We’ve all seen the cash flow quadrant which encourages people to move from being an employee (having a job) into being self-employed (owning a job) to being a business owner (owning a system) and into being an investor (owning investments). Whilst it’s a sobering thought of the massive number of companies that don’t make it to the second year, let …
Australian tax compliance Client confidentiality and the TPB’s take
In 17 November 2020 the TPB released some Question and Answer comments on Cloud computing and confidentiality as a result of questions received during the webinar. There are a couple of very interesting answers that will surprise most accountants. It’s worth also referring to the TPB practice note TPB(PN) 1/2017 on Cloud computing and the Code of Professional Conduct which …
Australian SMSF auditors: including the extra Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) Notification
With the longer term impact of COVID-19 as yet one of the unknowns, there has been recent news regarding disclosure requirements for SMSF trustees who have not yet completed their 2019 financial year accounts. We’ve seen some recommendations related to the need to disclose the pandemic as a significant event in the “Events subsequent to Balance Date”. Accountants should be …
Ownership versus Usership: Why we’re all about the job based compliance model
Over the past year we’ve been seeing a big push in the articles into the quantum shift from ownership to usership. Ownership is dead, seems to be the common themes. Research is showing that less people want to own things, and are more comfortable with using them on a temporary basis. It’s not surprising that global car sales are down, …
The top 5 regrets when your accounting career is over. Hint: They aren’t what you think
Though it’s been around for a while, we frequently see on the social media the “The Top 5 Regrets Of The Dying”, and no, we aren’t talking this week about the death of compliance. We’re talking this week about the ability to stop for a moment in our day, not put our heads down and start at our iPhones, and …
Is it time to exit older accounting firm owners?
After years of talking to Accounting firm business owners, we’re starting to see a trend. Older accounting firm owners are starting to be pushed out of their firms, or just closing shop. And it’s not just us noticing the trends: ‘The doomsayers are wrong’: Accounting industry younger and thriving ATO Assistant Commissioner Colin Walker has revealed new demographics for the …
Workpapers: Australian accountants dirty little secret
This week seemed to be a meeting of a number of issues that led us to consider the future of Australian taxation compliance. We believe that Odyssey completing some 50,000 jobs annually for some 500 Australian accounting firms gives us the opportunity to have higher level visibility than most firms. This week started with receiving a garbage set of prior …
Are you listening to respond, or truly listening?
Last year I went for a 9 day hike, and got sick likely on the 1st night. It was super cold, and by the next day I could feel the cold starting. As it was a long term hike, I was carrying a small medical kit, but not much in the way that could deal with a cold that was …
End of Compliance work.. Are we there yet?
For those that had some holiday reading time over the Christmas break, or even those that are looking at social media, there has been a lot of recent interest in continual improvements in time-saving devices, cloud and automation, as well as AI bots. Somewhere through the noise there is substance to two important undisputable facts for Australian accountants: The future …
The best moments
The best moments usually occur when a person’s body or mind is stretched to its limits in a voluntary effort to accomplish something difficult and worthwhile. As we roll into February and everyone gives up on their new year’s resolutions it’s a good time to take a step back and think about the best moments from last year, or even …
