Our latest insights

Businesses rely heavily on the expertise and guidance of accountants in their start-up and early development phases. But some businesses could be costing themselves money – and stifling their potential – by staying with their current accountant. How do you know if you’ve outgrown your accountant? How do you know when there’s a mismatch between your needs and their capabilities? We’ve identified four telltale signs.

With the Australia-India Economic Cooperation and Trade Agreement passing through Federal Parliament of Australia last week, now's the ideal time to assess your India strategy. What are the key opportunities your Agribusiness, Food & Beverage business can explore as part of your India strategy? Find out more about areas of opportunity you can leverage.

New legal precedent (Federal and State case law), data matching initiatives and a trend towards a hybrid working arrangement influenced by the gig economy, have led to an increase in ATO and State Revenue Office scrutiny around the engagement with contractors by employers.

The 2022-23 Federal Budget committed over $20b towards renewable energy projects and initiatives in its push to cut carbon emissions by 43 per cent by 2030. Is it enough to aid the energy supply and demand challenge forecasted by the Australian Energy Market Operator (AEMO) in its recent 2022 Electricity Statement of Opportunities Report?

Board members generally have deep expertise in particular aspects of business management or the industry in which the family business operates. The Board is particularly focused on the business’s strategy, operations, and leadership advisory.

The ATO has released a draft Margin Scheme Valuation Requirements Determination for comment. While it’s substantially similar to the current determination, its differences may cause issues for property developers.

Outrages around quality care shortfalls, COVID-19 outbreaks in residential aged care facilities, coupled with the recent Royal Commission into Aged Care Quality and Safety, have unfortunately painted a bad picture of the Australian aged care sector. This has affected the number of workers in the field and resulted in poor uptake of nursing degrees. That’s why many providers are relying on the approaching Federal Budget for investment to drive better outcomes in aged care by supporting its predominant capital – the workforce.

Conflict in family businesses – in fact, all businesses – is a reality of any workplace. Understanding the source of a conflict, and where tension triggers exist, can help businesses pre-empt, spot and manage clashes and turn these differences into positives.

The ATO has recently announced that they have now re-commenced issuing requests to release excess contributions and other charges for superannuation fund members who did not make an election on how they would like to treat their excess non-concessional contributions for prior financial years.

Professional service firms have experienced growth and increased profitability over the last two years. The issue of succession – promoting, attracting and managing the retirement of equity participants – has never been more challenging.

When it comes to M&A transactions, businesses can often be eligible for GST refunds – but how do you determine if this is the case, and how much is recoverable? In our latest Tax in M&A series, we look at a threshold test that can be applied to transactions whereby businesses only make limited financial supplies. But there is a limit to how much GST can be claimed back when the Financial Acquisitions Threshold (‘FAT’) has been exceeded.

Next generations are itching to take over – the question is are they ready? Future leaders should allow at least three to five years to demonstrate their credibility and develop leadership skills. There are high expectations of the next generation’s business acumen, financial and industry understanding, the ability to lead and inspire, and capability to overcome hurdles. Taking over the family business is a process that often spans across a number of years, and can be separated into succession of management (that is, responsibility and authority), and succession of ownership.