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Let’s tell the truth – the paperless office is a myth

Sadly the accounting function in a family business is typically covered in a tonne of paper. Very few businesses in Perth become truly “paperless”.  There is marketing documents, business cards and “wet signatures” for important key contracts. However, with the right combination of cloud technology applications from accounting, taxation and customer relationship management you can […]

Understanding how foreign exchange markets work

Many Perth based family businesses are looking internationally for growth.  And as soon as you talk about dealing offshore you will start talking about foreign exchange risks. For example: Perth Business Accountants Pty Ltd (PBA) has a contract to sell USD $1m a month in business advisory services.  The contract will last for 3 years. […]

How the new R&D Tax changes will affect family businesses

R&D Tax changes will affect family businesses

For a long time government has been concerned that the R&D tax system is being abused.  And with a recent cases of tax advisors who take a success fee going to jail it is no wonder. So the recent budget has targeted businesses with a turnover of more than $20m (and this covers a big […]

Starting a family office

Starting a family office

The words of “family office” conjure a sense of excitement and exclusive appeal.  As Perth accountants we have been fortunate enough to come across many ultra-high net worth individuals with a private family office. We have detailed some of our common findings: Beware the advertising A family office is just actually that.  An office for […]

Tax implications on different forms of property

The concept of property is simple.  It is a bit of dirt.  However the legal ownership of property investing alters the tax impact considerably.  And the tax outcome of property investment has a significant impact on your long term tax planning for a business family. Green title A green title property is the most simply […]

How to avoid lodging a fringe benefits tax return

fringe benefits tax return

Many family businesses in Perth simply want to cut red tape.  And the act of lodging a fringe benefits tax return is simply another form that must be prepared and another cost paid to accountants that is effectively sunk money – especially when the amount of fringe benefits paid is potentially low. Motor vehicles The […]

The new rules of finance can catch your unawares

new rules of finance

We have known for a long time that most home owners are not aware of their interest rate.  In fact a staggering 85% of borrowers are unaware of their interest rate (1). However the cost of fixed interest rates have recently began increasing for interest only loans compared to loan that repay principal and interest.  […]

10 questions to ask when choosing your accountant

choosing your accountant

Choosing an accountant can be difficult.  Cutting through technical jargon and marketing hype is a daunting process to any business owner. So we have a list of questions you can use to interview and compare between accountants. What tax leadership roles in the profession have you done in the last 12 months? Every accountant will […]

The financial aspects of a divorce

financial aspects of a divorce

A preliminary guide to common issues asked by couples who are separating. The act of leaving a spouse is always difficult.  And almost always the financial aspect of the separation is a key discussion point. We have detailed a few financial and tax related things to go over for couples who are intending, or who […]

The main residence exemption: Strategies to get it working for you

residence exemption

Our best tax lurk ever. The main residence exemption is incredible.  You can sell your home tax free.  This is a rare situation in terms of tax regimes across the world and we put it a lot of emphasis in getting the sale of your home as a tax free sale. After all – a […]