners at TheBeanCounters, discuss recent developments in real-time banking transactions, direct digital receipting and multi-currency transactions.

They also explore updates and new features in the reporting space across cash flow forecasting, automatic workflows, intercompany loan reconciliations and ESG.

Heather and Tyler also chat about some of the big announcements in the accounting tech space including the launch of WorkflowMax by BlueRock and Xero ending classic invoicing later this year. 

There are so many amazingly successful women in the finance industry, but only a small number have a strong brand and online presence in this traditionally male-dominated industry.    As we celebrate International Women’s Day, we want to help more women raise their profile and showcase the incredible professionals in this space.   In this episode, partnered by Mortgage Choice (part of the REA Group), we’re picking the brain of its executive manager, corporate communications, events & franchise marketing, Sally Chadwick, to find out:

• How to build a brand presence. 
• The benefits of having a strong brand presence.
• Top tips to help you get started today.

And much more!

Family businesses ripe to pass on often need help after getting stuck in their ways, says the principal of a financial advisory firm. A spike in succession planning in the wake of COVID-19 has created a wealth of opportunities for advisers and virtual CFO services, says one finance specialist. Principal of iFin Capital and iFin Advisory, Nathan Hogan, said some strong family businesses got stuck in their ways and needed some help to make the transfer. “We’re seeing a real spike in the last 12 months of this activity of passing on things to generations,” he said on the latest Accountants Daily Insider podcast. “A lot of it really is around really good family businesses that have done well and generally they’ve had an internal finance manager or someone who’s started as a junior and worked their way up. “Sometimes those businesses have the biggest issues because there has been a bit of inaction for a long time and they might not be looking around the corner as much as you would like to see from your CFO.”

Outsourcing will be part of the answer for some, but finding a senior locally will remain a problem, says Trent McLaren. The accountancy profession looks in vain for a talent shortage silver bullet and some firms face a tough decision about whether outsourcing is part of the answer, according to the co-founder of marketing and sales consultancy, Journey, Trent McLaren. “When we say there is a shortage of accountants, we're saying there's a shortage in Australia, right?” he said on the latest Accountants Daily Insider podcast. “There are people in other countries that are happy and willing to do the work that our new generation of people don't want to do. “This is something that some people will have to either bite with, say either I don't want to do any more work, I don't want to win any more fees … or they're going to see more people embrace this global, remote teams type environment, where my team member is just based wherever they need to be.” “There's no silver bullet. That's the thing. Even if I go and load up on offshoring outsourcing, there's still a capability piece that I'll have to draw a line on at some point. “I'm still going to need a senior at some point locally.”

Following the Women in Finance Summit and Awards 2023, we’re catching up with some of the leading women in the financial services space.

In this episode, we chat to Rebecca Warren, executive general manager of small-business banking at CommBank, about how she navigated a historically male-dominated industry over her 20-year career and why she believes inclusion and diversity are not just morally imperative, but key to achieving superior business results.

Tune in to find out:

• Why she loves commercial finance.
• The secret power of ‘quiet achievers’.
• How CommBank is creating a more inclusive and supportive work culture.

And much more!

Following the Women in Finance Summit and Awards 2023, we’re catching up with some of the leading women in the financial services space.

In this episode, we chat to Suzanne Wood, state general manager residential broker Victoria/Tasmania at Westpac Group (and state chair of the Women of Westpac employee advocacy group), about how she climbed the career ladder in banking and the power of having strong female role models.

Tune in to find out:

• How she learnt the art of having difficult conversations.
• The perils of unconscious bias and how to tackle them.
• How Westpac is supporting women through the Women of Westpac employee advocacy group.

And much more!

AI has taken the rough edges off cyber scams and removed the easy “tells” in fake messages such as typos or grammatical errors, says one digital security specialist. “Now they just have ChatGPT correct the text – they just say ‘write this email as an Australian business person,” said Niek Dekker of Eftsure on the latest Accountants Daily podcast. “That was done the moment it came out.” He said AI had also made some countries that were difficult to hack, such as Japan, more vulnerable. “They were always a bit out of target because not everybody knows the business culture or the language. Since generative AI has come, they see an increase in scams.” He said Australia had become a favourite target for hackers because we were wealthy and trusting. “That makes us prime targets for these criminals.”

The financial advice regime has failed to deliver guidance to SMSFs through its licensing rules and the Quality of Advice Review offers little prospect for change, according to the CEO of two fintechs aiming to bridge the gap. George Haramis said some accounting firms acquired licences to offer advice to SMSFs but providers fell away, leaving almost $900 billion in superannuation assets largely unguided. “We know that accountants can deliver tax advice, but in reality they get asked all the time to cross the line inadvertently by their clients,” Mr Haramis said on the latest Accountants Daily podcast. “They don’t. They fall back to the tax advice and guidance and refer people to financial advisers.” “But it’s always surprised me that the inability for them to give personal advice to some extent is not is not catered for by the government and the regulators – particularly what came out of QAR.”