Accountant's Minute

Do you know that succession or exit planning has been identified by small/medium enterprise operators as one of the key issues for business success, in various surveys over the last 15 years? ESS BIZTOOLS has developed a full product package on succession or exit strategies, to assist accountants/advisors to deliver a full range of services to small/medium enterprises. In fact, the ESS...

Do you remember the Deloitte report, “Digital disruption – short fuse, big bang?” a few years ago?  In that report, Deloitte stated that they believed that accountants/advisors would need to create new income streams, to assist with the challenges from digital disruption. The Australian government has helped create a new income stream, with the birth of Early Stage Innovation Company...

Do you know that small/medium enterprises, identified in the CCH’s survey of small businesses a couple of years ago, said that business plans were one of the key services that small/medium enterprises are requiring that accountants/advisors to provide to them? ESS BIZTOOLS has developed a range of products that accountants/advisors can use to develop business plans, without you having to...

Welcome to 2016/17, the year of business advisory services. Do you know that the Accounting Market Pulse, produced by the Commonwealth Bank in their December 2015 issue, forecast that the top service line to enter and grow during 2016/17 for accountants and advisers would be business advisory services and management consulting services? ESS BIZTOOLS produces articles, forms, templates,...

Have you introduced your clients to a risk management strategy?  Do you know that $120M has been lost already by Australian businesses in court cases relating to the Personal Property Securities Act (PPSA)?  This is primarily due to those businesses not having registered their assets on the Personal Property Securities Register (PPSR).  According to “marketplace rumour”, a further $200M...

Do you know that, in various surveys, small/medium enterprises have identified that they would like to receive additional commercial services from their accountants/advisors? One of the key services is improvement in cashflow and one of the big components of cashflow is debtors’ management. ESS BIZTOOLS provides a debtors’ management service for accountants/advisors to utilise with...

Welcome to 2016/17! According to “Accounting Market Pulse” produced by the Commonwealth Bank of Australia, this is the year of “business advisory services”. What can you do to add value to your clients, create a great interesting work environment for your team and add value to your accountancy business? You could start by asking your clients some key questions, including:...

The Early Stage Innovation Company (ESIC) legislation commences in Australia from 1st July 2016.  Unfortunately, the legislation for Crowd Funding Equity Raising was still in the Senate when the Senate adjourned for the double dissolution election.Register for our free webinar: Introducing Early Stage Innovation Companies:Wednesday 6th July 2016 at 2pm AEST. Click here  Tuesday 12th July 2016...

Do you know that accountants/advisors have been identified as the trusted adviser for small/medium enterprises, to offer a range of non-compliance services in addition to taxation, to help small/medium enterprises to grow and add value to their businesses?ESS BIZTOOLS develops products to assist accountants/advisors to deliver the types of products that small/medium enterprises have been asking...

The 30th June is only a few weeks’ away.  It’s a great time to sit down and talk to your clients on formulating formal plans for 2016/17.Business plans are like “maps for tourists”.  If you don’t know where you’re going, how are you going to know when you get there?  More importantly, how can you measure your progressive performance over the period?It’s an ideal opportunity to...

The normal understanding of succession is questions being asked: “What would happen is something happened to our owner or CEO?” Most small/medium enterprises cannot afford to have a stand by CEO sitting in the wings.  Alternative strategies need to be developed to ensure that the business has an effective “succession strategy”. The concept of a “succession strategy” will become a...

A very common statement that I hear from small/medium enterprises and from some industry consultants is: “The thing that really upsets me is when a competitor receives a grant that I know nothing about.”  This is the statement that many small/medium enterprises have made. Identifying grants is a proactive way that accountants can introduce a whole new way of solving business problems to...

The Federal Parliament has finalised the legislation for Crowd Funding Companies and Early Stage Innovation Companies.  This is a great opportunity for accountants to get ready to service a brand new emerging market.Crowd Funding Companies are public companies which will have:a maximum investment in assets of $5M;turnover is restricted to $5M per annum; andthey will be available to raise...

Business plans are like maps for tourists.  If your client doesn’t know where they’re going, how are they going to know when they get there?Having a business plan enables the business to periodically check where they’re at, as compared to the original forecast contained within the business plan.  If they’re not on target, the business plan gives them the opportunity to make some...

The duties of a Chief Financial Officer (CFO) have been fairly well defined in public companies.  I undertook a review of advertisements for CFOs in public companies and identified some of the key aspects of the requirements to perform those duties.  I also was a CFO in a public company some years ago. Many of the requirements of a CFO in a public company also apply to a small/medium...

The Personal Property Securities Act (PPSA) and the associated Personal Property Securities Register (PPSR) have a very wide influence on business operations in Australia.  Unfortunately, a large number of small/medium enterprise operators appear to not have any direct working knowledge as to how this legislation affects their business and, indeed, don’t have any understanding of the very...